I posted this on HT but not everyone here is members there so here goes: I'm just learning how to find good adult dairy goats, but what do I look for in 2 month old kids? I'm looking at a couple of different kids right now for my own Christmas presents and I want to pick a good one! Any suggestions?
First in my list is do they do cae prevention is the herd cl free do they do worm control /when and how cocci prevention . Then I look for what their dams and sires are like. and of course recommendations from people I trust
At 2 months old.......um, yea, I would be looking at sire and dam mostly.........health of the little fellers maybe next, at that age, I would be looking at birth defects I guess......like parrot mouth, unusually loose leg joints, severely crooked legs, badly ruptured belly button, any feature that didn't meet that breeds standard, like floppy ears on an alpine or something like that.
Health of the herd, bloodline. Then I take the kid and even in an infant you expect spring of rib. When running your hands from the top of their spine down the side of their body their ribs should move outward away from the body, not straight down, especially that last short rib. The ribs also should be flat, not like pencils. With my hand between her legs it should be roomy, in picking through several kids, the one with the most room, all things being equal wins. Teats with one hole in each one, perfect bite, perfect ears, and Nubian, alot more past the nose than the 1 inch or she won't have ears past her nose as an adult. Eyes far apart...width follows width and a doe with a good wide head will usually have a good wide body. Length of body...in Nubian thats slinky toy long in new kids. And always take your weigh tape. 2 months old 28 pounds, 3 months old 38 pounds no excuses unless on the paperwork it shows she was a triplet out of a 12 month old FF, or a quad or quint kid, than honestly maybe 5 pounds less, I would want the kids to me more anyway than those minimums. No photos of the dams? No pedigrees? Nobody local to take with you? Vicki
There are photos of the dams and pedigrees. I'm just trying to get an idea of what a kid will retain and what will change as she grows. I'm basing most of my decisions on the dams/sires but I'd like to at least look at the kid itself and know what I'm looking for besides 2 teats and 4 legs :blush2. I think your suggestions will be helpful. Thanks! By the way, these are Nigerians so 28 pounds for 2 months would be impressive! :biggrin
I would look at structure... Feet and legs, strong pasterns, not hocky, tight at the elbows, correct at the stifles Level topline, long bodies. Nice width in the rump from thurl to thurl, nice length from hip to pin. Long elegant neck, sharp withers, high escution. Thats just a start.... Ken
Please put your location and the breed of goat you have or want...if this had been a health issue and over dose of drugs could kill your goats. Vicki
