questions about taking goats to the fair(need fast responses please)

[myrandaandkids]

i have never done this before, so i need some help, the county fair is in a week and a half, and i was so excited i sighned up with out knowing what to do first, i am showing my milking saanen and her yearling daughter, also my nubian doeling, and my yearling carmel pygmy doe, none of these are registered because i do not know how to do that, my first question is how do you register a goat who has never been registered?,(i realize this probly wont happen before the fair), next what are the judges looking for?,also my yearling saanen is skiddish, is that going to cause a problem? my milker had a bad reaction to the sandfly attack this year, her utter has healed, but is very dry and rough, will this be a problem? what do i need to know about showing pygmys? are there any specific markings or temperment they are looking for?my nubian doeling has a very oily coat is there a remedy for this, will the judges have a problem with this? ooohhh i realy got in over my head this time!!! all this because of a challenge from another farmer who said he wouldnt be caught dead taking sorry stock like mine to show, this occured when he came to buy milk from me and caught me playing fetch and doing tricks with my nubian doeling and leash training my saanen buckling, i didnt even notice him for over an hour while the goats and i played, it wasnt untill he saw my pygmys jumping through and innertube that he starting laughing profusly and i was emarrassed, then he said i better realize real quick that these are just stupid goats not dogs and if i didnt figure that out soon id be sorely disappointed, when i told hm i enjoyed it and was proud of them he said we belonged in a freak circus,i said a show ring maybe....he said what i already told you he said and i said wanna make a bet? he said i dare ya to show up with this pitiful excuse for a herd, i said i will, so here i am going omg what do i do now, i know nothing about showing, but i already sighned up and may as well do the best i can while im there, please help. sometimes when callenged my pride gets the better of me

[AnnaS]

Hi myra,

If the parents of your goats are registered and you can get the paperwork from the owners, you can register yours. Otherwise, you can do a "Native on Appearance" where a ADGA member looks at your goats and signs the registration application that they look like a Nubian, Saanen etc. Then they can be shown in the Recorded Grade classes. In order to get the papers done for fair time, you'd need to do a rush where you pay $17 each plus overnight mail to ADGA, comes to about $40. Your fair may not require registration papers. What they WILL require is a scrapie ID letter. You will need to call the MN BAH to get one (651-296-2942, ext 30, ask for Lindsay) and then get your goats tatooed for ID.

The judges are looking for an udder that looks likes 3/4 of a basketball with 1/3 each behind and before the hind leg. Level topline, straight forelegs, well anglulated hind legs that are far apart at hocks, a wide deep body, ... so many things. Go to the ADGA website www.adga.org, go under "Shows & Sales" and look at the National winners. Also look at the judging scorecard. But knowing that your goats have what the judges want can take years of looking at goats! Your library might have "Dairy Goat Judging Techniques" they can get it via interlibrary loan.

If any animal is skittish when the judge is examining her, it is polite to put your knee in front of the goat's chest or even lift a front leg to restrain her. He/she will need to look at the udder and teats. You might want to give her some valerian (herb) the night before the show. Bad behavior doesn't count against a goat but if she (for instance) lies down and won't get up, or goes around the ring on her hind legs, the judge just won't be able to see her structure well enough to judge her. If you get a chance to see Nigerian Dwarfs being shown, you'll see how little behavior matters...

The rough udder might count against her. Use some bag balm or other softening lotion.
No special markings or temperment. They will need to conform to their breed standard (ie no spots on a Saanen, Nubian ears must hang down) but the udder and body structure are the important things.

If you can get some clippers, do full body clips, or at least trim the long hair from the belly and legs and around the udder. Ideally the body is clipped with a #10 and the udder with a #30 or you can CAREFULLY shave the udder with shaving cream and razor. Don't use Nair! Baths are not necessary. You could give the greasy Nubian a bath in warm water with people shampoo to get the grease out. Milk them out about 12-14 hours before your class will start so they will have full udders in the show ring. Make sure the hooves are trimmed and cleaned of manure.

Showing is not hard! You will need show collars. Most people use dog choke chains and hold both ends of the chain so as not to choke. Lead the goat slowly (think bride coming down the aisle) and keep her between you and the judge. If you have to switch sides, step in front of the goat and switch hands on the collar. When you pose her, you want her hind legs to be straight down from where her tail joins her rump and wide apart. (Again refer to the National Ch pix) Push on the front of the chest where the front leg joins to move a hind leg. Pushing on the RIGHT side moves the LEFT hind leg and vice versa. Then put her front legs so they go straight down under her withers. Scratch her on the back in front of the hips to level the topline. Practice for two or three minutes a day- they will learn fast, especially since you have been training them.

When you get to the fair, ask a 4-Her to give you a quick lesson in showmanship. Watch what the other exhibitors are doing. Stay close to the ring- being late for your class is rude! BUT you really can't show her so badly it will count against her. A dairy goat judge doesn't need to have an animal posed to see what she looks like.

Some fairs will have the cow judge or a goat breeder judge. A dairy goat judge has to give reasons he/she made the placings. Even if you are last place, she will find something that is nice about your animal!

Your neighbor is a jerk. How you do at the fair will not change the fact that he is a doo doo head.

Which fair is this, if I may ask?

[ForMyACDs]

Originally Posted by AnnaS

If you can get some clippers, do full body clips, or at least trim the long hair from the belly and legs and around the udder. Ideally the body is clipped with a #30 and the udder with a #10 or you can CAREFULLY shave the udder with shaving cream and razor.

Oops, you may not want to do this.......a body should never be trimmed with anything shorter than a #10 tho' udders can be clipped with a #30, #40 or #50 blade. (I think Anna just flip-flopped her numbers). The higher the blade number the shorter the cut.

[Dee]

Don't forget to be nicely dressed yourself... no ripped jeans, stained t-shirt, etc. Even though your goat is being judged, you also reflect.

Also, VERY IMPORTANT, have fun!!! That's what fairs are for!

[myrandaandkids]

thank you all so very much, and this is the st.louis county fair

[rootsandwings]

At our fair the pygmys did not get clipped. I'm pretty sure they don't get clipped. the other's do though. Shows off the lines better.

[AnnaS]

Thanks for catching that ACD! Must have been the manure fumes from cleaning out the barn yesterday....

Myra, I grew up outside Hibbing so I've shown at that fair in 4H many many times! I bet you will do great!

[moonspinner]

Anna, I think that was the best short version of how to dairy goat showing I've read. Nicely done!

[goatkid]

How you pose your doe shouldn't count against her, but it can. After one show, a judge who is also a rather well known Nubian breeder commented to me that I have nice Nubians and they would have placed better in her ring if I had done a better job of showing them. I kept my mouth shut because it is poor etiquette to argue with the judge, but then was rather surprised by a later experience. I was at Convention and offered to help handle goats for the judge's training. We were told not to pose our goats because the judges were to judge the animals on their own merit. I think this is how it should be except in the showmanship class.
If your'e looking at how to show a goat, watching the showmanship classes can be very helpful.
Other suggestions: bring your own feed even if you're travelling to a show. Changing everything can add to your goats' stress. Bring baking soda and probios for tummy upsets. I always bring those moist towlettes to clean any mess that gets on the goat before she goes in the ring. Make sure to have the means to milk them after they are judged. You don't want to haul them home with over full udders. If the water had chlorine, we add a little apple juice to their water buckets to keep them drinking.

[ForMyACDs]

Originally Posted by goatkid

How you pose your doe shouldn't count against her, but it can. After one show, a judge who is also a rather well known Nubian breeder commented to me that I have nice Nubians and they would have placed better in her ring if I had done a better job of showing them. I kept my mouth shut because it is poor etiquette to argue with the judge, but then was rather surprised by a later experience.

An animal shown poorly unfortunately can appear to have faults that they may not actually have (dip in chine, posty legged, or cow hocked etc). You don't necessarily get points for how you showed your animal......the animal is still judged on its merits, BUT you want to show your animal in the best light so that any faults they may have (and every goat has them) will be less obvious and the good characteristics of the animal are apparent.

Just this last week there was a lady stalled near us at the national show. She lamented the fact that her goats didn't place even tho' they "stood still and behaved SO well". What she was not realizing is this wasn't showmanship she was competing in and how well behaved her goats were did nothing for placement.......especially when there were some INCREDIBLE animals that were excused from the class to cut down to the final 20-25 for final judging. This particular herd didn't have anything that would have come close to being competitive in the ring at the National kevel.......of course, neither do I (yet) so that is why I didn't bring any of my animals to this show (I know my limitations).