# A lot to learn in 4 months.. 4H newbie!



## kramsay (Mar 7, 2013)

Well my little sister came home a couple days ago saying she wants to do 4H, went to a meeting yesterday and is hooked, she wants to do a calf (Jr. Heifer calf class) and a market wether..She is using my calf and my wether, as she put it "Dad is her supervisor and I am her manger". This our project Mom doesn't really want much to do with it so father-daughters bonding lol.

Anyways I have never had anything to do with showing an animal, I haven't even seen a show!! Our fair is in June (the 2nd week I believe)

Both (Mattie-heifer, and Dot-wether) where born on Jan. 5. My dad has showed a calf before so he pretty much knows what to do- I will have to look up how to groom her. 

I will have to check with the girl that over sees goats to make sure showing a % wether will be ok, he is 50% Nubian 

I am currently feeding a recipe I got from kccjer: (I made it into a smaller batch so I can mix it and store it eaiser) 50# oats 50# ground corn 50# alfalfa pellets 15# calf manna 15# BOSS 

Will this be ok to feed him? I plan to leave him on mom as long as possible, or should I wean him at 8 weeks? Should I stall him or leave him on pasture, with access to a creep feeder? Is grass hay good enough or does he need better?

Thanks for all the help I really have no idea what I am doing here..


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

How much are you feeding and is he eating any? You're going to have to pour the feed to him to get him to weight that early. Stall him. If you can get alfalfa that will help put the weight on him. If his mom is a good milker stall her with him and leave him on her as long as possible. Start slowly, but start now getting him on full feed....mom too until weaning. 

Carmen, Oleo Acres LLC, NW Ks


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Find out if there are any clinics in your area. I know our 4-H leader from time to time will forward me emails about upcoming clinics to help 4-Hers with their project animals.

Biggest thing is getting him eating well, and training him to walk on a show collar and brace. Is he 50% boer and 50% Nubian, or what is he mixed with?
Exercise him but don't over do it if he is on the light side, especially if he has to be a certain weight by a certain date. 
Our fair is around the 3rd week of June, and I think minimum wether weight is 30lbs. but it's different everywhere you go.
Breed shouldn't matter, but of course the more meat you have in there, the better 

You might look up some videos on youtube of market goat shows to get an idea how they are shown. If you get a chance to go to any shows in your area, that will help too.
My kids have been showing their goats for a few years and love it. Last year was their first year with market wethers, it's a big learning experience, but so much fun.


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## kramsay (Mar 7, 2013)

kccjer said:


> How much are you feeding and is he eating any? You're going to have to pour the feed to him to get him to weight that early. Stall him. If you can get alfalfa that will help put the weight on him. If his mom is a good milker stall her with him and leave him on her as long as possible. Start slowly, but start now getting him on full feed....mom too until weaning.
> 
> Carmen, Oleo Acres LLC, NW Ks


He is probably eating a cup or so not for sure I have it out for him all the time (creep feeder). I have read and it didn't say anything about them having to be a certain weight. I will get some alfalfa for the creep feeder. She's a pretty good milker (nubain). 



HoosierShadow said:


> Find out if there are any clinics in your area. I know our 4-H leader from time to time will forward me emails about upcoming clinics to help 4-Hers with their project animals.
> 
> Biggest thing is getting him eating well, and training him to walk on a show collar and brace. Is he 50% boer and 50% Nubian, or what is he mixed with?
> Exercise him but don't over do it if he is on the light side, especially if he has to be a certain weight by a certain date.
> ...


My sister will be showing them, I am just helping her  I plan on showing her some videos, there are also people to help her. We are the first show (I believe) so we probably won't have the chance to see any. 

I really hope she likes it ! Thanks for you replies!


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

kramsay said:


> He is probably eating a cup or so not for sure I have it out for him all the time (creep feeder). I have read and it didn't say anything about them having to be a certain weight. I will get some alfalfa for the creep feeder. She's a pretty good milker (nubain).
> 
> The weight limit is usually for selling them. At our fair they have to be 70 pounds to sell. If you're not planning to sell him, it won't matter much.
> 
> You can buy a show collar from just about any animal place...jeffers, hoeggers, etc. OR...you can just use a dog choke collar. That's what we used the first couple years Lizzie showed.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Show collars can be purchased at Tractor Supply stores, or on Jeffers.com I'd start training at least 2 months before show so they are walking good on a show collar. My kids train theirs to walk on a halter first, then they introduce the show collar. We buy the adjustable rope halter with attached lead from Jeffers.com <for sheep>, they have a clip on the end, I think around $4.00 they are soooooo useful! We use them on all the goats not just kids. All of our does walk well on them 

Here in our state, there is a minimum weight no matter what. Auctions aren't until the fall 4-H sales <after state fair>, so any of the fairs you go to around here they have the minimum for market classes, but I think it's around 30lbs. so not bad.

Do you have to have any kind of tag for your wether? Again, in our state, all market & commercial does have to have a state official tag that they insert in their ear at different tagging sites in May. All goats also have to have their scrapie tags as well, oh and don't forget to get health papers  At the tagging site we take my kids goats to, they have a vet that will do health papers so much cheaper than our vet, so we load everyone up that might attend a show and get everyone's papers at once.

I'm sure your sister will have a great time  BTW, how old is she? My kids are 7, 12, 15. They absolutely love showing. Here, they can go from county fair to county fair, so we spend our summer planning around their shows. It's really great, and something to look forward to.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Oh, and I figured up the protein in that feed mix. It's at 12.75% protein. If you double the manna, it will raise the protein to just over 13%.


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