# Ear types, are there dominant types?



## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

So if you cross 2 diff breeds, are the kids ears a combo of the 2, or are certain ear types dominant?

For example, my nubian doe is bred to a lamancha buck that sported Gopher ears. I wonder what this combo will look like.....


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## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

eqstrnathlete said:


> So if you cross 2 diff breeds, are the kids ears a combo of the 2, or are certain ear types dominant?
> 
> For example, my nubian doe is bred to a lamancha buck that sported Gopher ears. I wonder what this combo will look like.....
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


Here is a photo of the happy couple.








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## LuvmyGoaties (Mar 9, 2010)

My friend and goat mentor breeds mini LaMancha's. She has great info on ears on her web site. Check it out: http://creamcupminis.webs.com/ears.htm


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## Cadence (Jul 20, 2013)

50% (or greater %) Lamanchas almost always have small ears. I have not heard of any 50% cross which doesn't. I'm sure a few exist, I just have not heard of them. 

~25% (less than 50%) Lamanchas could have any variety of ears depending on what else is mixed in. I've heard of litters where mom was 50% and the kids were 25% and came out with full size ears and small ears. 

Between gopher and elf... well with your nubian I would expect elf. I've had a lot of 50% lamanchas that had elf ears. Their 75% kids tend to range even within litters. Thankfully none of the 75% bucklings will be registered so it doesn't really matter what their ears look like. 

In my experience Swiss ears X Nubian ears = airplane or slightly droopy. Usually the ears are larger than normal swiss ears but not as pendulous as full nubian ears. 

Hope that helps.


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## Terra Mia (Dec 21, 2011)

We just had Nubian x lamancha babies








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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Congratulations! Cute little thing!


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## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone that was helpful. I really have baby fever this year and can't wait to get kids on the ground.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

These are some pictures of my 50% LaMancha kids over the years (no longer have the LaMancha buck, he had small elf ears, about as small as elf ears can get and still be considered elf ears rather than gopher ears). Out of two Boer/Oberhasli does, one Boer/Alpine doe and an Am. Toggenburg doe I got 3 with LaMancha style ears and two with airplane ears. I used him to freshen the Boer/Alpine twice and the first time I got an elf eared black and white paint marked buckling, second time I got an airplane eared solid black doeling.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

Just did some quick searching and it doesn't appear that ear genetics have been specifically studied, but based on examples I believe that ear traits are based on incomplete dominance and go something like this:
E: Gopher ears (semi-dominant)
eu: Upright ears (incomplete)
ep: Pendulum ears (incomplete)

Therefore any goat that is homozygous for any of the above genes will express that type, and a heterozygous goat will be a cross between the two with a preference toward the LaMancha type if they posses a copy of the dominant allele. In other words:

Any LaMancha whose parents have gopher ears will have gopher ears (EE). If one or both parents have elf ears the kid may have one type or the other.

LaManchas with gopher ears crossed on a goat with upright or pendulum ears will always produce elf ears (Ee). An elf-eared Lamancha outcrossed may produce elf ears or some form of long ears (dependent on the other parent.)

Two parents with upright ears will always produce upright eared kids (eueu), and the same of pendulum ears (epep). A cross between the two will produce airplane ears(euep); a goat with airplane ears bred back to a goat with either upright or pendulum should produce 50% pendulum and 50% of the other parent's type. Two goat with airplane ears bred together should produce 50% airplane ears, 25% upright, and 25% pendulum.

This explains why ears are easy to change within a few generations. With enough case studies I could prove my theory


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## Cadence (Jul 20, 2013)

Are you confusing elf and gopher Wild Hearts Ranch? Because elf X upright will not produce gopher very often.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

Maybe   Fixed.


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## DesertRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Buckie 3 year old, buckskin w/ white splashes, elf ears. Mother elf eared, father gopher. 

Last year bred to a gopher eared black buck with some white splashes , tan points.
One doeling buckskin,white splashes, elf ears.
One buck, butterscotch color front half W/ white hind end, gopher eared.

This year bred to a gopher eared black buck, with tan points.
One buckskin doeling, elf eared.
One black doeling, white points, elf eared.
One buckskin buck w/ black dorsal stripe, gopher eared.

Buckie is 75% American.
All the bucks were purebreds.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

EE x Ee = Ee
EE x Ee = Ee
EE x Ee = EE
EE x Ee = Ee
EE x Ee = Ee
EE x Ee = EE

So far so good.


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## DesertRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Midnight two year old, black with rust colored points, elf eared. 
Niece of Buckie above. Mother of Midnight light brown coco colored with tan points, elf ears.
Bred to purebred gopher eared black buck with tan and white splashes.

Last year had one doe coal black with elf ears.
One buck black and tan with gopher ears.

This year has one buck that is a pinto, black white and rust with gopher ears.
Another buck that is black with white and tan points and elf ears.
This year was bred to a black and white spotted purebred buck with gopher ears.

Sister to Midnight, same litter, is dark brown with a white belly band, gopher eared.
She was bred to a black buck with tan and white splashes, gopher eared purebred. 
She had a black buck with white points, gopher eared.

I think the ear thing is only a sure thing when you breed a purebred to a purebred that both have gopher ears.

Any ears on the females, elf ears, makes it a toss up on all the kids. I have two doe kids from Buckie and their little elf ears are so funny looking. Very small but turned down. Buckie's are small also but turn up.

At least it keeps it interesting. Never know unless it is purebred to purebred.


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