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2011 Dairy Goat Linear Appraisal |
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The Event This year our Appraisal session was scheduled for June 22. The spring weather and constant rain made us put off clipping until the last minute. In fact we wondered if we were ever going to see a warm day. This year we didn't have an 80 degree high until a full month later than the previous latest date on record. Yep it was a cold wet spring and the girls were reluctant to give up their winter coats but it did finally reach acceptable temperatures and Kerri and Kristy and Kerra arrived to help get everyone clipped for a June 18th 3 ring show and Appraisal. June was crazy busy as I tried to get everything ready to feed the crowd at Appraisal and everything ready for our first show of the year. I baked up the honey buns early and got them into the freezer. We got the does clipped except for the last two does to kid. They delivered their kids the week of the show. Saturday morning early we loaded up the show string and headed for the fairgrounds an hour away. The day was very, very long but the milkers did very well and made all the work worthwhile. It was a very cold and rainy day so we were very thankful for the nice barn and show arena. Back home and the preparations continued. The two yearlings were clipped and I made 5 quiche (or is it quiches :-/ ) on Tuesday and cut up a huge selection of fresh fruit. This year's selections were: Ham and Swiss, Chevre and roasted red pepper, Artichoke and asiago, and bacon and sundried tomato with Cheddar. Wednesday morning started early as the honey buns and quiche went into the oven to warm, chairs and tables were set out for our appraiser and the coffee and tea were started. At 7:30 folks started to arrive and added their hands to the task and all was ready in a jiffy. The gang started breakfast and at 8:15 the appraiser arrived (his GPS sent him the wrong way :-/) He joined us for breakfast as folks continued to arrive. We headed out to start the appraisal at about 8:45 and many hands made things go very smoothly. The weather was beautiful and we hit that magic 80 degree mark for the first time this year! We were very thankful for the shade trees in our yard and took full advantage of them. We took a lunch break at about noon and came in to sandwich fixin's, a selection of hearty breads, cowboy caviar with chips, cheeses, smoked turkey, turkey, and pastrami, lettuce, sweet onions, pickles, all manner of condiments. The best treat of all was a beautiful homemade cheese cake with huckleberry sauce that Kerri made. We do appreciate everyone's help and never could get it done without them. Kerri and the girls who clipped so very well, Rebecca and Molly who helped present the kids and all the moms and dads who showed up and moved chairs and tables and got drinks and washed dishes and picked up trash and did all of the little things that make a day like this go so well that we plan to do it again next year! My Thanks to everyone who came and helped and we hope enjoyed the day with us! We finished up at around 4:00PM and wound up appraising about 75 animals. In addition to the 31 animals we had evaluated there were 5 other herds here for appraisal including 3 of our 4-H club members who brought 18 goats to be appraised. Everyone learned a lot and seemed quite pleased with the scores that their animals received. We picked up the last of the paperwork and headed into the house to relax for a few minutes and have a welcome cup of coffee with our tired Appraiser.
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The Scores 6yr olds
5yr olds
4 yr olds
3yr olds:
2yr olds:
Yearlings:
Young Stock:
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About Linear Appraisal Linear Appraisal is a program sponsored by the American Dairy Goat Association where a trained goat appraiser assesses each goat for quality of conformation. It's similar to a show but instead of the goat being judged against the other goats in the ring, during appraisal they are judged against the mythical perfect goat. This information is quite helpful as it allows us to breed better goats and avoid many conformational problems that might crop up if we didn't have a professional to help us look at our goats with a finely trained eye. Scores of 80 to 84 are considered Good, 85 to 89 are Very Good, and 90 or above are Excellent. By the way, the mythical perfect goat is a "mature" goat. That is why you will see our younger does with a slightly lower score than the mature girls. We like the youngsters to score in the low to mid 80's and improve each year. Getting a very high score as a first freshener might indicate a doe that will peak too early and burn out. We like our goats to mature slowly and show improvement each year. |
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2010 Dairy Goat Linear Appraisal |
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The Event Our Appraisal was scheduled this year for July 17. All in all it has been a pretty comfortable summer aside from a couple of stretches of 90+ degree days and the weekend before Appraisal was beautiful here . In the upper 70's and lower 80's but a comfortable Appraisal day was apparently not to be. On Monday the temperature reached 90 and on Tuesday we officially made 94. Thankfully we had a nice breeze for most of the day and plenty of shade and cold drinks. The gang began assembling at 7:45 AM and breakfast was served. The homemade honey buns were a big hit as usual and there was a lot of bleary-eyed coffee sipping going on. Fresh fruit, Quiche, and juices rounded out the menu and our figures as well. The quiche was a big hit. Ham and Swiss, Chevre and Bacon, and Artichoke and sun dried tomato were the choices and all disappeared rather nicely. Several adults were heard to mutter, "I never could have imagined kids eating Quiche". Our Appraiser arrived on time looking a bit on the tired side but with a good sense of humor. She took a cup of coffee and we headed out to get to the goats. LeRoy presented our two bucks for evaluation and the appraiser explained the process to the gathered spectators including our 4-H group. Meanwhile, our helpers carefully blew the dust off the does as they were readied for their evaluation. We certainly kept the animals moving through the process as we knew that the day would be a long and hot one. We couldn't have done it with out everyone's help and we really appreciate all of you! After finishing up our 15 milkers and 9 kids we moved on to do the next herd's milkers. Then took a short break so we all could refuel and hydrate. The quiche and honey buns dwindled farther and the cold drinks had to be re stocked. After the break we finished up the milkers from the remaining herds while I set up lunch with the help of some of my 4-H moms. We offered sandwich makings of ham, two kinds of turkey, roast beef, two kinds of cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and all kinds of condiments. After the milkers were finished up everyone headed in for a lunch of sandwiches and vanilla pudding. Thanks to Kerri and Scott Hendrix for providing a great assortment of bread and rolls and for Haley Probert for the delicious pudding and tomatoes. The ice chest was again refilled with cold drinks and a nice 30 minute break in the air conditioned house revived everyone. Then we headed out to finish up the visiting young stock and bucks. We wrapped up the day at 4:15 in the afternoon. All together 81 animals were presented for evaluation and our appraiser spent as much time with the last kid as she did with the first buck presented. She was patient and answered questions and generally worked harder than anyone should have to for her pay check. She appraised 81 animals on a very warm day and managed to keep her sense of humor through out. The folks who tour the country doing Appraisals are truly the unsung heroes of the ADGA organization! All in all we had a very enjoyable day and learned a lot. Linear Appraisal is a great program and a wonderful tool in any breeding program. We really enjoy being able to set up a stop at our place and providing breakfast and lunch to all who make the effort to come. Please enjoy looking at the girls and their scores presented here. Their scores will soon be added to the doe page as time permits. |
The Scores 5yr olds
4yr olds
3yr olds
2yr olds:
Yearlings:
Young Stock:
Bucks:
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2009 Dairy Goat Linear Appraisal |
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The Event On June 6th everything was in readiness for our 8:00AM Appraisal session. The homemade honey buns were warm from the oven, The fresh melon was sliced, the strawberries were washed and ready, the coffee was on and the tea water was hot. The folks who were here to help were happily munching away on the goodies. The girls and boys were all clipped. our Photographer was set with plenty of extra batteries for the camera, our friend was here with her camcorder. Our appraiser was right on time and in fact everything was just about perfect, Everything except the weather! On Friday the temps topped out at 90 degrees on Saturday morning it was 59 degrees and blustery.... Oh well, such is life. We all shivered or donned jackets and started. Our Appraiser did a through explanation of the program and the process to the big group of 4-H members, parents and breeders that were gathered and announced that Sharik got a final score of 90 to great applause and a sigh of relief from her handler :-D Below are the scores that we received and the ages of the does. We were and are thrilled with the progress of the herd as a whole and the development of the individual animals as they mature. Our Appraiser was exceptionally patient with does that just were restless or scared or otherwise not showing themselves to best advantage. He allowed them to settle down and had them walk several times in several different directions until he could see their natural walk and top line. Following our herd's Appraisal one of the visiting herds started their Senior does while I got things set out for lunch with the help of one of my 4-H moms. The table was overflowing with lunch meats, ham 2 kinds, turkey 2 kinds, roast beef, 2 kinds of sliced cheeses, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, big bags or 4 different kinds of chips, Sandwich rolls and condiments along with all the leftovers from breakfast. The cooler was stocked with all kinds of pop and juice boxes and water. We broke for lunch and then got back to the final few herds and all was finished up by about 3:30. It was a fun day and although getting everything ready was exhausting we had a great time and enjoyed hosting a stop. New pictures and Appraisal scores will eventually be posted to the doe's pages but that will take awhile so in the mean time please enjoy these pictures of our fine girls along with their incredible scores. |
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The 2009 Scores 5yr olds
4yr olds
3yr olds
2yr olds:
Yearlings:
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Please contact us to reserve your kids now. Also, check out our For Sale page. All does and pre ordered bucks and wethers are raised on heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk. All kid prices listed are for pre ordered kids that are picked up at 6 weeks or younger. We give a discount to herds on milk test, youth in 4-H or for multiple purchases. Thank you for your interest in Reuel Dairy Goats.
ORDERING INFORMATION: We request that all kids be picked up at the farm or shipped by 4-6 weeks of age as there seems to be less stress on them at that age. After 6 weeks of age we will have to charge $2.00 per day board until they are picked up or shipped. A $50 deposit is required to hold your kid with the balance due on notification of your kid's birth. All health papers, shipping kennels and shipping are the responsibility of the buyer and are to be paid prior to shipment. Deposits on canceled orders are not refundable but deposits paid on kids that are not born can be refunded or shifted to another available kid. We reserve the right to refuse sale of any kid and to return the deposit or apply it to another kid. |
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