Prominent prosternum bone

Nancy_in_GA · #1 04/30/11, 04:34 PM

I've been looking at appraisal guidelines where a prominent prosternum (breast bone) is a good thing, but this is going overboard isn't it? It looks awful to me.

What is the usefulness of this bone sticking out?

Prominent prosternum bone - Goats

BTW, this is our precocious doe. We managed to dry her up from November through March, but she went back into milk a couple of weeks ago. So she could stand to add some weight, but that bone will still look awful to me.

Heritagefarm · #2 04/30/11, 05:06 PM

I'm no expert, but I've never seen a show goat like that. (I take it you are looking at the linear appraisal guidelines?) I think perhaps there should be more muscling.

dm9960 · #3 04/30/11, 05:18 PM

one of my girls is like that. I have her for milk, no show for her

Laverne · #4 04/30/11, 05:40 PM

Has she had that from an early age? I wonder if she somehow broke it and it didn't heal and grew scar tissue.

Nancy_in_GA · #5 04/30/11, 06:05 PM

As far as I know she's always had it, never been sick or broke anything, but I never noticed it before like this year. We have no intention of showing her. I was thinking of trying to sell her for a family milk goat, and I just wondered if anyone else had a goat like this. Wondering mainly if it would scare someone off, LOL. She does need to put on some weight. We're working on that. Thanks.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #6 05/01/11, 12:48 AM

http://lonesomedoenubians.com/does.htm

Scroll down and look for Good Evening and also Red Dawn, their Granddam (Rock Creek Break of Dawn, there is an older shot of her under Eve's photo and a young show ring photo also) and other Goldthwatie/Sadda influenced goats carry this extension of the brisket. Scrolling further down is Red's daughter Rona, so it's hereitable, and denotes dairy character, which means more milk...and other than one bloodline it certainly means more milk in the line compared to the others even in just my small herd. You can see that it goes straight out from under their body and not up in the air like in the above doe, which makes her look unbalanced. It's a desirable trait in a dairy animal, and seen in many bloodlines of Nubians.