# IDGR vs ADGA w/ MDGA or TMGR



## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

I'm sure this has been asked before, but who should I register with if I'm to pick one? In dealing with both (asking simple questions) ADGA has been very 'short' with me and IDGR was very patient and nice with me as a newbie.

We'd like to breed Mini's but we have full size goats now. ADGA does not register mini's and IDGR does. If I register my big girls with ADGA I would need a seperate registry with either MDGA or TMGR... then it's a question of which of those two! 

We'd like to be able to sell registered and pet goats and show mini goats someday (for my *human* kids to have fun). (are there any mini goat shows?)

Thank you for any help/advice!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Do you have any shows in your area? If you do, I would go with that registry. Also is there one that is most popular around you? That might be the best one to go with.


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

We're only interested in shows for our little girl but the only show around is an ADGA 2 hours away. And they told me they don't register nor plan to register Mini breeds. ADGA has an awesome website and directory, but their 'customer service' was not very awesome... I don't know how else to nicely say it. I contacted them 3 times with questions and each time the person replying was abrupt.

One of our girls was registered with TMGR. I have no idea if they have shows in our area because they are located in California and their website has little information. They have one member in my area and 7 members in all of Georgia. Their customer service was very nice. Their website is not very helpful. 

The MDGA has virtual shows which is really cool and sounds like something we'd do at some point but I have no idea about their member listing. Their membership directory goes to a 404 error page. I also was not able to get in touch with anybody trying to contact them a few times but their website is pretty helpful.

IDGA had a very helpful website and they were very nice over the phone. The have production rewards testing with DHI like everybody else but suggested I go to 4H for shows for our kids. They would also be able to register our full size girls and had stricter size requirements for our mini's (3in less than TMGR and 1.5in less than MDGA). They were pretty adamant against something called NAIS, which I didn't know about until I heard from them and looked it up.

After my experience with ADGA I just don't have a desire to become a member with them. Their website is fantastic and their presence is huge. They have shows all over the country and a great history on all full size breeds. 

After my experience with TMGR I liked the person I spoke with and one of my goats came from TMGR. I just wish I would be able to register any full size/nigerian breeding stock and they had more locally. Their website is really lacking and I couldn't learn much about them anywhere other than their friendly customer service. Their standards are the loosest when it comes to mini breeds (32in max at the withers for a "Mini-Nubian" 30in for purebred status.... my Full Nubian is 30in at the withers and weighs 125lbs....) 

I don't have any experience with MDGA but they seem like a stand up organization at face value. the V-Show is a great concept I'd like and their standards seem 'right'. I'll try to contact them again today.

After my experience with IDGA I really liked them philosophically and their goals in the goat world. My only issue is they seem like the "black sheep" of the registries but I'm not sure why. ADGA won't have anything to do with them I hear and while TMGR and MDGA have communication with them, they are sometimes at odds? Maybe because they don't like NAIS, they support goat owners who don't dehorn and have a NOA/Grade book? In their history, philosophy and record keeping they are stand up. They were the first registry to recognize Nigerian Dwarves and have stricter standards for their mini's than the other two and strict "grade" standards for all other goats and require pictures all registered animals.

Those are my findings. Again, I'll try to contact MDGA later today.


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

IDGR is not a black sheep, it is just that they do not sanction shows. I would go MDGA for showing but register IDGR if you wantto milk test grade minis or purebred but grade nigerians, as IDGR is THE ONLY place you can register a grade nigerian. In fact, IDGR was THE FIRST registry to register nigerians and is or was owned by one of the original nigerian herd owners and why AGS / ADGA eventually took them in. Check out ANNDA (American Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association) for more on the story. I have my grade nigerians registered trhough IDGR and my mini nubians will be IDGR/MDGA with all my registered nigerians dual ADGA/NDGA.


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## Nubian_Nut (Dec 21, 2012)

I personally registered with ADGA and MDGA. My two purebred Nubian does that I bought were registered with the ADGA so that's what I'll stick with when I have purebred babies from them, but when I got them they were bred to a Mini Nubian buck and I was directed to register them with the MDGA. An issue had come up with registering my kids (loooong story) and they were very patient and understanding and did through research before making a decision and I would recommend them to anyone. Hope that helps!


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

I used IDGR to register my grandson's nigerian grade doe. We took her to the state fair and showed her in 4-H with no problem. i totally agree that ADGA is a little (a lot) on the snobby side and were downright rude when i asked about breeding up my nigerians. as if i should have known better than to ask!!If i were you I would register them with IDGR because they will do the minis and the grades. Their membership and registration fees are low, and they are so easy to deal with. i had everything done by e-mail and paypal in about 20 minutes. And they had the papers to me in less than a week without charging extra. So if you are just showing 4-h or ffa I think that IDGR is probably all you need. and if you selling kids it provides some sort of registration.


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