Breeding Up?

[MysticScorpio82]

Ok I have a question (well 2 actually ):

If I were to buy un-registered does, is it possible to breed up to registered bucks and be able to register the kids to the ADGA?

If not - How many generations does it take for a kid to be registerable?

Thank you in advance for any information and pointing me in the right direction!

 

[chandasue]

I don't really have an answer but found this on the ADGA website.

 

[Roll farms]

As long as the buck is registered, you can register his offspring as 'recorded grade' (50% would be the first generation), and the % would go up from there, ea. time they were bred back to a registered buck.

Per the ADGA guidebook (available at their site)

D. GENERAL RULES FOR RECORDATION OF
GRADE DAIRY GOATS OR REGISTRATION OF
AMERICAN BREEDS
1. Where one parent is a registered animal, the doe
offspring may be recorded as 1/2 American of that
breed, provided she conforms to that breed standard.
If such offspring is then mated to a registered buck of
that same breed, the resulting doe offspring may be
recorded as 3/4 of that breed, providing she conforms
to that breed standard. These 3/4 does when mated to
a registered buck of the same breed will produce kids
that are 7/8 of that breed and does of this group are
eligible for entry into the American section of the
register, provided they meet that breed standard.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Thank you guys so much! I have always heard it is better to spend the money on a good buck rather than registered, top quality does when first starting a herd, and then just breed up, but I had NO CLUE how it worked! I am still new to goats (outside of pet sitting my aunt's spayed alpine goat over the course of 10 years - so different than actually owning!)

 

[helmstead]

EXCEPT for Nigerian Dwarves...there are no recorded grades for them.

 

[ksalvagno]

What you may want to consider is figuring out what sells in your area. Then either get unregistered or registered. The time and effort may not be worth having registered animals if unregistered is what sells in your area. By the same token, if everyone buys registered animals, then there is no sense buying unregistered unless you just want it for personal milk or something.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

@ Helmstead:

Why don't they do grading for ND? How does it work for ND if the doe is unregistered and the buck is? Must I wait a few generations til they are at 100% before I can reg them?


@Ksalvagno

How would I figure out what does and doesn't sell in my area (for kids)?

I want to get just couple does for milk. The milk will be for my family to drink and for me to make soap. I don't care about the pedigree for my own does, as long as they produce well, are healthy, are good mothers, and they have nice udders, etc.

My concern is for the kids - I honestly don't want to have a huge herd and keep ALL my kids, so I want them to be marketable and also I would like to see them go to good homes.

The other reason for my "breed up" question is this -

I have toyed with the idea of doing shows and such in the future; after I have had my goats for a while. I don't want to jump right into the goat world getting show goat, and having no idea what I am doing.

This is why mutt goats or unregistered goats would be ideal to start with, but then (if I still have the interst) start upgrading my herd to show quality.

I know, I know...the naive dreams of a newbie

 

[helmstead]

Nigerians just cannot be bred to unregistered animals and bred up. If you breed a registered buck to an unregistered doe, all you will get are unregisterable kids. There is no "American" book for them. They're either purebred or grade.

You will find more info about this on the ADGA website.

BTW I started with a grade herd of Pygmies...moved on to grade Nigerians...learned my tough lessons with them and moved on to show quality Nigerians. Nothing wrong with starting small - as a matter of a fact, I feel it's wise and often suggest it to my clients (which is why I still have a small grade herd).

 

[lilhill]

AND, as far as Nigerians are concerned, if you purchase NDGA registered buck and does, they are not recognized by ADGA nor AGS. So if you're wanting ADGA registered animals, then their parents must also be ADGA or AGS registered. I learned that the hard way ... purchased NDGA registered when I first started.

 

[ChksontheRun]

We got a small grade herd (from a woman who had a family emergency) as our first goats this year. I hate to say it, but they were not expensive and I figured if we were going to kill goats with our ignorance of raising them, I would rather have that happen to less expensive grade animals. We learned to milk, immunize, feed, and we will get these through their first winter and kidding. Next spring we have some registered animals on order and will go up from here. We may get rid of our grade animals or breed up. But either way, we have learned a ton from our wonderful herd now before spending the money on more expensive animals. (Mini nubian by the way) I think this is the way to go. You have to learn somehow.