by Darlene Baker
What is the value of breed standards? Wherever there are livestock associations, there are attempts to describe the ideal animal of a breed. Breed standards are the result of these attempts. They are guidelines for breeders to insure that the animals they produce conform to the defined characteristics of the breed. The show ring provides a venue where breeders can showcase the results of their programs and compete with other breeders. Judges evaluate animals in the show ring according to the breed standards. The American Boer Goat Association has two sets of standards, one for the Fullblood and Pure Bred Boer goats, and another for the Percentage Boer does. Since it is next to impossible to achieve perfection, each animal will have some combination of desirable and undesirable traits or characteristics. In order to define the perfect animal, it is necessary to define faults, or undesirable traits. Under ABGA Breed Standards, a fault is not a reason to remove a goat from the show line-up unless it is extreme. When a judge evaluates goats for placement he/she takes into consideration each goat’s faults. This is where a judge’s opinion comes into play. One judge may be more severe on head faults, while another may be more severe on body faults. The final line up will depend on the overall quality of each goat and which faults the judge believes are of less detriment to the breed. There is no black and white when evaluating faults, whether in the show ring, or on the farm. When choosing breeding stock, a producer will generally have a more narrow view than a judge evaluating goats in the show ring. Successful producers avoid the faults they believe would be detrimental to their individual program. Since different producers have different goals and different types of goats, the choice becomes a matter of personal preference and balancing the desirable traits against the undesirable traits. Lack of knowledge about breed standards can prevent people new to livestock from finding the best 32 - The ABGA Boer Goat Magazine
value for their investment and make it difficult for breeders to improve their programs. Disqualifications are specific undesirable traits that are listed in the breed standards. Any goat with a disqualifying trait is not eligible for judging in the show ring and should either be dismissed or removed to the bottom of the line-up. This is supposed to be a black and white, either/or area. With the exception of pigmentation, there are no gray areas and no room for individual opinions from the judge. The more faults an individual goat has, the less worthy it is of being placed high in the show line up, or being chosen as breeding stock by a producer. The worse an individual fault is, the more likely it will be considered a disqualification by the judge and reason for removal from the show line up. In the show ring, any extreme occurrence of an undesirable trait (fault) is a disqualification. For the breeder who is evaluating breeding stock, disqualifying characteristics need to be evaluated according to their individual programs and they are faced with the decision whether to risk setting back their program because they want a particular animal. The ABGA Breed Standards and Teat Structure Chart can be found on the website under the Breed Standards Tab, under Education. Tables of Faults and Disqualifications for both the Full Blood Boer Goat Breed Standards, and the Percentage Boer Doe Breed Standards are shown below. These tables can be useful when evaluating breeding stock to purchase, or when deciding which goats to put in the show string.
FULLBLOOD BOER GOATS The Fullblood Boer goat will have a prominent, strong head with brown eyes and a gentle appearance. The nose will have a gentle curve, the nostrils will be wide and the mouth will be well formed with wellopposed jaws. The forehead should be prominent and form an even curve linking the nose and horns. Horns should be dark, round, strong,
of moderate length, positioned well apart and have a gradual backward curve before turning outward symmetrically. Ears should be smooth of medium length and hang downward. The neck of moderate length will be in proportion with body length. Forequarters should be full, wellfleshed, and limbs well jointed and smoothly blended. The chest should be broad. Shoulders should be fleshy, well proportioned with the rest of the body and smoothly blended and fitted into the withers. Withers should be broad and well rounded and not sharp. Legs should be strong, well placed and in proportion with the depth of the body. Pastern joints should be strong and hooves well-formed and as dark as possible. The Fullblood Boer goat’s body should be boldly three-dimensional: long, deep and wide. Ribs should be well sprung. Loin should be well muscled, wide and long. The top line should be reasonably straight and strong and the shoulder well rounded with an abundance of muscle from shoulder through hip. The rump should be broad and long with a gentle slope. Britch and thighs should be well muscled and rounded. The base of the tail must be centered and straight. The remainder of the tail can curve upward or to one side. Legs should be strong and the leg should have a straight axis from the hip (pin bones) through the hock, fetlock, and pastern. Hoofs should be well-formed and as dark as possible. The skin should be loose and supple. Eyelids and other hairless areas must be pigmented. Hairless areas under the tail should be at least 75% pigmented: 100% is preferred. Short glossy hair is desirable. A limited amount of winter down or undercoat will be accepted during winter, especially in colder environments. Does should have well formed udders with good attachment with the number of functional teats not to exceed two per side. A split teat with two distinctly separated teats and openings with at least 50% of the body of teat separated is permissible but teats without a split