| BUCKS: Bucks stuck out in pens where new comers can smell them & watch their performance is not cool. While we are used to the Buck smell new visitors come to the conclusion that all Goats smell bad as the aroma drifts over them. One way to alleviate this problem: Bucks can have the glands burned behind the horn bud at disbudding time & cut down on the odor they emit. Bucks can also be bathed after breeding season. If this creates an argument as to whom will do the bathing please just draw straws or take turns. Or post a note on the fridge that any child who doesn�t complete their chores can bath the Buck. That way you won�t be so upset when they goof off. Most small Goat keepers do not even need to keep a Buck. Top Bucks can be found close to home. |
| COMMON SENSE: Common sense tells us to keep our Goats clean, fences in good repair... We need to PRESENT THE DAIRY DOE AS A LOVELY, CLASSY ANIMAL. It helps to join a local Goat club. Children in 4H learn correct animal husbandry. I pray in the next few years the Goat industry well turn around, educate & control the haphazard breeding of Goats. We can all do our part! Donate booklets & place in feed stores, offices etc. These can be ordered through A.D.G.A. & or be obtained from your local goat club. I keep literature in my purse. Can you imagine the shock when someone sees the page on the Spotlight Goat sale where some Dairy Goats sell for $2,500.00? This is exactly what folks need to see. |
| REALIZING A PROFIT: I can remember years ago when we paid $3.00 for a puppy along the road. My Mom insisted we stop to look at them with some help from me begging in the back seat. My dad was in shock. He viewed dogs as free. Or a stray picked you or just moved in. He completely turned around after my Mom came home with some very expensive Collies. This monumental event occurred during the �I Love Lassie� era. After the dust settled & the family began speaking again, my Dad became a proud owner. He built a very nice Kennel. The concept of �walking the dog� was all new to him. It wasn�t long after that he agreed to let mom purchase some Goats. He had learned his lesson with the dog epic so in order to keep his life in order HE decided a �yes� would keep peace, after all Mom had said �yes� to all the camping equipment, guns, and fishing attire. After all the hard work & care of Goat keeping we should realize some profit over & above the cost of feed. Our �Goat future� can be improved. The Family Goat club headed up by Betty McCorcle is working towards enhancing the goat image through improving the yearly Goat show. Lovely awards, advertising, decorating pens, presenting the Dairy Goat as a beautiful �classy� animal & other innovating ideas. Please feel free to join us. |
| FORM & FUNCTION: The Judge is standing in front of his last four choices for placing. He is rubbing his chin! This is a sure sign of frustration. Every Doe is a beautiful animal; each could be deserving of a first place. He walks over to each Doe & asks the handler if the Doe has had a one-day milk test & or how much she milks? He then reaches down, squirts out some milk takes a �wipe� towel & cleans off the Does orifice, cleans his hands & moves on. This tells him how easy she is to milk. The Doe he picks for the coveted first place is probably the Doe he would take home if he had the choice. Each placing is an honor. He announces his final choice made on his assessment based on the function that the Doe has been bred for! Hooray! It�s worth the few more minuets to preserve the integrity of well-bred Goats. How many breeds of animals do you know that have lost the function they were bred to do? Dogs are a prime example. Collies have bred narrow heads that have compromised the eye with a shallow socket. Pekinese have bred such a flat face & bulging eye that again the socket is compromised & a slight blow can literally pop out the eyeball; a grisly sight indeed, which I was unlucky enough to witness. Some breeds have worshiped angulations & side gait to the extent that the hocks are so let down they �wobble� when gaiting away. A member of my family purchased a German shepherd puppy from some very prestigious show lines. This pup became literally crippled & had to be put down. His x-ray showed good hips but was so angulated & down in the hocks he could not function. Many bird dog breeds have split into two groups; The Show dogs & the Field dogs. Why am I picking on the dog world? Because it is the perfect example of what can go wrong. Also the tremendous popularity of their shows can serve as a model to anyone who would like to be successful in that area. Many breeds have opted to preserve their integrity of function. We can all look at these examples & learn. Fads come & go. First it�s the powerful deep bodied Does able to sustain the rigors of breeding & producing lots of milk & then it�s the extreme Dairy Type with long gazelle like necks, table top backs to the tail. Thin or should I say �skinny� like a New York Model. It might surprise you how that Dairy type doe would look with some weight! Either type can be beautiful but should never be taken to the extreme. Let�s face it; humans tend to take these fads to extreme in the show world. First of all the breeders are the people making these choices & developing these animals. The Registry does not breed or produce the animals. The Registry�s responsibility arrives in well-trained judges in the show rings. These Judges should constantly be taught to recognize these extremes that can slowly lead to weakness. Each �fad� has it�s hey day. Keeping easy high milk production #1 in the show ring assures that not every �Pretty Doe� who is a mediocre or a poor producer will win. Breeders can also �udder up� (that means not milking her for a longer time) a gorgeous show doe so she appears to be a good producer� This is like cheating at solitaire. Common sense tells you that a �milk-out� time should be enforced the night before the show. Standing in a class all by herself the Reg. Dairy Goat should be highly sought after as improver stock & for her milking ability. This takes time & dedication, not fad breeding for show. If this is the way the Dairy Goats continue to go it will cheapen & destruct the Dairy Goat Industry even more. Of all the animals I have bred & shown I have never seen a more acute need in the ranks to focus on what is important to the ongoing welfare of the Dairy Goat. First of all, we need a smooth running Registry & local clubs that know how to function correctly by their own Constitution, Roberts Rule & is timely in its work. Second, education; the clubs need to focus on educating people on the pleasures of owning & enjoying quality Goats. Third, all breeders need to dedicate themselves to breed the finest, most efficient small milking producing animal in the world. Hopefully this will become the goal of all Goat breeders in the future. Kathleen Joy Larsen GOLDEN MOMENTS ALPINES �The home of easy milkers� OROVILLE, CALIF. 95966 (530)-589-2304 |
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