Showing goat questions

[lalabugs]

This year my children will be showing our does. So far 4 of our children want to show. I am looking into everything that is needed and the rules with the fair we are planning on going to.

I was reading the rules and unless I am not understanding them. My youngest who is 8 y/o, can not show. Even through 4H with a Nigerian since it is a dairy goat.

Here are the rules from the show website.

"4-H Age Requirements: The levels of membership for 4-H are age based. Each level is defined as follows: a. Primary Level: Must be 5 years old as of December 31, 2018 to exhibit at fair. Primary membership ends when members qualify as junior members. Exhibitors who are under 9 years of age on or before December 31, 2018 are not eligible to compete in large animal (Beef, Sheep, Swine, Dairy Cattle, Dairy Goats, Boer Goats, Market and Fiber Goats, Horse, Alpaca and Llama) competitions. Not eligible for sale. b. Junior, Intermediate, & Senior: Must be 9 years old on or before December 31, 2018. Exhibitors are eligible to compete/exhibit through December 31st of the year in which they turn 19 years of age.

Independent Exhibitors must be at least 9 years old by January 1, 2019 to compete in large animal (Beef, Sheep, Swine, Dairy Cattle, Dairy Goats, Boer Goats, Market and Fiber Goats, Horse, Alpaca and Llama) competitions at California Fairs. a. Exhibitors are eligible to compete/exhibit through December 31st of the year in which they turn 19 years of age. b. Youth may be ineligible to participate as Independent if documented disciplinary action involving their project(s) has been taken against them by 4-H, FFA or Grange organizations. Length of ineligibility to be determined by fair management. 47. Small Animal Pre-Junior Class - Open to all junior exhibitors 5 - 8 years old as of January 1, 2019; must be Kern County residents; Breeding Animals only, not eligible for sale."

We only have one local person who shows dairy, our main 4H person only does meat goats. We plan on attending the next 4H meeting to talk to the person who shows dairy goats.

Is it normal for children under the age of 8 to not be able to show dairy goats? My youngest is going to be bummed if she can not show this year.

Also what is the best clippers to get? There are so many options! I want to get a good pair that will last. I have been looking at Andis.

What else is an absolute must have for showing?

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I don't know anything about 4-H so no help there.

Do you have any ADGA shows coming up? He could show at those shows. Some ADGA shows will actually have an ADGA sanctioned youth show too.

As far as show supplies, pack everything! LOL
I always tarp all the outer fence to keep my goats from touching noses with other goats. If possible, keep you tack pen between your goats and other exhibitors goats. Don't let anyone touch your animals.

I ALWAYS clean my pens before I put my goats in them. I use Virkon S, don't bother using bleach.


When at shows I tend to top dress the feed with probitoics.

This is copy/paste from another thread:

100ft drop cord+ outlit strip if you have a fan, bring it.
Milking equipment
Lots of Zip ties for the tarps + a few good sets of scissors and wire snips
Plastic netting for kids (depending on what type of pen you have)

I have a 5 gallon bucket that holds spray bottles of bleach, chlorhexadine, permetrins, along with a container of virkon S tablets and a 1 gallon sprayer. I also bring disinfecting wipes and a broom head, so that I can brush away any junk/cobwebs etc.

I also keep a few bottles of some good hand sanitizer.
Chances are, if you go to a show someone is going to ask for help.
I always wash up before I handle my goats.

Gatorade or something to flavor the water (no way I can haul enough water for all these goats)

Of course you need to bring hay/feed/feeders

Bring a good first aid kit.

I do bring a bag full of brushes, baby wipes, rags, paper towels, dry shampoo, or some other spray
Although my goats seem to look fine without that stuff.

For the clippers, right now we just use an Oster and Andis. Nothing fancy. We use a #10, #7, and a #50 on the udder.

I stay with the goats, and do not go to a hotel. So I bring a tent, air bed, etc.
If you do this, stay away from the Nubians

You need the registration papers. If you are going out of state you need a health cert.
I bring the ADGA guide book with me, along with a copy of my entry forms or anything else I think would be good to have.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

These are one set of clippers we have.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/andis-super-2-speed-clipper-with-t-84-blade-set?rfk=1

 

[lalabugs]

The fair is an adga sanctioned show. We had planned on showing independent.

We will see what we find out at the 4h meeting. It's next Thursday.


Thank you for the list. I will be writing everything down.

I did not know what virkon s was. Just goggled it. Will be purchasing! Thank you.

Which set of clippers do you like the best?

The goats are registered in my name. In the fair guidelines it says that the animals have to be registered to the exhibitor. I'll be calling adga tomorrow to get that figured out.

The show is about 1 1/2 hours away from us. We have not decided where were staying.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

The way our state fair is, if a youth wants to show one of his goats in the youth show, the goat has to be in his name.
You can enter 2 goats per class and have another youth show the other goat as long as the youth is still showing one of the goats. Other shows could care less.
You can call ADGA and ask them, but every fair is different and ADGA probably isn't going to know the rules for that fair/show.

At our SF I've seen 4-H members showing, entire groups. I think their rules are a bit different but have no clue.

I meant to add to my other post (since it was copy/paste)- Our Osters ended up breaking. For a few goats it would probably be okay. We got the Andis last year, one pair quite working right off the bat but TSC replaced it. I'd probably stick to the Andis.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I personally like staying near my goats. I don't leave them.

Though over the last year it seems I've become the designated watcher for some other herds

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You definitely take a chance leaving your goats in the barn alone...things happen.

I've gone out to check my goats after leaving for dinner and came back to find a drunk woman in one of my pens. And everybody wants to give the goat a treat or pet the babies or any other obnoxious behavior you can think of. But, what I hated most was knowing - and I mean KNOWING - that there were unauthorized midnight breedings going on. I had the first brown agouti buck in the Texas/Oklahoma area and wasn't it strange that another breeder/shower had brown agouti babies at a show the next season when they didn't own a brown agouti of their own? GRRRR! At another show a new exhibitor's buck kept jumping out of his pen and into a pen with a doe that I owned who happened to be in heat. Several times I caught the buck and took him back to the owner - and she laughed and asked if I didn't want a free breeding to her buck? Uh NO---I plan my breedings and her buck was less than superior. There are some folks who just don't get it...

Padlocks on the gates don't help either unless there is a roof over the pen. But, I could sure padlock my trailer. Ya live, ya learn!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

You definitely take a chance leaving your goats in the barn alone...things happen.

I've gone out to check my goats after leaving for dinner and came back to find a drunk woman in one of my pens. And everybody wants to give the goat a treat or pet the babies or any other obnoxious behavior you can think of. But, what I hated most was knowing - and I mean KNOWING - that there were unauthorized midnight breedings going on. I had the first brown agouti buck in the Texas/Oklahoma area and wasn't it strange that another breeder/shower had brown agouti babies at a show the next season when they didn't own a brown agouti of their own? GRRRR! At another show a new exhibitor's buck kept jumping out of his pen and into a pen with a doe that I owned who happened to be in heat. Several times I caught the buck and took him back to the owner - and she laughed and asked if I didn't want a free breeding to her buck? Uh NO---I plan my breedings and her buck was less than superior. There are some folks who just don't get it...

Padlocks on the gates don't help either unless there is a roof over the pen. But, I could sure padlock my trailer. Ya live, ya learn!

What?!?

That is terrible! I’m so thankful our NC dairy goat breeders aren’t like that!

I’m also thankful our State fair doesn’t let the public near the animals. It’s pretty safe.

So far, even at the fairs that do allow the public, everyone is pretty good. But I always have someone by the pens that keeps the public from touching the goats.
I’ve thought about bringing Rita, but then people would never get their arm back and that’d be a no-go

Our spring shows are always awesome, since it’s the dairy goat clubs that put on the show and not a fair. It’s only goat people at those shows

 

[lalabugs]

I was going to ask ADGA if I could add them to my adga. But looks like I will have to get them their own youth adga.

With breeding's I am assuming I would just do a service memo since the does will be in my children's names? I have the buck registered in my name.

DS1, DS2, DD2 will all be showing ND. DS1 & 2 want to show ND. We are purchasing 2 ND does for them.

DD1 is showing her LaMancha doe.


This is the Andis clippers I have been looking at.

https://equine-and-livestock.andis....r-clipper-—-spring-green/?item-no=65385

@frustratedearthmother Now I am going to be super paranoid about leaving them at all during show! We will get it figured out how to stay with them. I hope no one messes with our goats.

This year we only plan on doing the one fair. See how the children like showing. If they all want to continue or not.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I was going to ask ADGA if I could add them to my adga. But looks like I will have to get them their own youth adga.

That's how our state fair is. They don't want the family memberships, but individual memberships.

ADGA is funny, sometimes they want the service memo other times not. If you need the papers back within a certain time just send the memo.

Those clippers look good