# Is she good enough for show wethers?



## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Looking at Widow, I think she may be good enough for show wethers. I don't know if they need to be registered, but I can probably find a registered buck without much of a problem.

Basically I'm asking for a good critique. Every fault, every strength. She does have one bad fishtail.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I don't know meat goats well but to me she looks to have a good width and depth.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

I also forgot to add, she still has minor problems with that left rear leg, but it's improved a hundred fold since I first noticed it. Her feet haven't been trimmed since mid-July.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

Shes a cutie! To me, her hip slopes quite a bit, and her topline is swayed. She isnt bad by any means. A Lot of our wether producers have those qualities, and do fine. She is a bit short sided for my taste though.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Yeah, there is no fixing that back. Sometimes it looks smoother, but I'm 99% positive that she's always going to be swaybacked, and that hip isn't helping anything. The width however, ought to improve from what I saw of her siblings and herdmates.

Just curious, exactly what do you mean by short sided? I mean is it loin length, ribcage, or just overall? I'm used to dairy goats, so not real sure what terms belong to what.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

TheMixedBag said:


> Just curious, exactly what do you mean by short sided? I mean is it loin length, ribcage, or just overall? I'm used to dairy goats, so not real sure what terms belong to what.


When i say short sided, i just mean that her body in itself isnt as long as id like to see it.

How old is she?


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Roughly 7 months, I never got an exact date, just what number she was (42). She was born in March, and for a size guide, she's 84lb (weight tape, no extra pounds added to the total), and about 29" from brisket to pins with a 28" heart girth.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

If she's a march kid, that would make her 6 months old. Here's a pic of my 7 month old doe kid that will be one of our top wether producers. She's got a long body, very thick bone, an even top and hip, and MOST IMPORTANT for wethers- muscle. Genetic muscling should be the biggest factor in choosing a wether doe.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Ok yeah, that helps to see where she falls short. If it helps, all of Widow's muscling is natural. No exercise aside from what she does herself, though her feed is 18% protein. Her sire is a tank, her dam is a stocky, very old school style doe.

If her kids don't cut it, she ought to produce nice fat slaughter kids. My half bred show doe ought to be able to throw really nice 75% wethers.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

Lucy hasnt had any exercise either, and her feed is 17%  Genetics play a bigger part in that then food or a good workout. We had a few kids this year who look just like widow, though, and we sold them. Not because we didnt think they'd produce well for us, but because we're at our limit with 17 does, and could only retain two. I think your girl will produce some nice kiddo's for you in the years to come. Just remember that % doesnt matter in the slightest for wethers


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Not a boer person, but I do think she could use more width and muscling. She also seems downhill, her topline could be nicer. I like her legs and depth of body.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

This is from a few weeks ago, but this is what I mean when I say when she can look smoother than I think she really is. I mean, obviously she's still swaybacked, but she does look better here.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I like Widow  I am no judge at conformation or choosing one doe over the other for wether producers. But I will say this, you are putting time and $$ into her, maybe match her up with a buck that might add strength to her weaknesses? 
Sell the kids as possible 4-H Wethers - you could possibly go for kids who can't afford the big, top show quality boers, and just see what happens. You could really be surprised.
Market wethers do not have to be registered, nor do they need to be fullblood either - I have been told most of the top wethers have not been fullbloods <percentage doe with a fullblood buck>. They also don't judge the teats.

BUT...if you go with a registered buck, and she has some nice doe kids, with clean teats, they could be sold as percentage does to be shown in 4-H, or sold as breeding stock.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

I'm still saving up and looking around at what bucks are available. A lot of really nice ones go through the auction, and come spring there ought to be dozens. I'm hoping the new buck I'm adopting is much better than the buck I have now.


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## FaRmEr FrEaK (Jul 7, 2012)

I have done a lot of research lately on boer does and she does have a steep slope, and her back sways a tad but if you are in the show Ring you might want to tickle her tummy when she's standing still and that will raise up her top line a little. You might want to go to the abga website and check out the teat structure chart to see where the fishtail teat would lie as workable none workable, dq, or acceptable e.t.c I defiantly would like to see her open up a little bit but other than those few things I think she nice and I like the width In the back end, when breeding her I would definitely try to find a good buck to breed her to with little to no slope, nice top line, big bone structure, and a wide chested and she might throw you a nice wether !!!! Good luck


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Her teat is an absolute disqualification, no way around it.

The buck she's bred to is not a good match for her at all, but I'm planning on putting most of the kids I get in the freezer anyway, so this cross should be a decent indicator of what she's going to produce without a buck good enough to improve her.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

That's too bad about her teat ... I've heard of Boers with four working teats, and I must say although that would be a disqualification in the dairy world, it sounds wonderful. :laugh:


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

My buck has 3 good teats and one that would likely just be a blind teat.

If I wanted her for something besides a freezer filler and potential wether producer, I would have passed on her, but so long as she can feed her kids I'm not concerned about it. If for some reason she can't feed her kids from that side I may look into getting it surgically fixed.


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