# starting a herd????



## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

In June i will be getting my third goat that i actually owned, but fourth if you count the one i took care of all the time, and trained in less than a month. anyways. we have been having problems with our ASTs treating us poorly, and my dad is fed up with it, so we might be moving this summer. if we move, i would like to start a small herd, i will be starting it this summer, or the next. if not this summer, definatly the next. i am starting to get the hang of what im looking for in market goats, but i dont know what to look for in a breeding stock. i have wanted a herd for a long time, and i have decided to purchase two market, instead of showing a market and a heifer. if i can start a herd this summer, i would prefer to get a market and a doe. what should i look for in a doe.


sorry for ranting on, im good at that


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Boer goats I presume are your interest so I can't be of much help but hopefully someone will chime in here


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

Ok I can help with this =). I do livestock judging with 4-H and goats are my best (normally get them right, but I'm not bragging... haha)

With breeding does you look for something with a lot of capacity. She has to be able to carry those babies/baby full term and not have kidding problems. Since its becoming the norm for boers (not sure about other breeds) to have triplets the body capacity is very important. You want her to have nice, deep ribs that have good arch and spring from the back on out, you want her to have some length on her so the babies have plenty of room. You also want width across her top, without that you really don't have the arch and spring of rib. You want to make sure she stands wide too. When she walks she take long, even steps and her hocks shouldn't be too close. The wider she stands the better. I personally prefer a taller doe to a shorter one just because I think they look better balanced and they are eye catching. You can look at muscle some just because if she doesn't have it then the kids might not be good show wethers. Then you can look at femeninity, which basically means she's pretty and looks like a girl. That's not as important as the capacity. Above all look at how she moves, it has to be smooth. And look at her volume and capacity. Check her girl parts too make sure they look normal.


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## barrel/goatgirl (Aug 20, 2010)

ok thank you
:stars:


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