# ADGA Linear Appraisal notes



## pelicanacresMN (Dec 29, 2009)

We had our linear appraisal done by John White a few weeks ago & learned a ton! I thought I'd share some of the notes that were taken during the session. It was such a learning experience! My goats scored 80-89 & could have done better if they were being milked instead of nursing kids so I was very happy with the results. Anyhow, here are the notes: 

***These notes pertain to Nigerian Dwarf goats but you can refer a lot of it to any dairy goat***

Correctness leads to longevity and productiveness, he couldn't stress this enough!

At birth -Literally when the kid's head is presenting in the birth canal look for a broad and deep muzzle with wide nostrils, broad through the jaw in width and depth. Being able to breath well and eat well makes for a long-lived, productive dairy goat.

As the front legs appear look at the length of the cannon bone (the lower leg bone) they should not be short but with the knee facing forward and of close to equal length with the upper leg bone.

These two conformational points were the most important to consider in young animals. He highly stressed that if you do not see correctness of muzzles and cannon bones AT BIRTH then do NOT consider this kid a "keeper" and cull it from your herd.

Look at the sternum pad if it is tipped forward that will create straight ( llllllll example) ribs which are NOT correct. Ribs should angle toward the rear of the goat, note: the last rib will always angle even on straight ribbed animals so feel all the ribs, not just the last one. Flatness of rib is highly desirable and you should be able to lay your finger between the ribs. The sternum should continue to behind the elbow (feel for this).

Topline -shoulder to chine and chine to pins should be three equal in length parts for a BALANCED animal. Looking at a dairy goat's topline from ABOVE starting at the last rib, put your thumb on one side and your index finger on the other and as you run your hand toward the rear of the goat the spine should widen and your fingers be stopped by the hip bones.

Do NOT get rid of the does that look too refined, in Nigerians these will be your most "dairy" does. Seeing prominence at the point of the shoulder can indicate too overly refined, watch for this. Sharp and clean "dairy" does tend to be shallow in the heel and have more spread toes, don't worry about pretty feet, concentrate on that dairy character.

A long topline with a short underline coupled with downhillness in the topline and rump makes udders tilt. The underline or barrel should deepen as you look toward the udder area.

Dorsal Process (tail bone between pin bones and hips) should be level NOT prominent (raised high) in kids. This is an indication of future kidding problems (C-sections!) After does have freshened the dorsal process does not settle back in until 6 weeks fresh.

Width of Rump - Check kids at 10-11 months old. You want at least 5 inch width, preferably 5 1/2 inches. It will be difficult to produce correct rumps without correct loin widening. An excellent length and width of loin will makes udders well extended beneath does

If you can fix the sternums, proportioning of length in top line and loins this will FIX a lot of other problems.

Meatiness happens to udders when does are nursing kids but texture will improve with complete filling and emptying of udder by removing kids and hand milking.


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

Very interesting info. Thanks for sharing! :thumbup:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

^^Exactly what I was going to say! Thanks for posting that Karen!!


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## Lawanda (Jun 11, 2009)

I always wondered why they were supposed to be "downhill"! Very interesting info. Although it makes me feel so uneducated


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for posting this, makes me really wish I could take notes during my session  Eric Jermain pretty much said the exact same things though about confirmation, its so interesting


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## ChestnutGrove (Apr 30, 2009)

What a smart idea to take notes! A lot of great tips - thank you for sharing them!


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