I am hoping we'll get some feedback on the "Right or Wrong" section of the magazine.
Someone did ask me what I meant by "Production vs. Show," as they understood that there was no conflict in these two goals. My belief is that there shouldn't be, but there sometimes is. There are people who show off beautiful mammary systems on their goats, but in reality those goats don't milk very well. Also, there are animals that milk terrifically well, but are either over standard, or are not show material. There is some concern that there is a trend toward "putting it in the bucket," at the expense of proper standards.
Personally I have overheight animals, but they are clearly stated as overheight in the DHI papers and on my publicity. They may be oversized, but by a shade of inch, up to an inch, and not higher. In one case, I clearly overfed the doe during her growth period, and she grew too fast and suffers from joint issues and other problems. In the other case, my doe was the daughter of a foundation animal in the early stages of the breed's development, so predictability was not reliable in many herds.
So what do you all think? That's what this blog is about - conversation. Please chime with your views and let's get the conversation rolling. Thanks, Pat
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Production vs show....Linear appraisal might help here, for those that wouldn't mind the expense. We did that a couple times with our ADGA dairy goats. It was a 4H activity, with many farms meeting at one farm and everyone splitting the cost. Or people could buy their dairy goats from a breeder that has linear appraisal done periodically. I think most does that are good milkers wouldn't hold up in the long run, if they had to many faults.
ReplyDeleteThere is probably a happy medium, between the breed standard and production. As far as a doe being a "tad" taller, that shouldn't affect production, but the show ring won't be for her.
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that linear apprasial combined with milk test scores provides the most accurate picture.
ReplyDeleteShow wins only give you an accurate picture IF there is a large enough sampling of top goats that the doe or buck is competing against. I have seen some cases, especially with bucks, that just showing up is enough to get a win.
It would be nice if linear appraisal was more affordably available. I think it would get more use and really help to improve the breed.