4h goat showing

I have a boer doe that I'm planning to show in 4h this year in a meat breed class (not market). She is a nice doe but she has hardly any pigment under her tail. Will this affect her when I'm showing? I know that in ABGA shows they disqualify ones without pigment but are County fairs more acceptable of goats lacking pigment? Thanks

Have you contacted your local 4H people? They should be able to tell you... BTW, what was the final analysis of your coughing wether? Did you find out what the issue was? All OK now?

Thanks, I will ask about it! My wether stopped the coughing, I never knew the cause but it might have been some bad hay. I totally forgot to respond to my old post, sorry.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that (most) 4H showing is primarily about the kids learning about the animals and "showmanship" rather than the actual animal, where ADGA and other sanctioned shows are all about the specific animal. As such, non pure bred animals can be used in 4H shows, so a color differential shouldn't be a show stopper by any stretch. I may be wrong on this and your 4H group (leader(s)) should easily be able to confirm or deny this.

Yeah, Late Starter is correct. It is more about showmanship then anything. I show chickens but have watched many other animal shows, some even with a chicken on my lap. @OneFineAcre shows goats

Thanks all, they said I should be ok with her.

KatandCrowley said:

Thanks all, they said I should be ok with her.

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Okay, that's great. Just a pointer, don't be disappointed with the results of your first couple shows and quit, I went through a country fair and stock show without placing and came back to county fair and won a belt buckle.

Thanks, and I'm mostly just doing it for fun!

KatandCrowley said:

Thanks, and I'm mostly just doing it for fun!

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That's a good reason to do it. I'm really getting into showing chickens.

I grew up showing in 4-H and my kids are now competing in 4-H shows. The poster that stated 4-H shows are about Showmanship is incorrect. 4-H shows DO have showmanship CLASSES for every species and age division, and that is where the 4-H'er is being judged on how they prepare & present their animal. BUT there are also all manner of classes where the animal is being judged, either as a breeding animal or a terminal meat animal. Most of those classes are divided by breed and age. If your does doesn't have papers she will be considered "commercial".

I am not sure what you mean by ABGA rules disqualifying animals without pigment under their tails... My herd is all registered ABGA's and we show in ABGA shows. Most "traditional" caped Boers will have pink skin under the tail due to the white coat color. I only have a few paints and dapples that are actually pigmented under the tail.

Most 4-H programs have pretty strict rules as to when you joined 4-H and when you purchased your animal in regards to being able to compete at the county/state fairs. You typically have to have joined 4-H almost a year before the fair(s) and purchased your animal months and months before the fair. You also have to attend mandatory quality assurance training and have commercial & market animals tagged by 4-H months prior to the fair. If you haven't already started the process with 4-H you should probably get on it. I know different regions of the country have fairs at different times of the year.