# What kind of questions do judges ask?



## HoosierShadow

Thought I'd ask here... what kind of questions do they judges typically ask 4-H kids about their goats? What are good things to know for kids who are new at this?

I remember someone at one of the meetings saying that the kids should know the % of the grain they feed.

I want to print out a picture from the internet that lists the name of each body part so they can learn some of them. I have lots to learn on some of this stuff too! 

What else? I'm just not sure...


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## RunAround

ALL the body parts. I know thats a MUST. lol


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## Ali_1010

With lambs and steers we get asked:
-Body Parts (internal and external)
-Main feed contents. 
-lbs per day feeding
-current weight of animal
-animal breeder/breeder location
-with steers we get asked about % of backfat, but i'm not sure about goats...
-DIGESTIVE SYSTEM!!! (monogastric or rumanent) 
-Breed of animal 
-Gender of animal

If your child DOES NOT know the answer, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BS AN ANSWER!! If we don't know an answer, we are told to say:
"At this time, I do not know the answer to your question. However, I will further my knowledge to find the answer for future reference." 

Is your kid is a newbie though, they normally either ask very easy questions or no questions at all. I've been showing rabbits and chickens almost 4 years and i've never been asked a question, and last year and this year I have yet to be asked a steer or lamb question, although our leader constantly drills us!


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## KW Farms

Body parts is a big one. 
Age of animal.
How many freshenings.
Breed of animal.
What's the best feature on your animal?
What would you change about your animal/ weakest trait?

If I think of some more i'll come back and add. When i've done showmanship in the past, body parts has been a big one.


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## sweetgoats

It really depends on the age group of the kids.

When I judge, I ask vaccination questions, like What do you vaccinate with and when? Some kids that have no clue say dewormers, like Safe Guard, that is not a vaccination answer,

I ask about Scrapies,

Seniors, I give them signs of a illness and tell them to tell me what they think it is, how many ribs does a goat have? How many teeth? (can you answer that)? 

I tell the kids to tell me like we were on a phone where a body part is (without pointing becasue if I am on the phone I can not see), Between ___ and ___. I am hard on the kids but they should know it.

Junior, basic goat parts, who feeds your goats? Who trims the hoofs? Do they know the parts of the hoof? (my 4Hers do a foot dance when they say the parts) heal, toe wall sole.


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## HoosierShadow

Thanks so much! I came across a website that had a downloadable/printable workbook and I think it would be a GREAT way to get my kids educated. Unfortunately our state doesn't do the workbooks, and I wish they did! I remember when I started to do rabbits in 4-H <ended up moving into the city with my mom so never got to do much>. They gave me a workbook on rabbits, and it was so much fun doing the different activities.

I have a lot to learn as well, so it'll be fun learning together. And with school nearly out <June 2nd> we'll have more time for learning this stuff and working with the goats.


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## Dani-1995

I varies from judge to judge and also the childs age. Some judges ask questions and some don't, but here's the list I go by. 

What is your goats eartag number?
How old is your goat?
Whats your goats name? (More for novice class)
What do you feed your goat? (include the feed (Brand & protein %), any hay you feed (the type and how much) and never forget water too.)
What breed is your goat? 
Show me where *insert body part* is. (I usually show them and then describe where also. EX: Where is the loin? point to it, point to last rib and then hip bone telling that is between the last rib and hip bone)

Some judges will ask what blades/clippers you used, your feed ration and things about the general care of goats. I don't know how old your kids are but for the youngest class they need to know eartag, name of the goat and bodyparts. They should also be able to tell the judge they feed grain, hay (if applicable) and water every day. Junior classes should know all of that but more detailed, and they should know the clippers ad blade size. Seniors basically have to know everything about the goat, its care, fitting- All of it! 

Once you get the hang of it its not that bad. Its just knowing how to answer... like always keep eye contact with the judge, even if he/she is looking at the goat look them in the face.


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## citylights

It depends on the age of the showman for me.

Primary kids -- name of the goat, show me their tail, show me a (simple) body part, what did they do to the goat to get ready to show.

Juniors - do they feed the goat and do general care? What do they feed? *this seems to stump alot of the kids* tell me two body parts and show me where they are.

Intermediate -- vaccines, health procedures, tell me some desirable traits of a goat (if it's a doe I ask what are the desirable traits of a pygmy goat doe. or a wether)

Senior - Disqualifying faults on a pygmy goat, choose a goat out of the line up and tell me something they would improve on the goat, common diseases/cures for goats....

my two cents


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## HoosierShadow

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I greatly appreciate all the help! The kids are ages 10 & 12, my youngest can't show until next year <she won't be 5 until Oct>.

I will find some stuff to print off of the internet so they can start studying


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## jcarr492

Our judge last year even asked my daughter...Where did goats originate from? Thank goodness she knew that answer!!! I think out of 40 kids...only like 7 knew the answer!


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## RowdyKidz

I've been a 4-Her for 6 years now. And honestly, none of the county fair judges have asked me a single question besides the date of birth of my goats? :shrug: They do ask various body part questions in Showmanship; but mostly they observe how the animal is handled.


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