Welcome to our blog. Check back often for official news and announcements from the KGBA and articles on various topics of Kinder goat care, raising, breeding, showing and more!
Blog
New Board Appointment
Due to increased work obligations, Member-at-large Deb Ezzati resigned from the Board in July. We’ll miss you, Deb! Thank you for serving on behalf of the KGBA!
Lisa LaRose of Illinois has been appointed to the vacated position. Lisa has been breeding Kinder goats for years, and has been an invaluable resource for Kinder owners in the Midwest. Her extensive knowledge and experience in goat husbandry, medical background, enthusiasm and love for Kinders make her a wonderful addition to the board. Please join us in welcoming her!
Thurl to Thurl? Why does that matter?
By Laura Kennett
Understanding all aspects of good rump structure is an important part of being a responsible goat breeder. Breeding and selling goats isn’t something to be taken lightly. Each breeder bears the responsibilty of producing quality offspring that preserve or improve the quality of the breed and match the breed standard.
One aspect of rump structure that is not often talked about and is poorly understood is levelness from thurl to thurl. This trait is important in both bucks and does, as pelvic structure is a trait that is typically passed down from generation to generation. Because I couldn’t have said it better myself, I have taken several excerpt from a well written article by Maxine Kinne on the structure and capacity of the goat pelvis.
The rump is much more than a handy place for the tail – it is integral to standing, walking, breeding and kidding. Simple everyday functions require good pelvic conformation. Reproduction also depends on the pelvis – breeding, carrying the pregnancy, delivery and feeding kids. Good pelvic structure helps the goat toward a comfortable, productive life, and selecting for it should be a high priority.
Small or poorly shaped pelvis often result in arthritic wear on the thurl joints and repetitive strain to the rear legs and feet. The thurls (hips) are ball-and-socket joints joining the hind legs to the pelvis. The shape and slope of the pelvis determine hind leg angulation and the width between the rear legs. Pelvic abnormalities create rear leg abnormalities, such as one or both stifles deviated outward or post-leggedness. Too short a pelvis very seriously handicaps the ability to give birth normally.
Pelvic Dimensions
(taken from article by Shelene Costello)
Length and width are the dimensions we see when we look at the rump. There is length from hips to pins, width from thurl to thurl, and width between the pin bones. Levelness of the rump is also taken into account, meaning a flatter rump from side to side. This does not mean horizontal to the ground – it means that the rump is more flat. Each part of the rump is important unto itself and as it correlates with the whole. Length and width should be more nearly level, not flat or rounded or steep in slope.
Rump showing excellent levelness and width from thurl to thurl
A good combination of pelvic length and the levelness from thurl to thurl correlate positively with kidding ease. Widely spaced thurls result in widely spaced rear legs. This width gives stability to the rear legs and width to the pelvic inlet (birth canal) on the inside. Thurls should be high enough to impart levelness of the rump from side-to-side. Increasing rump steepness from spine to thurl compresses pelvic width and interferes with kidding ease by compressing birth canal width. Total length of the pelvis should be medium long, a measurement which is proportionate to the goat’s size. Pelvic length equates with kidding ease better than pelvic width, although both dimensions are important to have together.
This doe had good width from thurl to thurl, but
is less level than the doe pictured above.
Goats with questionable pelvic structure should not be used for breeding. If she cannot deliver or be manually delivered vaginally the first time she gives birth, don’t breed her again, and castrate her buck kids. Making pelvic capacity an important criteria in your selection program is the most important decision you can make with regard to the future productivity of your herd. A short pelvis is often more steep and rounded from thurl to thurl than it should be.
Excessive slope from spine down to thurls
also creates less width in the pelvic area
The benefits to breeding for goats with correct pelvis structure are numerous. Longevity, better attached and better quality udders, ease of kidding, and lower vet bills are just the obvious benefits. Make sure you evaluate all aspects of rump structure in your goats, and be willing to cull those who don’t measure up. You’re doing yourself, and many other people who might buy goats that have their heritage from your farm, a huge favor.
Want to Help?
It’s nomination time at the KGBA!
All positions on the board are annual except Member at Large (which alternates on a three year schedule). Descriptions of the positions are posted in the Bylaws, under the “Membership” section of the KGBA website at www.kindergoatbreeders.com.
Anyone interested in running for positions on the Board of Directors should contact the nominating committee as soon as possible. This year’s nominating committee consists of the following people:
Carla Durham
Jean Jajan
Sue Beck
Nominations need to be in by August 15th in order to have our ballots out by September first. Please spread the word – the success of our organization depends on the help and enthusiasm of our members!
Milk Testing
Thank you, Sue Huston, for this wonderful article on milk testing:
How much milk is that Kinder doe giving? Just because she feed three kids are her udder looks full are maybe you are milking three does and the gallon bucket is about full with this specific doe probably giving half of this. Is this your answer to the quantity of milk this doe is milking? If so then you really don’t have any idea to the milking ability of this doe.
You don’t think that the amount of milk being given by a certain doe is important? Well it may not seem important as long as you are getting enough milk for the family are the kids seem to be growing well. If you are selling Kinder stock then the real milking ability in you herd is very important and you need facts to prove each and every does milking capability. You might have someone looking for does to milk in a diary situation. You would be more likely to make a sale if you had the figures on all your does giving not only the quantity of milk but also the amount of butterfat and protein. Kinder does in general have higher butterfat content than many of the other breeds which make them great candidates for cheese plants.
There are several options available to those interested in milk testing. There is individual official testing, group testing and one-day testing. Each will give you official test results. If you cannot afford any of these then just keeping personnel records would certainly be better than not testing. The KGBA can furnish forms for your personnel use. There will be links with discussion on the official tests available in the following paragraphs. I thought you might be interested in reading this web page:
How to Get Started on DHI Milk Test with ADGA.
http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/showthread.php?t=136415&referrerid The Kinder Association use the same rules for DHIR testing as ADGA so for a Kinder doe to earn her star she must meet the same requirements as that of an ADGA doe. Please view each of the videos in the link above whether you plan to do DHIR testing or not. Langston does such a wonderful job and offers so much for breeders.
You can decide on official testing, group testing or one-day testing to prove the milking ability of your herd. I think official milk testing has been explained fully in the link above. If there are 3 or more breeders in your area that all wish to become testers then they can test each other’s herds monthly OR you can each do the Owner/Sampler Test Option and run Verification Tests on each other’s herds. There are breeders, having a friend living near by to become an official tester, that friend can then come to test their herd. Testing can be done at shows too making it possible for several breeders to participate in a one-day testing.
I hear so much about record keeping programs. Milk testing is a great program for record keeping for your herd. Not only are you proving the milking ability of that doe but that buck and all those daughters and sons in the line.
One-Day Test is considered a separate event, which requires a separate sanction and registration fee. Contact KGBA regarding these fees. Points in One-Day Testing are earned by the quantity of milk produced, length of time since kidding and butterfat content. A Kinder doe must earn 18 points or more to earn a star in One-Day Testing. Below is the system used to calculate these points.
Milk Point System
One point per pound of milk produced, calculated to within one decimal point.
One-tenth (0.1) point for every complete 10-day period that the doe has been in milk since her last kidding, with a maximum of three and six tenths (3.6) points or 360 days.
One point for every five one-hundredths (0.05) pounds of butterfat yielded.
Milk weighs about 8.4 lbs. per gallon. Below are the figures from a 2000 One-Day Test. Notice that only one doe receives enough points (18 or more) to make her star. The other does scores are good and ones that I am proud of. These are official scores and prove that these Kinder does are good milking does even if they did not make their stars. Ebony milked about 1-½ gallons in One-Day Testing with a total of 22.7 points thus making her star
Milking testing is the only way to prove that your Kinder does are truly good milking Kinder.
Sue Huston
What’s New!?!
Hello Everyone!
The KGBA Board has had an exciting and busy start to the year, and we are hard at work trying to make the KGBA Association better than ever! We have some fresh new faces on the Board, and some exciting changes right around the corner. Some of the things that you should be seeing soon are:
A NEWSLETTER – After stalling last year, our newsletter is back on track, and coming soon to a mailbox near you (well, your mailbox, actually…). A special thanks to Jeanette Woods and Laura Kennett for working so hard to create past newsletters – I know you both did a ton of work, and they were awesome!
HERD EVALUATIONS – Tom Considine will be on the road this summer, and has graciously offered to come to farms within a certain radius of his show route for no additional traveling fee. We will be posting his route soon!
WEBSITE – We are updating the website with a fresh face and lots of new information. Please check back regularly, as this will be an ongoing project.
CALENDAR – We hope to put out a calendar this year, including photos submitted by members of all your beautiful Kinder goats. More details coming soon!
Please check back often to the Communique and the website – We would love ideas, suggestions and pictures!!! We can always use more photos of registered Kinder goats for the website, newsletters and future promotional materials. If you want to donate pictures that you have taken of your own registered Kinders, please send photos to: sue@jabeck.com **
We look forward to hearing from all of you, and to sharing a great new year of growth, goats and good times!
Warm Regards,
Sue Beck
KGBA President
**By sending photos, you are agreeing to have them posted on the website with no compensation other than bragging rights. Depending on how many we receive, your photos may or may not be used, but we’ll also be posting pics to the communique in mini “breed brags,” so watch for them there, too!
Don’t Wait – Register Your Goats!
As springs nears, the number of registration applications for new kids increases dramatically. It is extremely exciting to see how many new Kinder kids are being born, the increase in new herds, and the increased interest in our membership. This is a great time of growth for the Kinder Association and our little goats, and we couldn’t be happier about it. But as you breed, buy and sell your Kinders, please remember how important it is to make sure that all of your paperwork is current and cmplete.
On occasion, we run into issues with applications, and those problems are inevitably compounded if the goats in question have been sold or bred. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR GOATS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! It is not good practice to offer your bucks for buck service if they have not yet been registered, nor is it a good idea to sell kids as “registered” or “registerable” if their parents do not yet have papers. It is our responsibility as reputable breeders to supply buyers with all the information and documentation necessary to register their new goats. This includes ensuring that our own bucks and does are registered BEFORE we breed them, and certainly before selling their offspring, so that all paperwork can be completely quickly and without problems.
If you are buying new goats, the best way to protect yourself from problems is to require either:
A. The goats you are buying are registered, and you receive the registration(s) and signed transfer at the time of purchase.
B. Both parents are registered, and you receive copies of their registrations, a signed transfer, and a completed registration application for your new kid at the time of purchase.
If you purchase or breed to goats with “pending” registrations, the KGBA can not guarantee that your goats will actually be registrable with the association, so please protect yourselves – make sure that all paperwork is in order before you buy or breed!
The KGBA Board of Directors welcome any and all questions related to buying, selling, and breeding Kinders, and are happy to help you in any way we can. Please feel free to contact us at any time… we’re happy to help!
Disclaimer: The opinions, views, and thoughts expressed by newsletter and blog contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association. Goat husbandry advice found in the newsletter and blog is not meant to substitute a valid veterinary relationship. Please request permission to share or reprint newsletter and blog posts.