# My boys need guidance for showing breeder goats



## gwith

My boys have started breeding boer goats and they want to show a couple of their kids in the show in June. The kids were born the first week of January. There are age groups for all breeder does so that isn't a problem. I have been calling everyone and searching all over the internet, but I don't know where to start. 

First off, what do I do with the kids between now and June? They are still on milk. They are fed pellets and have free feed of wild grass and wild hay. They are extremely friendly and love to be held, but they aren't trained in any way. 

What food should I get them on? Should I keep them on milk too?

Any info would be appreciated.


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## ksalvagno

Look through the meat breed section. Also the show and 4H area.


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## cowgirlboergoats

Set up a creep feeder for them. Start with grain, we use a feed near us. Keep them on milk, but allow them to eat as much grain as possible. Give them a week and they should start chowing down. Raise the feed when they are cleaning it all up. (Depends on how much babies you have) 
Start training them around this age. I am taking out a few goats at a time and tie them up with the halter. They should fight it and just stand there(or sit) so they will not kill them selves. It also helps if you pet and love in them. After you got them walking on the halter, start with a chain. Depends on your fair if they allow pronged collars, witch I have to use because most of the goats will drag me around, if they do not, use a regular chain. My favorite pronged collar is the dog walking thing at farm & fleet. For not pronged I use Jeffers ones. Good luck on the show!


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## gwith

The kids are currently eating a pellet. What type of feed should I eventually be feeding them? Any guess on how much the kids should be eating each per day?


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## erinbelle

I'm just going to say what I do for my boys. I have 2, 3 month old wethers. They are going to get a pound each, morning and night, of Sunglo Goat Grower Deccox. A handful of a grass/alfalfa mix and occasional grazing as a treat. 

That is just me, and what my breeder told me. But I've heard good things about Purina Impulse and Honor Show Chow, Show Rite, and a little on Showmaster.


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## gwith

Thanks.

I am getting info from all over. We are building a creep feeding pen this weekend for the kids. We are also going to a seminar on how to show goats Saturday.


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## HoosierShadow

Have your boys shown before - market wethers perhaps? If so, they'll find breeding goats to be easier to prep/show  JMO of course.
My kids have been showing in 4-H and love it. They don't have the fancier/top quality show boers, but their goats typically hold their own, and they have so much fun.

What you feed depends on what you are willing to pay. There are so many good show feeds out there, but they get expensive especially when creep feeding.
I've been so tempted to get better feed, almost did it this year too, but we've opted to stay with what we are feeding, and just add in a top dress and better hay.
We feed a 16% medicated, pelleted feed from a feed mill. Just started top dressing with rice bran oil a week ago. We used rice bran oil on some yearlings a couple of years ago who lost weight through the winter & 1 had nursed a baby. This combination worked wonders for them.

Make sure when you do the creep feeder you build it high up and maybe have some cinder blocks or something for them to put their front feet on so they are reaching/stretching and using their butt muscles to eat. Also helps cut down on waste. 
This is how the boys feeder is set up, don't mind all the twine, I like to have temporary set ups like this so I can move/change them as needed.









I'll be making the girls a raised feeder similar to this in the next few days. My husband attempted to do it yesterday but it's way too high, poor little 1 1/2 mo doe can't get her nose near it lol!

I'd work on lead training. My kids use the adjustable halter/lead combination on their goats for training to lead. Then once their goats are doing okay, they introduce the show collar.
We get these at Jeffers.com for about $4 and they are great, make sure to get the kind with the snap at the end, makes it easy to tie them up. We use these on adults too.









Will your boys show with a regular chain collar or will they use a prong collar? IMO it's all preference, age of child showing, and goat/goats behavior.
I won't let my youngest daughter use a prong collar yet - she's 8. But her older brother <almost 14>, and sister <16> started using the prong collar last year on breeding goats.
Some do better with chain collars, some do better with prong collars. Last year my kids had a couple that refused to walk on a chain collar - would choke themselves, fight, and protest. They did so much better on a prong collar - calm, relaxed and didn't choke themselves.

These are the regular show chain collars, most popular. For younger kids showing & any goats that are bad about trying to get out of the collar I have my kids use the 2 headed snap, and snap it onto the collar like the goat in the middle, that keeps them from getting out of it.









Prong collars - make sure you buy size SMALL, and get extra links. You can buy the kind for goats that has a handle like the pics above <Jeffers.com has them>, or the kind for dogs. Don't make the mistake of buying size medium for young goats like I did last year lol.

This is the kind for dogs - size medium, they look bulky









This is the kind for goats with the leather handle, I don't know if they come in different sizes, but again, this is size small.
A bit hard to see, I don't have a real good picture of it


















This is what the medium size looks like on a 4-5mo doe, yeah, bulky.









Clipping can be a challenge. I am no real help on clipping, as I am lousy at it lol. I tend to take off more hair than I should, but I generally do a practice clip a month or so before the first show, to try and get all of the odd/wild & fluffy hair off of them. Gives them a month to grow out again and just do clean up clips after that. 
If the ABGA rules change, then in the future there will be rules as to how long the hair can be, and that should follow over into county fair shows.

Sorry to write a book, but I know what it's like to start out, and all of the questions. My kids are basically the only ones who show goats in our county. There is another family, but they only show in our county fair, and just really aren't into showing. 
My kids love going from county fair to county fair, and some other shows along the way, I think last year they went to about a dozen shows. It was a blast


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## gwith

Thanks for the book. I need all the info I can get. 

My boys have never shown anything. 

Right now we have the normal chains. We are really behind the curve. They just decided to show some goats and the show is in June. The goats are normal sized for their age. They haven't had any extra anything done to them.


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## HoosierShadow

I wouldn't worry, just go with the flow, use this as a learning year. Stick to the basic necessities, and make sure they like showing. Then next year you'll have a better idea of what you have to do, when you need to do it, and what you'll need to purchase 

My kids have 8 babies they are showing between the 3 of them, and my son is getting 2 more from a friend of mine.
I have a tight budget, so I can't afford the show feeds, etc. I do what I can for my kids goats to help give them the best chance of doing well.

My kids got a late start on lead training this year, and their wethers are protesting the show collars. It's so embarrassing when they yell and throw a fit protesting lol especially with a restaurant next door, those people must think we are torturing them! HA!

I would definitely watch goat shows on youtube, get familiar with how people hold their goats, and set them up <look at show pictures too>. The clinic you go to should help a lot and help with showmanship. Biggest thing with showmanship is keeping their eye on the judge, and always keeping the goat between them & the judge. When crossing to the other side, always go in front of the goat, never go behind the goat to get to the other side of it.
IMO showmanship is the most important class.
The breeding classes are more laid back, generally.


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## gwith

We went to the 4H seminar this weekend. We all learned a ton. 

The guy mentioned that there is a type of skin infection that the goats can get from some of the shows because the pens aren't all that clean. 

He said to keep our goats clean and covered. 

Does anyone know what he is talking about?


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## HoosierShadow

First thing I can think of would be ringworm. But IMO, keeping them covered won't prevent anything, especially when the judge goes from goat to goat touching/feeling on them. I see people cover wether's to keep them clean, and they have their 'tricks' to keep the goats looking muscled under those covers, but I've never seen a breeding goat covered with anything. 

Now, there is an antibacterial spray that people have mentioned to me, I think it's made by Sullivan show supplies? Or someone along those lines, and they say it's good stuff, spray it on right after they leave the ring/before they go back to their pen, and again before they get on the trailer to go home.
We've never used anything, and not had any issues. Not saying it can't ever happen, but it hasn't yet.
I think the most complaints are... the spread of lice at the shows. We treat our goats with Ivermectin Pour On in between shows, every 3-4 weeks, and keep an eye on them.

Don't let your boys touch other goats, and don't let other kids/people touch your goats after touching their own. Never let the goats touch/sniff another goat.


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## gwith

It wasn't ringworm or lice. He said some sort of bacteria that causes a skin infection. He said there will be a lump filled with puss and their hair will fall out. He said it can go all the way down their spine.


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## gracie_goats

Well the longer they are on milk the better they will be. But you should start weening them off it since the show is in June. But you should get the dog choker chains for showing and then work with them. You should be standing in the left side of the goat holding the chain with your right hand. And when you stop you should set up your goat with the legs set up parallel to each other. And they should rub down the middle of the back to open the back up to make them seem bigger since they are meat goats. But other wise keep working and good luck!


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## gwith

gracie_goats said:


> Well the longer they are on milk the better they will be. But you should start weening them off it since the show is in June. But you should get the dog choker chains for showing and then work with them. You should be standing in the left side of the goat holding the chain with your right hand. And when you stop you should set up your goat with the legs set up parallel to each other. And they should rub down the middle of the back to open the back up to make them seem bigger since they are meat goats. But other wise keep working and good luck!


Why should we get them off of milk?


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## BCG

gwith said:


> It wasn't ringworm or lice. He said some sort of bacteria that causes a skin infection. He said there will be a lump filled with puss and their hair will fall out. He said it can go all the way down their spine.


I'm sure he was talking about staph. A lot of goats ended up with staph infections last year in the NW anyway. My vet attributed it to bug bites, but not for certain. It's a nasty mess to deal with. Worse than ringworm/fungus in my opinion.


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## BCG

By the way. ..good rule of thumb is to feed high quality grain, a grower, at 3% of body weight per day.


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## Brink4

gwith said:


> It wasn't ringworm or lice. He said some sort of bacteria that causes a skin infection. He said there will be a lump filled with puss and their hair will fall out. He said it can go all the way down their spine.


Was he talking about CL? Never heard of it around the spine.


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## gwith

Not CL.


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