# What to look for in a Nubian?



## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

What should I look for in a Nubian Doe/doeling?

-In bloodlines
-Conformation
-Reg or not
-% or pure
-What are some 'pit falls' of the Nubian breed to look out for?

And any other tips you have!

Thanks.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

Bloodlines: I look for Kastdemur's, Lakeshore, Goldthwaite, and some of the other "bigger" names. I also look at milk production, LA scores, if there are any Champions in their pedigree and that kind of thing. 

Conformation: A nice flat rump, from front to back and side to side. Can be hard to find in Nubians, but look for as good of a rump as you can. Nice level topline, long, elegant neck, good angulation to the rear legs, width throughout the whole body particularly between the hocks. Good brisket, depth of body and breed character. Udder should be smoothly blended in the front and the rear with good extension to the foreudder, height and width in the rear, centrally placed teats that hang straight down and are moderate sized, the udder should be soft and pliable with good depth/capacity.

Reg or not: I prefer registered, you know more of what you are getting and what to expect from the kids, they are also worth more to resale.

% or Pure: I personally only have purebred Nubians. American Nubians are gaining some speed, but a lot of people are still against them. With the other breeds there isn't much difference between purebred and American, but with the Nubians it can be harder to sell them if they are American, especially buck kids.

Pit falls of the breed: Bad bites. Check their mouths. Some Nubian breeders do not care if the goat has an under or over bite (under bites are more common due to the nose) but I do care and I don't want a goat with a bad bite that could potentially have problems eating. Breed character. You want a Nubian with good long ears that hang down, by the standard the ears should extend at least 1 inch past the end of the nose. A lot of Nubians will have what is referred to as "too much ear control" meaning their ears are too short or not placed correctly and have a tendency to be held more up, or stick out. The ears should be more bell shaped and kind of surround the face, not stick out away from it. A good roman nose can be hard to find too. Goldthwaite bred goats tend to have really good noses. A Nubian should have a good roman nose, you do not want a dished face and I try to stay away from goats with very flat faces. And worst of all with Nubians G6S. It is a genetic defect found in Nubians and if they are affected they will typically not live to be a year old, they will usually be unthrifty, stunted and may have seizures. Carrier goats have no symptoms but when bred to carriers can produce affected kids. It is best to have all Normal goats, Normal bred to Normal will result in Normal kids. It is a DNA test and only has to be done once. If you start out with all Normal goats you don't have to worry about testing your kids every year. Some bloodlines are more well known for having carriers, but I am not going to get into that on here. Best bet to learn more about G6S is just look it up on Google, you will find several articles about it. If you join the NubianTalk group on Yahoo, in their Database they have a section where people can list their goats and their G6S status. There are lots of Normal goats listed but also many carriers and affecteds. 

The test is expensive and a lot of people haven't done it, but if you end up with carrier does and a carrier buck you could end up with kids that die young and don't do well, plus it doesn't help your reputation as a breeder any.


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

Are there some bloodlines or families that tend to carry the G6S gene?
Also, are there any signs that a young goat may have it if the owner does not test for G6S?


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

For me, I've found that registered stock is not worth the money unless you are planning to show. Low quality registered stock does not sell for much more than unregistered (at least around here) and I've been able to find better quality unregistered for the price. If you're just looking for production, especially if you plan to outcross, registration may not be as important. But I agree with ptgoats that if you do go registered stick to purebred. Until Americans become competitive with purebreds in the show ring no one will take them seriously.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

Here's an article about G6S: http://kinne.net/g6s.htm

There are some bloodlines that are believed to be more prone to having it and it is usually the ones that do a lot of linebreeding. I don't want to name any names on here that I have heard that are more common, don't want to get into any politics on Nubian breeders or offend anyone


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