Healthy, High Quality Nigerian Dwarf Goats
We work to raise goats the milk well, have correct conformation and are competitive in the show ring. To help achieve those goals, we participate in the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Linear Appraisal (LA) program and Dairy Herd Improvement Registry (DHIR) milk test program. LA scores are listed on each animal’s page for those that have been scored. We are proud members of the American Dairy Goat Association, ADGA and the American Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Association, ANDDA.
The health of our goats is of primary importance and our herd is tested annually for CAE , CL and Johne’s and the entire herd is negative. We have no history of Brucellosis, TB, or Sore Mouth. If you are considering buying goats, I highly encourage you to buy from a someone who does whole herd health testing.
What is a Linear Appraisal?
During a Linear Appraisal, an ADGA trained goat appraiser assesses each goat for quality of conformation against the breed standard of an “ideal” mature goat. This gives an accurate and consistent assessment of each goat because they are being measured against a breed standard vs simply being judged against the other goats in a show ring. Plus, a Linear Appraisal provides the owner with a written record of how each goat scored in each category.
Scores of 80 to 84 are considered Good, 85 to 89 are Very Good, and 90 or above are Excellent. Because they are being judged against an ideal mature goat, younger does will have lower scores than a mature doe. It’s ideal for youngsters score in the low to mid 80’s and improve each year. Getting a high score as a first freshener might mean a doe will peak too early and burn out. We like our goats to mature slowly and show improvement each year.
What is DHIR Milk Test?
The DHIR Milk Test is a formal milk production testing program. Each month a certified DHIR tester comes to the farm and weigh each individual doe’s milk production and takes a sample of each doe’s milk. The samples are sent to a DHIR laboratory to be measured for butterfat and protein percentages and to conduct a somatic cell count (SCC). the SCC score is an indicator of overall udder health. The herd owner then receives a report of each doe’s performance each month. Cumulative milk, butterfat and protein production amounts are then submitted to ADGA where they are used to determine if a doe qualifies for a milk star award and to be used as part of the Sire Development Program.
It is a significant commitment and expense to sample and test milk from each goat every month but we feel it is worth it to have production records that prove the quality of our goats and to help ensure we are producing the highest quality milk for our family and our customers.