SBC/GW's Journal- Spring shows DONE! & Update

[Southern by choice]

I agree with the "universal" thing. Luckily they have not tried to make our show breeds of chickens all alike. And the Standard of Perfection specifically states how each breed should look. There are still some changes over the years, in some breeds, but not like in the cattle and I guess, the goat breeds.
There are a few beef breeders that have been looking for, and going back to, the older genetics to try to get some of the "real breed characteristics" back in the cattle. Genetics have become so refined that they are using all this "genomics" which means that " IN THEORY" this bull A bred to this cow B will produce superior off spring. They are using that to the detriment of losing some of the other good characteristics...like longevity.... Supposedly they can determine which bulls will throw heifers that will be more likely to have high cell counts (mastitis tendencies) and such. They are flushing virgin heifers at 12-14 months, to young bulls that are out of virgin heifers....No milk records for the dam of the bull and sometimes not the granddam.... but his "genomics" say he will sire super duper high producing heifers..... Guess it doesn't make a big difference because the average time a cow is in a productive dairy farm is less than 2 lactations.
And in the catalogs you haven't been able to see a picture of the bull you are buying semen from for years. But in the experts opinion he is superior...

It is very interesting because the system used for cattle (from what I understand) was adapted for goats. Between milktest and Linear Appraisal it seems that goats are getting bred all by the numbers.
Although I do feel there is merit to the programs and can be a "tool" used in predictability the bottom line goats are goats. Some lines just don't match up well. Period!

After doing milktest this year... ummmm.... can I just say I will never look at milk numbers the same way. I hope to write about our experience soon. It has been the worlds worst first year milktest in the history of milktest. Where you laugh because you just cannot believe what you are going through.
I agree with losing some very important characteristics as well. There are many many people out there that don't like the newer "style" of Lamancha.
Maybe because I am older, maybe because I see things from a different perspective, maybe because I am stubborn, I like to LOOK at a goat. If I like the goat then I do. If I don't , I don't.
I am a fan of breed what you like. That doesn't minimize the factors that will help improve areas that need improved. But in the end Goat A bred to Goat B "should" produce this and that... trust me... that is not always the case. It doesn't mean either goat was a bad goat- they simply just didn't line up. It's crushing but it happens.

I also notice there are so many name hoppers/chasers that they will get that animal with that "name" and yet that animal may very well end up being exactly what you don't want.

 

[Mini Horses]

Same with horses, in the sense of breed to names, etc. AND buy for color, no matter the conformation people.

Whatever happened to the hands on facts? It takes more time to access the doe contribution to offspring, she doesn't produce but so many at a time. The buck (bull, stallion, etc) can service many, many & if they are compared, you can often see a tendency for traits being thrown. I'm one who likes to see the offspring, parents, etc. Can't always, go with gut.

Personally, I want a solid animal, good milking doe for production and handling, a buck with courtesy. While I want improvement, I am not out to set records with breed improvements anymore. Getting along just fine.

This is along the same line of why "the powers that be" felt they needed to screw with our chickens & crops. I want taste & nutrition, not THE most or largest in my garden. And, I want my chickens to set eggs...for several years, not one a day for a year or two. I don't like to off them so soon. Not against improving animals, just not a total contrast to what worked well for so long.

"They" want something beneficial -- work on fox lineage that doesn't like to each chicken!! Change that one for applause.

 

[Baymule]

Industrial meat. Industrial milk. Industrial eggs and chicken. Mass produced food for the masses. Vegetables grown on spent soil with only NPK added back to the soil in copious amounts that drain into our rivers, lakes and oceans. Cheap food.

Then there is us. We are the throwbacks to another time. A time when vegetables actually had nutrients because the soil was loved, tended and understood to be a living organism capable of giving life. Fruits aren't shipped from a thousand miles away, but picked in our own yard or area, then canned, dehydrated or frozen for later consumption. A time when livestock met the needs of the people who owned and bred them. A time when livestock was treasured for more than 2 lactations, several calves, 1 laying season, a couple litters of piglets, before being worn out, used up and discarded. We live in a time when a goat can live for 12 years, horses live past 30, milk cows are family pets, bearing calves and giving their milk for years. Beef cattle are allowed to graze until going to slaughter or being finished on grains.

We are stewards of the land, the keepers of genetics of different varieties of farm animals, the genetics of heirloom vegetables, the safe keepers of the future when such genetics may once again become vitally important. We keep keeping on because that is what we do.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I love the way @Baymule says it!!! I agree!

 

[Southern by choice]

Well, they headed out at 4am this morning with 5 goats. 4 jrs and 1 sr.
None of these goats have been handled other than clipping. The Sr doe is a milker so she will walk with you but has never been "set up" we tried a few months ago and it was hilarious!
1 of the jrs is NOT show worthy as her rump is steep. Took her anyway just in case they needed numbers. She is a bottle baby and loves her lovin... but she is like ... hmm... how to describe her
Her name is Monster Mash... because she is truly a wild in your lap all over the place goat. Think red bull energy drink and add to that ADHD and then sprinkle a little bit more caffeine, dodo bird, with a bit of wack a mole and you might be close! The goats rump is super steep BUT she is great in everything else and looks like her prefreshening udder is really nice. She was suppose to be up for sale but I never got around to it. Eh- if she stays we'll just breed up.

Not being handled they did pretty darn good! It was a really good turnout especially for a Miniature Dairy Goat show. It was the Floyd county fair... so they had showmanship, a youth dairy goat show and then the open show for MDGA.
We really wanted to support the show because it seems that manhy want the shows but then people don't go... this show was very different! We are really happy for the turnout. Some of the individual classes were really good numbers! like 9/10 goats. That is pretty good for a mini show. The show was AOM... meaning all minis. There were by far more mini manchas there than anything else.

My Littlest DD was 1st in showmanship and I am really proud of her. She took Bingo in, Bingo can be a jerk. It was a real challenge but she showed her well, answered all the questions right but 2. No one answered those 2 questions. LOL She knows the answer now!

Really impressed with the sponsors too. They ended up bringing home 2 gift cards, 2 bags of feed, a stainless steel food bowl, collar, lead, and cash prizes awarded.

Youth Show- This is a fair show

1 person 1 goat so only 2 goats could be shown in youth and we weren't paying attention when we filled out the paperwork. We would have put Strawberry in not Monster
Sass 1st
Monster 5th

Bingo 3rd Sr doe


Open- MDGA -Sanctioned

Juniors-
Jr kid-Sass 1st went on to be GCH
Sr kid- Strawberry 1st
Sr Kid- Monster 4th
Dry Yearling-Lil Princess 3rd

Seniors-
2YO milkers- Bingo 1st & Best Udder In Show

Didn't get a lot of good pics because DH had to hold the goats- we showed out of our van! No pens.

Little DD had the judges telling her to SMILE! She was like a zombie. She didn't cope getting up at 4 am! We did get a pic of her where she fell asleep in the fold up chair.
She is so happy to have a "Pink" ribbon!

1st & 4th in youth show

MDGA Jr does GCH line up always nice to have 2 does in the line up

3rd open

Sr does Champion line up- Bingo didn't go grand but did get Best Udder in show

Sass 1st in Jrs

Too bad this was on a downward hill. Very happy Sass got her leg!

Very thankful. Dh is so supportive, not many men would get up at 4 am and drive his wife's goats and family to show them.
Little DD really only loves her lamanchas yet she showed for me and showed some very difficult goats to their best potential. And I can't leave out GW. As always she showed the goats as if though they were her own. Very blessed to have such support!

 

[Mike CHS]

That is one of those good "Smiley" posts. That seemed to be a good turnout for a small county fair.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

Congratulations! They look beautiful! I didn’t realize there were MDGA shows.

 

[Baymule]

That’s the kind of family activity that kids (the human kind) never forget for their entire lifetime. Well done family.

 

[Southern by choice]

That is one of those good "Smiley" posts. That seemed to be a good turnout for a small county fair.

We almost didn't do the county fair part... we were just going to do the sanctioned MDGA show. It all worked out and they had fun. Everyone is exhausted.

Congratulations! They look beautiful! I didn’t realize there were MDGA shows.

Yes, MGDA does have more shows out west than we do here. The biggest issue is more often then not there is an ADGA show usually on or around the same dates that are picked.
We have Rowan next week and it is pushing it to have 2 shows a week apart. That one is an ADGA show so different goats but you still have to get them ready and that is a lot of work.
MDGA has live shows, virtual shows (i don't care for) and they also have milktest etc. They are working on a better database and hopefully they will do some kind of evaluation or assessment... like the LA.

@Baymule what touches me so much is they all did this for me. Because the mini's are my baby project.

However after milking this morning I am seriously thinking of giving the boot to some of these goats. Lets just say I am alive and the goats are too... however, I am the one in pain.
They may end up being BBQ'd

 

[Baymule]

Like I said, we’ll done family. Your kids wouldn’t have done that if you were a lousy mom. The fact that they did speaks volumes about what kind of wonderful parent and mother that you are.