# Need advice and tips new wethers



## jcarr492 (May 3, 2011)

Kids are showing two wethers in October for our fair. Goats were born in January and February. One is at 75lbs already and the other is at 66. They have to be tween 75-135 the day of show at the fair in October. These are some good looking wethers I think. My kids have been outside with them for around 20 min each evening letting them get used to them. They finally got them on leads today. But they have questions and I can't answer them. No one around us will respond to us or let us go over because of competition I guess. Can someone PLEASE help us with advice on training and working them? They are boer wethers. 

How often should they be working with the goats?
How long should they be working with them each time?
When working with them...what EXACTLY should they be working on, doing?
Since their first progress show is June 27th, what do they need to concentrate on?
How do they start training to brace with the goats? And when they are brace training, how long and how often do they work on it?

They are feeding them the feed the breeder sent home with them right now. Ful-O-pep Excel. We've used N-Timidator in the past though. Do we keep them on this feed or should we switch to something else?

Thank you for any and all advice you can give my kids so they can try their best. It's my daughters last two years of high school and she's wanting to place the best she can.


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## Brink4 (Apr 29, 2013)

First you need to determine your ADG for both wethers, that will help you with feeding strategies. The 76 pound wether if he continues to gain at that increased weight may go over the weight limits so it will be important for them to continue to monitor ADG. 

I am not familiar with the feed you are currently using. We ourselves use Purina HSC impulse and we use the High Octane top dress's depending on what we are trying to accomplish. (visit their website and they have helpful feeding strategies). Remember if you choose to change feeds this needs to be done SLOWLY, as to not throw the goats system off. 

Exercise- we usually start exercising after they reach the 60-65 pound weight limit. We run them hard to a certain spot on our property then we walk them back with their head held high. This is done about 4-5 times and then on the last time we run them both down and back to the starting point. This is done in the morning. In the evening we use a chariot to exercise them. We do 2 days on 1 day off to allow recovery time. Remember short INTENSE work outs are better then endurance type work outs.


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## jcarr492 (May 3, 2011)

How do I help my kids figure out the ADG on their goats? I guess it would have to do something with weighing them daily? I tried googling, but didn't really find a step by step.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Average daily gain is _current weight - birth weight / number of days since birth. _

As a kid ages, their ADG will go down, so the ADG at 4 months is not going to be the same as 9 months. I think the best solution is to weigh the wethers often to see where they are at, since they are already pretty big. I would rather be feeding the heck out of them the last month before fair than starving them the last couple of weeks to get them under 135lbs. Which would mean (for me) that I would hold off feeding all the hot show feed until you are closer to the show. Otherwise, you might have a big fat "overdone" wether for fair, or possibly even a wether that is too big for the show.


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## Brink4 (Apr 29, 2013)

Agree....it is definitely easier to hold them back now rather cut way back later with the feed. It would be more stressful on both you and the goat. No matter what feed you feed make sure the protein content is at least 16%. If monitoring ADG you do it every couple weeks because as was already said it will start to decrease. If you have scales use them and if not a tape can be used if done properly results can be close. 
Check with your local extension office and see if there are any upcoming clinics you maybe able to attend.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'd have your kids mess with them every day, maybe have a day or two off. That means just walking them around on a halter or show collar, playing, etc. outside of a working routine.
We are no pro's with wethers, but do the best with what we have to work with/budget I have to spend. 
We don't have a lot of land, and a chariot, so a friend gave my kids a treadmill this year, and that has been working out very well. We're working on getting them to do treadmill in the mornings, and hand exercising in the evenings.

As soon as the goats are walking decently for them, that's when I'd start having them brace. No pro's here at bracing, it's the one thing non of my kids like doing. My youngest daughter is 8 and her goat is already very big, so it's hard for her to brace him, he does very well for her but can knock her down if she isn't careful.

I'd have your kids do practice shows with you, pretend you are the judge. Make sure they are keeping the goat between them & the judge at all times, and when setting up their goat, make sure they set up the side nearest the judge first. So if they are standing on the right side of their goat & judge is on the left side - have them set up the front & back feet on the left side first, then do the right side.

Depending on how old they are, they'll need to learn information for showmanship. check out the showmanship topic on questions here in the 4-H section 
Make sure they know exactly what their goats are eating & place most important ones first. <Water, mineral, grain....>

BTW, I am so sorry no one is willing to help, that is just sad. When my kids first got into showing goats in 4-H there was nobody to teach them, so they've had to learn everything on their own. Youtube has been a big help as well as asking questions on here


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Brink4 said:


> First you need to determine your ADG for both wethers, that will help you with feeding strategies. The 76 pound wether if he continues to gain at that increased weight may go over the weight limits so it will be important for them to continue to monitor ADG.
> 
> I am not familiar with the feed you are currently using. We ourselves use Purina HSC impulse and we use the High Octane top dress's depending on what we are trying to accomplish. (visit their website and they have helpful feeding strategies). Remember if you choose to change feeds this needs to be done SLOWLY, as to not throw the goats system off.
> 
> Exercise- we usually start exercising after they reach the 60-65 pound weight limit. We run them hard to a certain spot on our property then we walk them back with their head held high. This is done about 4-5 times and then on the last time we run them both down and back to the starting point. This is done in the morning. In the evening we use a chariot to exercise them. We do 2 days on 1 day off to allow recovery time. Remember short INTENSE work outs are better then endurance type work outs.


How in the world do you get your wethers to walk with their head held high? My kids goats fight, choke, spit, sputter and act like they are knocking on death's door if they try to get their heads up with the show chain on  It's so frustrating, and I am just not sure how to help them. They set up fine & will generally hold their head up, but not when walking.

My son still has a lot of trouble getting his wether to brace, I call him a super lazy wether, but IMO my son needs to put a lot more effort into it. I think one day I will take video of them bracing so they can see what I am seeing. 
When my kids brace I want to see all 4 feet on the ground, but for some reason this year my son keeps lifting the front feet off the ground, and the goat just doesn't look like he is pushing. He's tried backing him off of things, and backing him into the fence. My son has 'soft hands' for his goats, and last year a few judges told him he needed to be firmer. He says it's mean lol - he's 14.


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## Brink4 (Apr 29, 2013)

HoosierShadow said:


> How in the world do you get your wethers to walk with their head held high? My kids goats fight, choke, spit, sputter and act like they are knocking on death's door if they try to get their heads up with the show chain on  It's so frustrating, and I am just not sure how to help them. They set up fine & will generally hold their head up, but not when walking.
> 
> My son still has a lot of trouble getting his wether to brace, I call him a super lazy wether, but IMO my son needs to put a lot more effort into it. I think one day I will take video of them bracing so they can see what I am seeing.
> When my kids brace I want to see all 4 feet on the ground, but for some reason this year my son keeps lifting the front feet off the ground, and the goat just doesn't look like he is pushing. He's tried backing him off of things, and backing him into the fence. My son has 'soft hands' for his goats, and last year a few judges told him he needed to be firmer. He says it's mean lol - he's 14.


We start first by getting them use to the choker. Putting it on and standing with them. Head held as high as they can (this can take some muscle as the will pull and refuse to lift it) but stand and lift head as high as they can with choker collar and hold position then release/give them some slack then repeat. Eventually they will be use to this position and holding head high and they will walk with it like this.


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## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

jcarr492 said:


> Kids are showing two wethers in October for our fair. Goats were born in January and February. One is at 75lbs already and the other is at 66. They have to be tween 75-135 the day of show at the fair in October. These are some good looking wethers I think. My kids have been outside with them for around 20 min each evening letting them get used to them. They finally got them on leads today. But they have questions and I can't answer them. No one around us will respond to us or let us go over because of competition I guess. Can someone PLEASE help us with advice on training and working them? They are boer wethers.
> 
> How often should they be working with the goats?
> How long should they be working with them each time?
> ...


so i raise/breed show wethers and what i’m seeing in a bunch of wethers is not enough butt. i’ve had that problem in the past but i’ve been able to fix it. so when you feed grain have him up on a cinder block for a few months and the last month before fair take him off thay and run him hardcore, twice a day for about 5 minutes or until panting real hard. brace him a whole lot so he can put that pressure on the back end and also more practice/training as well. have an area/pasture where he can jump over things. you want to get as much fat on him as possible and the turn that into muscle. run him every other day so that way he has rest days. saturday and sundays walk him a couple times a day maybe a mile or so each walk. those are extra rest days for walking and training, no running on that. also have him pull a tire, start off slow and get him used to it, there a ton of videos online that help with that. once you see him pulling super easily on the tire go to a bigger tire and have him pull that. walk/run him up hills as well if possible if not do sprints on straightaways. you want to train him like a runner so hardcore sprints and no jogging. you don’t want to push him to to hard where no muscle is going to build. also as a reminder when you start training/workin him out more you need to up his feed. if your feeding lets say 5 pounds a day, up that to 6 pounds a day so 3 pounds/feeding. this is up to you for working out. but you need to increase his grain rate if your gonna be working him harder. also be feeding him a handful of alfalfa a day. not to much but not to little, that’ll help with protein as well! i hope this helps and if you have any questions regarding this, let me know!


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## jcarr492 (May 3, 2011)

Wild Bug Ranch said:


> so i raise/breed show wethers and what i’m seeing in a bunch of wethers is not enough butt. i’ve had that problem in the past but i’ve been able to fix it. so when you feed grain have him up on a cinder block for a few months and the last month before fair take him off thay and run him hardcore, twice a day for about 5 minutes or until panting real hard. brace him a whole lot so he can put that pressure on the back end and also more practice/training as well. have an area/pasture where he can jump over things. you want to get as much fat on him as possible and the turn that into muscle. run him every other day so that way he has rest days. saturday and sundays walk him a couple times a day maybe a mile or so each walk. those are extra rest days for walking and training, no running on that. also have him pull a tire, start off slow and get him used to it, there a ton of videos online that help with that. once you see him pulling super easily on the tire go to a bigger tire and have him pull that. walk/run him up hills as well if possible if not do sprints on straightaways. you want to train him like a runner so hardcore sprints and no jogging. you don’t want to push him to to hard where no muscle is going to build. also as a reminder when you start training/workin him out more you need to up his feed. if your feeding lets say 5 pounds a day, up that to 6 pounds a day so 3 pounds/feeding. this is up to you for working out. but you need to increase his grain rate if your gonna be working him harder. also be feeding him a handful of alfalfa a day. not to much but not to little, that’ll help with protein as well! i hope this helps and if you have any questions regarding this, let me know!


I was the OP on this many years ago in 2015. Since then my girls have graduated and this will be my sons last year to show. He was Reserve Grand last year and won two showmanships last year and one so far this year. Boy have we learned so much since 2015. First and foremost was getting my son into goat showmanship camps. They are usually weekend long camps and have helped TREMENDOUSLY since he started attending in 2017. Second was not only finding a breeder that breeds top notch show wethers and does, but having a consultant that is there for us through the whole show season to check our goats once a month in person and we send weekly videos of our show goats to in set up position and also bracing and walking. Keeping the hooves trimmed biweekly is important too. We stopped using the cinder block method 3 years ago. That is no longer pushed around here as it puts undue stress on them while eating and just isn't a full proof method that works, expecially if show genetics isn't there. We stopped with the areas in the pen for them to jump around on because from the time we bring them home, they go straight into a 5x10 pen(one per pen) and thats where they stay except when taken out daily for a walk and practice bracing on. Other than that, no working them until they have enough fat cover and over 80lbs for sure. They are basically fed, drenched and stay in their pens only to gain fat cover over the next few months. Our current wether is 82lbs, Feb born, and is almost ready to start working because he's put on a good amount of fat cover. We'll get the go ahead or not just yet to start working hopefully after our visit to our consultant tomorrow evening. Also, if your show goat is having problems bracing or holding a brace, don't hesitate to see a chiropractor for them! We had never heard of that, but ours needed one this week because for last two weeks he kept breaking his brace, tightening his neck and dropping his front legs and chest toward the ground. Chiropractor said his neck and right shoulder were out of whack and shoulder was higher than the left side. Adjusted him and he looks normal again. Amazing. When we start running him, it will be on a treadmill starting at 3 minutes and building up to 5 -10 min til panting heavy and only every other day. This method has worked for us the last three years.


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