# What goat to get and when



## bradgoats (Apr 22, 2015)

My daughter will be able to show her goats in 4-h next year, she currently has a nice nubian buck and a two year old doe, we would like to get some more goats but all I can find in the area are lamancha dealings or nubian Boer cross doelings neither of which is registered, should we wait or would it be good to have one of these doelings as a year-long at next year's fair?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would say decide what your goal is to having goats. Also makes a difference if goats are required to be registered for the 4H shows. Does your daughter need a goat for showing or can she show what she has?


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I'd wait. See if you get a doe kid. You'll want registered to show.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

We show 4-H dairy goats. They do have to be registered (at least they do in Maine). Although one fair last year did open up a class for unregistered goats.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

To show in ADGA and I'm assuming in 4H you can't cross a standard dairy goat with a meat or miniature breed so don't get the boer Nubian cross.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I'd search around more. Meat and miniature breed crosses are not allowed in Dairy shows, nor are they allowed to be recorded/registered with ADGA or AGS. Can you ask the 4H leader if they have any suggestions for breeders?


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I would wait. Doe availabilty sometimes opens up in the fall. I have two that I am considering selling just to keep numbers down going into winter. Hate to part with them, but need to keep it small! Others I know do the same after re-evaluating their buck(s)/does and goals for the next season.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I would wait too but wanted to add they don't have to be registered at the fair we have. And actually there is no class for registered. There is simply X age dairy and X age meat so look into your fair before you pay extra for papers. Now I still voted wait because if you get a doe with say boer in her it's going to look boer to a point and probably will show in her udder as well. My goodness I'm sure someone would have a stroke if you showed up with a 4 teated dairy goat lol but find out what's up at your fair since papers usually mean more money and there are very nice cross dairy does out there


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

You can get a registered cross (recorded grade or experimental). They can be very nice and you don't have to show against the people that have been breeding for 40+ years. So you don't have to go purebred per se just no mini or boer mixed in.

Check your local rules of course to see if that is true.


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## bradgoats (Apr 22, 2015)

I found out that we do not have to be registered to show in 4-h and they have meat classes and dairy classes but dairy/meat crosses show in the meat classes...we use our nubian for dairy but want to add some better foragers for brush eating, we have bought her a Boer doe that we plan to breed to our nubian and whether any bucklings, has anyone had success with dairy/meat crosses in the whether division?


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Look at how competition is this year. If they are showing fairly high quality, you may not do well, especially if kids tend to exhibit more dairy characteristics. The boer/nubian crosses do well at market though.


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