Open Shows all Dairy Breeds of Goats

* (star)  = 18 points or more gained at a milking competition. Subject to the Butterfat % being not less than 3.25 at each milking.

Q* = 20 points or more. Butterfat 4.0% or more at each milking. Milk yield not less than 4.50kg in less than 365 days, or 4.00kg over 365 days.

Female progeny qualifying * or Q*  will have a 1 following while grand daughters have 2.

 Milk Recording Awards. These are placed in front of the goats name.

 R = Milk Recorded. Total yield to be over 1000kg in 365 days.or less. Butterfat not less than 3.00%.  So R107 = 1070kg. R130 = 1300kg.

RM = Register of Merit. The goat and it’s dam must yield not less than     1300kg in a lactation.  Butterfat no less than 3.00%.          

AR =  Advanced Register.

A goat to yield 1600kg or more with butterfat not less than 3.50%.,also the dam must be RM or AR and the sire of the goat must be out of a goat so registered.  

†  = Dagger.  A registered male goat whose dam and sire’s dam both have * or Q* awards.

§  = Section Mark. Registered male goat whose dam and sire’s dam are entitled to R prefix’s.    

§§ =Double Section  Mark. Registered male goat whose dam is RM or AR and whose sire is   .(a) entitled to either Section Marks and (b) out of a dam entered in the Register of Merit or Advanced Register.

SM =Sire of Merit.

A registered male goat who has sired five (or more) daughters gaining either

* – Q*- R – RM or AR awards.  

Championship Awards.

CH = Champion Male goats. To be awarded this he must have won three Challenge Certificates under three different Judge’s. He must also have sired three daughters who have qualified for any combination of the following. * (star), Q* (Q* star), R, RM, AR.

CH for female goats. Three Challenge Certificates under three different Judge’s and must have gained not less than 18 points in the milking competition at the same show. Also she must have won three Inspection-Production Challenge Certificates with a minimum of 18 points in the milking and hold a Q*

Breed Championship Awards.

 BR CH = Breed Champion. A male goat who has won four Breed Challenge certificates under three different Judge’s. He must also have sired a daughter who has qualified for at least one of the following:- *  Q*  R  RM  AR. 

BR CH = for a female goat. Won five Breed Challenge Certificates under three different Judge’s  and have gained not less than 16 points in the milking competition at the same shows. She must qualify for a * or Q*

Inspection – Production Challenge Certificate.

 IPCC  = This is based on the number of points gained in the milking competition and inspection class’s

Compiled by Mrs Franklin

Also a naughty pic of my Buck who snuck into the sunroom off the verandah and made himself at home…

Sarah McDonald
New Zealand

To find out more about this families devotion helping the population to look after their goats and the populations spiritual needs log on to; www.onseepkansmission.com

My youngest boy Willie with our young Sanaan ram. He has grown considerably in size and smell since the photo was taken, and I do not think that Willie is still so eager to hug him!

My daughter Loretta, 12 years old, of all the children, she is the most interested in goat farming and is already involved on a very practical level. When the goats lamb, she assist the young ewes and she also take responsibility to feed and milk the goats over weekends. She has already gained quite a bit of knowledge about medication, breeding practices etc.

My daughter Talitha giving milk to our young Savanna Goat ram called “Hansie”. It means raised by hand

Why milk record officially?  For your own interest; to help you plan your breeding programme by looking for stud goats out of dams with proven milk backgrounds; to help predict the milking potential of your young stock.  Recording shows if your goat has the ability to milk during the winter as well as the summer.  An officially recorded goat which has reached the required standard, is awarded an affix which indicates the highest recorded lactation of that goat, e.g. A goat called R120 Mygoat Rosie, would have produced 1200Kg milk in up to 365 days with a minimum average butterfat of 3%.  If you do not take your goat to shows where there are milking competitions, milk recording allows others to see her milking capabilities.

Getting started; Join a Club or Group and the secretary will help you.  You will be given a recording number for each goat to be recorded, a BGS Milk Recording Manual, sample pots, a “dipper”, with which to take the samples and some paperwork to complete.  Your club will tell you which day to record each month, but you chose the times you milk.  The secretary will ask you to provide the names of three people who are prepared to act as your checkers. The complete milking span is 24 hours and the interval between milkings can be between 10 and 14 hours.  However most people milk at 12 hour intervals.  You will need a set of “milk scales” on which to hang the milk bucket.  The scales are calibrated to zero, so that only the milk is weighed (in kilos).  Milk is not measured in pints or litres as it can be difficult to read, especially if it has a head of froth.  Recording can cover 3 days:-

 Use a separate pot for each goat’s sample.  The following morning you do the same, adding the milk sample to the previous evening’s pot.  In the evening you need to be prepared to have a check visit.  (See above)

Having completed the paperwork, you send it with the samples to the secretary.  If you received a check weigh visit, then the paperwork and check samples are also sent to the secretary.  She/he will collate the information from all the club members, then sends it with the samples to the laboratory for analysis of butterfat and protein.  You will receive you results in due course.

The method of calculation of yield, average butterfat and protein is set out in the BGS Manual.  The secretary is responsible for carrying them out and sending the results to you.  A  lactation commences at kidding and is completed either at 365 days or earlier if the goat is dry.  There must be at least 6, monthly tests.  Yields over 1000Kg  will be published in the British Goat Society Herd Book.  If the average butterfat is a minimum of 3.0%, the goat is awarded an affix. (See above, R120 Mygoat Rosie).  If a subsequent lactation is greater, then the R figure is increased, however it is never lowered. The above is intended to give you a simple introductory explanation of how to milk record.    As with all things, if you are interested, there is more.  To find an affiliated club which runs a milk recording section, go to the British Goat Society website www.allgoats.com .

Goats are good at wasting hay. Pulled from their racks and dropped on to the floor – wasted! We installed our own version of no waste hayracks many years ago and they really do work. The rack is above a box which catches the dropped hay. This then can be collected (I would recommend daily) and reused in another rack. I found over the years there is little point replacing the dropped hay to the above rack again. They seem to know they have been through it once before!

Raised Beds

Sorry no more room on here!!

About three years ago I decided to try ‘raised beds’ in the goats pens. These were made from odd timber we had and the wooden flooring was drilled with large holes to allow the urine to drain through. Sawdust being put on the floor below the beds to absorb this and easy to sweep away when required. Simple, just skip off the dropping once a day. All was just brilliant, then I discovered a wonderful new product. Hippo-Tiles. Made from recycled plastic. I found that five tiles makes a good size bed which will take two milkers with ease. It  was at a show where I met the producer of this produce, she demonstrated the tiles and I knew it was the very thing I needed for the raised beds. We redesigned what we had, raising them higher from the floor (12″+) and still using a little straw on top and sawdust underneath. I would add when laying the tiles on the bed frame do not put them in tightly butted together, leave just a little space in between each thus making it easy to remove the tiles for washing, which they will require from time to time. They can go straight back on the frame as they drip dry in no time. The saving this has made regarding using straw is amazing. The goats love them, warm to touch, non slippery and very strong.

This is soo comfy

HIPPO TILES, Janet Warner, The Tote House, Wilcott, Nr Nesscliffe, Shropshire SY4 1BJ : Telephone 0845 371 0850 mobile 07989159064
www.hippo-tiles.co.uk  e-mail janetwarner@btconnect.com 

Now a days it is not so easy to track down Stud Male Goats to use on your herd if you have not one of your own to use. For a start, there are the health schemes to be considered. Very few breeders will allow non tested CAE goats to go to their stud males. Those on the scrapie scheme can not allow female goats outside of this scheme to visit for mating. All this in conjunction with the DERFA rules.

There is a well known saying in the equine world. “Put the Best to the Best and hope for the Best”, This can be applied to all livestock but what one person considers to be the Best, others could well disagree. So it is your best that is important in this case.

The reasons for breeding from your goats are, to produce milk, improve on what you have and continue the blood lines for the future.

Studying pedigrees is important. Knowing what lines work well with in yours helps. To improve on the dam. I would recommend looking at the dam of the male you are going to use. Is/was she better or as good as your female. This is a good starting point.

If you need help in tracking down male goats at stud in your area let the ANGS know. We will do our very best to help and please remember, we welcome ALL BREEDS of goats and will try our very best to help everyone looking for a Stud Male Goat for this coming breeding season.

You can browse our Stud Male Goats section to find a suitable male or advertise your own on our classified listing pages for all goats.

Caprine Arthritis – Encephalitis (CAE)
C.A.E. is a virus desease of goats which can lie dormant for some time before manifesting itself. It must be stressed that this virus is host specific and does ot affect humans; as yet there is no cure. In adult goats it causes Arthritis and a form of Mastitis: in young kids it causes Encephalitis and sometimes Pneumonia. It is endemic in many parts of the world, but has been kept under control in this country by dedicated goat breeders, and overseen by the British Goat Society and the Scottish Agricultural College, (S.A.C)

C.A.E. Accredited Herds.
This is a herd accredited for C.A.E. who are in the S.A.C. health scheme. In this scheme herds blood test every three years.

C.A.E. Monitored Herds.
This sceme is approved and monitored by the B.G.S. Blood tests are taken biannually. In both of these schemes movement of goats is recorded and monitored strictley.

Private Testing (whole herd).
Here blood testing is carried out annually. To compete at B.G.S. shows goats must be C.A.E. tested negitave using one of these schemes.

All of these above schemes require blood samples to be taken by a vet and are aimed at disease (C.A.E.) eradication.

Scrapie
The Scrapie Monitored scheme is voluntary and is overseen by S.A.C. Your own vet is required to check and sign the paperwork. This scheme needs to be renewed annually.

If exporting you could well require negitave certificates for your herd from both these schemes. Likewise when it comes to finding a stud goat for your females, if the male goat of your choise is in one of these schemes and your goats are not, then you will not be allowed to use him.

Caseous Lymphadentitis (CL)
At present there are no schemes in place for this chronic disease of sheep and goats. It is highly contagious and is characterised by nodules containing a cheesy pus forming in the lymph nodes, lungs, skin or other organs. If a goat developes a body abscess a very close eye should be kept on it. If in doubt always consult a vet.