# Nervous about show...



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

This will be my first doe show... I'm nervous I'll mess up! We are leaving for a four hour drive to get there today. It's a two day show. I only have one doe who has a really nice udder right now, but she won't fill completely! I didn't milk her last night to see how she'd fill in 24 hours and I'm very disappointed. I know she has it as she was filling tight for me just a week ago, so I don't know whats going on now. I've been milking her all the way out twice a day. So this morning I milked her halfway. I don't know if this is a good choice or not. I figured if I milked her only halfway maybe it would stimulate her to fill all the way by tomorrow morning...but it might just tell her to not fill since the milk she already made isn't being used????

In any case, she is also limping because I accidentally cut her hoof when I was trimming her. So now I'm afraid I'll get kicked out of the ring for bringing a limping doe in even though its pretty superficial. I've been practicing with them for weeks but none of them want to stay posed and fidget. At least they walk for me. Lol. The other doe in milk is a FF whose udder isn't as good as it was at two weeks fresh (she is 7 weeks now) because she only had twins and I didn't milk her at all, but her udder still has a very nice shape. The third is a dry yearling, so at least I don't have to worry about a freaking udder on her!

MAN, I have the hardest time keeping udders in show shape! They all look amazing at two weeks fresh with a 12 hour fill and then four weeks later I want to go to a show and have been religiously milking...try to let them fill, and am disappointed in their reduced capacity. Leh sigh. And $80 in show fees, a 4 hour drive both ways and two nights in a hotel is expensive if I'm going to suck.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

the capacity issue could be from the fact that at 2 weeks they still have a bit of edema and once that goes down their capacity seems to reduce itself. 

have you noticed a change in the output of milk?

Just fill them longer to get a good full udder. As long as their isnt a preshow milk out (like the day before) then most people will fill for as long as needed. 

since its a two day show -- milk out all the way after the first show and then dont milk out again and let her fill up til the following morning.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Have fun! You will learn a lot and hopefully do great!!!


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Good Luck at the show. The best thing to do is just try to listen to the judge and have a great time.

As for the clipping the foot, I have learned years ago, to trim the feet about a week or so before the show incase you clip to short. Never fails, when I wait to do it at a show, the will pull out of my hand I will quack them. I just use a rasp to clean them up before the show.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Could have strangled dh right before a show one yr he took too much off but the next day he was back to normal.
Yes just get on out there & have fun!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree...have fun with it.... it is a learning experience and watch what the others do and listen to the judge...you will do just fine ...I have faith in you.... :thumb: :hi5:


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks guys! Got to the show an hour and a half after the show info said pens would be ready...no one in charge of the show there, and I didn't pre-enter. Couldn't figure out what to do, but the woman showed up finally and that was taken care of easily. However, my yearling doe just walks right out of the pen through the bars....wasn't aware the pens would be unsuitable for small Nigis (and not suitable for ANY type of kid even though there is a JR show with kid classes....) Was told I should just go to a hardware store around here and buy some netting to put up. I was irritated...I mean, I wish they would have said something in the show info about the pens. Other farms had neat tarps with hooks and other devices for the pens from past experience. I guess the people putting on this show just assume you should have these things? 

Felt awful as soon as I saw that another farm was there that is a big time Nigi farm in Oregon. Their does look SO nice. Awfully big for Nigis, look over the height. BUT, look like COWS! Huge, very deep bodied, enormous udders. And they are the only Nigi people who had showed up by 7 and I didn't see many more people written down on the pen sheet. So if they are my only competition I can expect to be at the bottom of all the classes. Le sigh. I'm thinking I'm dumb. I brought a FF, one senior doe and a dry yearling to show...drove all this way and paid pretty large fees and had to get a hotel room. My FF looks like a freak. Since I first shaved her the hair hasn't grown back well and she has horrible dandruffy skin. Have been putting lotion on her and what not, but she looks like a mutant. I should have listened and skipped this show and went to the one in Roseburg since I'm still new to the show ring! Oh well, I still intend to have a lot of fun and learn! Already love the way some of the people with standard sized goats made ingenious hay racks with snipped panels and zip ties.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Sorry to hear its not a great start not being set up right. 
It will be a great experience any which way. 
Who knows just because they are a big time breeder/farm doesn't mean you won't do good. :thumbup: 

I saw at a show I stopped at last weekend that the pens wouldn't all hold in Nigi kids some would. I thought that one of those puppy play pens on the inside like some people had would work well. Maybe for next time in case the pens at the other show are the same.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

My kids are doing 4-H for the first time, and we're learning all of this stuff too. They are showing young does as breeding does, and trust me our does are not top of the line...but this is the first year, and it's a learning experience.
Your there, gain some experience, have fun, keep your head up and I'm sure you'll be just fine


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Dont knock yourself. You simply didnt know about the pen situation. As for the big time Nigi breeder compared to yours, folks will be watching your goats as well. I have had people contact me after a show wanting buck service or to buy goats and we dont have fancy stuff to strut or big banners. Nor do we have great clippers yet.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

big breeder doesnt mean they will win. A good judge can see through a bad clip job and should feel the animal anyway.

Good luck today - hope you are having a good time despite the bad start 

yes the dog Xpens are great. I had to use them when my juniors were getting out :roll:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Good luck...don't be intimidated....you'll do great! :thumb:


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Dead last every time in the senior show. Honestly though, I don't know why I brought Jolie. I thought she was coming out of her weird growth thing and had gained weight...but then I had to fix her clip job and ended up going all the way to the skin like a dork...literally 10 minutes before we left. Got there and she looked awful, really sucked up from driving all that way and not eating any hay. Didn't eat much overnight and looked so very thin...plus she looked bald and her skin is super dry so she had gross flaky skin. Looked like a disease. I tried brushing out as much as I could and putting lotion on her but it looked even worse. I was in such a rush to clip when I left I did a horrid hack-job and forgot to pack the clippers. She also didn't fill well and had a virtually non-existent udder while everyone else's looked great. 

Dakota looked great, stood and walked wonderfully and overall behaved great. Her udder filled completely and really nicely but was still smaller than what it once was because my milking hasn't been consistent enough with her. Just couldn't compete with the udders out there. She was also a lot more narrow and shallow bodied than anyone else at the show. They were ENORMOUS, both their udders and their body capacity! Some of the does were leaking with every step. One sneezed and shot milk like little rockets. I almost laughed out loud but caught myself....sneezing milk rockets apparently amuse me. So although I think I will probably sell Dakota (because I really want to compete on as high a level as I can afford, and Dakota is county fair good, but not excellent competition good), I was still very happy with her. She will make someone a nice brood doe, is a tremendous milker, and would probably show very well at lower level competition. If I don't sell her by my own county fair I will take her and see how she does.

I DID sell a doe kid there, to Goatsong from the forum. Congrats on her! And beautiful skirt BTW!

AND, the best part about the whole show.... my dry yearling did really well! She behaved amazingly, which I wasn't expecting based on her ridiculous fidgeting during our practices. I think being in the ring with the others put her at ease. She placed 6th in one ring and 9th in the other in a huge class... I think 17-20. And with the nice farms there and the high quality I was very, very pleased. She is a cross of Piddlin Acres and Pholia Farms. The whole show was worth it just for that.  All the does in front of her were quite a bit larger and more mature...she is 14 months old and the size of a normal 10 month old. She is the one I got in October who was very, very stunted looking and seemed malnutritioned (probably from being low man on the totem pole in the farm's kid group.) So its a big win for me.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

:hi5: Thats great that your little girl did so well!
And you sold the doeling. :thumb: 
I bet it all was neat; I can't wait to enter my first show.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Always remember this.... :hug: 

Even if.. we don't do well at a show... doesn't mean.. that your goats aren't nice....some judges are partial to a certain look and their own preference.. that they ignore the fact ...that their are rules to a breed standards.... and should abide by them.. but they do not.. :roll: ....don't blame yourself on the clip job...as we all have been there...... with time and more shows under your belt... it gets easier..... :wink: 

Also... it is a good idea to know... what judge will be at the show judging...if you know what he or she judges...or their likes...for example: in the boer world ...say you are showing a breeding class buck...but you see that the judge going to be there... has been to wether judge only....until this show....if that judge is judging that breeding class ...with a big brisket buck.. he isn't going to place well... because that judge has wether on the brain... that is what they know....and the long lean type not the meaty ones ...with good muscle and a big brisket type won't fair well at that show....... :wink: This happened to me.... :doh: :help: 
By Knowing your judge....then you know.. if you will have a good chance with the reputation.... of how that judges handles and judges goats.... 
Keep your head up...there is a next time... :hi5: :hug:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

congrats on your first show -- you got the jitters away and you know what to expect now. ITs all a learning experience. 

Some goats are just not high competition does and you are just starting out in the show scene. Ive been that last goat and Ive also taken that last goat to 2nd place and almost first (thanks a lot Ashley   oh well Cloudy was better anyway) so each freshening can make a difference PLUS the goat gets more use to showing and filling while on the road as they get use to the routine of shows. 

Congrats on the placing for your junior doe.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Congrats on that doe & selling one!


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks guys. The advice and support really helps when I'm feeling unsure about myself and my animals. This was a big show, I think there were 37 senior does. I got to see some top quality animals and have some ideas about what I want to move towards. Luckily, the does I have reserved all move me towards that goal. I can see what the judges mean about Dakota simply lacking in strength. She is narrow bodied, and that always bothered me, but she has nice general structure and beautiful legs. Her udder is big for her size and very well formed with great attachements, but they noted she just doesn't have the body capacity to go with it...which is true, and that her front end assembly is weak, which is also true. So with the input, I'm able to make decisions to better my herd. I plan to sell her and Jolie (who I was planning to sell anyways) and her buck kid I kept from last year, and I think I'm going to be buying a buck kid out of a doe who just took a grand champion at the show.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

That is awesome. It gets better the more you show. The goats know when you are nervous and they will pick up on that. 
As for the stall situation. I hate to say it but yes it is hard tO know what to bring. It is great to have someone to help you along and help know what you will need. It is really hard fo them to know what to tell everyone and they expect you o know.


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## Bellafire Farm (Jan 5, 2010)

Only have a second.... totally missed you at the show  
Asked Anna if she had met you there on Saturday, but she said she didn't think so?? I thought maybe you had changed you're mind & decided on Roseburg instead. So bummed we missed eachother! 

You are very right about the size of the Nigi classes and the competition...this was BY FAR the most competitive show I have ever been to in 4 years!!!! UNREAL TOUGH COMPETITION!!!

I don't think I saw your doe's ??? But I KNOW from the reservations you've mentioned that you should be making a great step in the right direction with Anna's kid (From Glenda) and with your Peggy Sue girl. They should be wonderful additions for a great little show herd! 

I'm SO BUMMED that I didn't get to meet you :-( I even said so to Anna and Kaylee and they said I should have grabbed the microphone and hollered out for Robyn!!! LOL!! Now I'm thinking maybe I should have... :sigh: 'cause I'd have loved to have met you there. :greengrin: My daugther and I were helping Kaylee and Anna show (Sat & Sun). And there were SO many wonderful Nigi breeders there I could have helped introduce you to! I hope you got to meet Gianaclis from Pholia Farm too.... she's a wonderful lady. 

Well I'll chat again soon.... more pics if the weather stays nice... we'll probably be clipping tomorrow in hopes ( :roll: ) of making the Roseburg show.


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