# Showing Boer Goat Does



## Ella (Nov 3, 2017)

I have been showing market wethers for a while now but I am going to try something new and show a Boer doe. What are some of the supplies I need to start? What are the best training methods? I have heard about wanting to grow out the hair so when you go to show her, you can 'shape' it, but what do you use for that? I have a roto brush for my wethers that I use on their legs so would you do the same for the doe? Thanks.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Bumping this up for you


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Do a search on TGS, there is a lot of talk already on here you may find helpful.


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## Amandanicole (Jun 20, 2014)

You can train them the same way as you would a wether. You just don’t brace. The supplies are also pretty much the same as the wether. Except you might want to invest in a hair growth/conditioning treatment. Some people use adhesives, paints and sprays, but I wouldn’t suggest messing with that unless you are very experienced. A simple way to grow hair is to rinse the goat off every other day and completely dry it. Put on conditioner, brush it in well and leave it in. Skip a day, wash it out and repeat it all again. 
As far as clipping, I’m not an expert, but this is what I do. 
I take a #10 blade and put a 3/8” guard on it. Clip off the neck, and chest. I then take it and shave up the back side of the hock, just a little. It makes the rear look bigger. Then I take a 1/2 guard and blend in the lines through the shoulder. Then what I do is take a blocking blade and trim up the underside of the tail, block out the hair on the rear, and lightly clip up the extra hair in the chest.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I know I am late on posting, but agree with what Amandanicole said.

My kids show breeding goats in the county fairs and attend our state fair ABGA show. They go to about 6-10 shows each summer and typically show around 12 goats between the 3 of them, mostly Breeding, and at least 1 wether each.
Does & bucks.

Things we tend to use a lot.... 
#10 blade with comb sets (we have both plastic and metal combs). 









We purchased a blocking blade back in August, but I didn't have enough time to try it out, but I've heard awesome things and look forward to learning with it next spring. 
With that said, blending is the hardest part of trimming a breeding goat - shoulders!
We use the comb set above to help blend the hair from the shorter neck hair to longer body hair off the shoulder. They are great for clipping the body, under the belly, tail, udder, chest, head, etc.
This year a friend recommended a thinning comb to help blend. You can get them at health/beauty stores. I bought a horse mane pulling/thinning comb at a local horse supply store, they are cheap and work great! You use the razor side and gently blend the hair. This makes my struggle of blending easier.










Definitely practice trimming on non show goats if you are able so if you mess up it won't be a big deal. You can give your goat it's first trim a couple of months in advance of your first show that away if you mess up you'll have plenty of time for the hair to grow back out.
I don't believe in doing all the added stuff like adhesives, paints, etc. IMO it's unnatural and some shows forbid it.
There are however, good conditioning sprays, and some of those can enhance the hair to give them a nice, thicker/bigger appearance in a more natural way. 
My kids start grooming their goats about 2 months before their first show - they typically have at least a couple of yearlings that are full of winter fluff that need tended to before June.
Just like with your wethers, lots of practice walking, standing them up, and get them used to having their teats and bite checked. You want to be the one to open your goats mouth to prevent your goat from getting germs from goats the judge has previously touched.

As far as things I know we use regularly during show season, off the top of my head...
Love this shampoo







1

Whitening shampoo









This stuff is great!







1

You can use this 1-2x a week or at shows to help condition hair if it needs a boost (cheaper than using Revive outside of show day prep)
If your not familiar with this you can get it at Walmart, General Dollar, groceries, etc. I think it's around $3-4 for a big can. It's kept in the hair care section with other oils, etc. A little bit goes a long way since it's oil! My kids really like this stuff and it smells great! They like to spray a little on a rag and lightly wipe the goats head and horns with it - makes the horns look nice and smell good 









Or you can use this - however it costs more $$ and is exactly the same thing as the Pink oil spray above! But the one above IMO smells better. 









Nu Stock. This stuff is like gold in a tube! great for just about any skin issues! Our biggest issue with skin is mites in kids under 6mo, they always get them at some point when they are young, and this stuff helps kill them and heal the skin very quickly (We use this along with Ivermectin Pour On). We use it for random sores, bug bites or rashes. We've never had any skin issues like ringworm, or anything of that sort, so I don't know how effective it would be for that.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Very good info there.


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## Ella (Nov 3, 2017)

Thank you so much!


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## Ella (Nov 3, 2017)

Amandanicole said:


> You can train them the same way as you would a wether. You just don't brace. The supplies are also pretty much the same as the wether. Except you might want to invest in a hair growth/conditioning treatment. Some people use adhesives, paints and sprays, but I wouldn't suggest messing with that unless you are very experienced. A simple way to grow hair is to rinse the goat off every other day and completely dry it. Put on conditioner, brush it in well and leave it in. Skip a day, wash it out and repeat it all again.
> As far as clipping, I'm not an expert, but this is what I do.
> I take a #10 blade and put a 3/8" guard on it. Clip off the neck, and chest. I then take it and shave up the back side of the hock, just a little. It makes the rear look bigger. Then I take a 1/2 guard and blend in the lines through the shoulder. Then what I do is take a blocking blade and trim up the underside of the tail, block out the hair on the rear, and lightly clip up the extra hair in the chest.


Do you spray the conditioner on the whole body?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

The revive and Goat conditioning spray yes, we spray it all over the body. With the goat conditioning spray don't let it sit on your goat too long before you comb it in as it can give a little yellow tint. I would spray a little at a time, work it in and work your way around the goat.
Revive we only used a few times at the end of show season and really like it. 
We usually comb it in, let it sit and gently blow dry to help fluff up their hair, but we don't do it to any extreme measure (some people really fluff them up to make them look bigger than they really are).


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