# Nubian baby Ears



## NPgoats (Mar 18, 2010)

I want to know when a newborn Nubian is born and has folded ears is that a genetic fault or is it just the position the kid was in inside the dam? If it is a genetic fault how do you trace back where it came from? What if you weren't the breeder? How often is it passed down? If it is positioning of the kids how often does this occur? Is it more likely with premature/small kids that are born? More details the better. Linda


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Mar 2, 2009)

I think its just from their position inside the womb. If I remember correctly, you can tape the ear to a piece of stiff cardboard for a bit and it will straighten out.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Everything is blamed on the position in the womb 

Just fix them. There is no rhyme or reason to folded ears that are from the head to the tip....now folded up on the bottom that is a genetic thing in boers.

I am a freak about ears, and you will see alot of my kids wearing cardboard. I do it so routinely because if you let it go, even a few hours, until the ears are dry and firm, it's too late to do much of anything. And nothing is uglier than a folded or flipped to the side ear that could have been fixed with 2 minutes of care. Vicki


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

UNLESS- it is the base of the ear set in the wrong position.
This IS a genetic defect and cannot be corrected.

This goat also died of G6S and it is a personal pet project of mine to follow goats with this ear set to see if there is a genetic linkage to the two. Sometimes a genetic trait pulls other characteristics along with it and I was trying to get info together to see if there was any reason to believe that the two traits were linked.

[attachment deleted by admin]


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## NPgoats (Mar 18, 2010)

Lee, can you describe what you mean by "the base of the ear set in the wrong position"? Linda


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Not Lee, but it's obvious. Look at Ashley's photo of her nubian head on the left in the ad at the top of the page, that is a good ear. It comes out of the top/side of the head, hangs straight down and covers the ear canal perfectly. The kid in the photo, the base of her ear is towards you and not down, it being twisted over to the side like that flips the ear over. Her ear comes out of the side of her head so even if it was a good ear, can you spell EAR CONTROL!!! You can fix it at birth but it is never going to be a normal ear. I would not register a kid with this, have seen alot of them on the internet but have not had one before. I am talking about an ear folded lengthwise, up and down in my post.


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## NPgoats (Mar 18, 2010)

Still a little confused. Isn't Lee's pic of an ear folded lengthwise up and down? Linda


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Yes- this goat has a structural problem. The ear cannot be made to hang correctly because the base is in the wrong position. This was a kid I reserved before birth 10 years ago and pretty much had to take her and she taught me a lot but was a complete disappointment otherwise. This is from old Nubian bloodlines. Nothing current so I think perhaps it has mostly been culled out. I have seen 3 other kids with it and one buckling was G6S positive so running 50/50 on that. Not a big enough sample to prove anything for sure. It is not only that Sasa could control the ear she never could lay it down or spread the ear tissue flat. It was permanent and not fixable.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Linda look at it again. Instead of the opening of the ear being at 6 o'clock it is at 3 o'clock. Now if the ear was straight up and down and connected at the top of her head, than yes it is a folded ear I would fix. As it is it's a deformity that is a cull in a registered goat, so no I would not try to fix it.


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

So what should be done if you reserve a baby and when it is born it has a twisted folded ear, a deformity like this?


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## TroyG (Nov 20, 2009)

Great thread. I thought this was a position issues as well and they just grew out of it. 

So if a kid comes out with ears like this will the cardboard trick work every time?


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I have had boer goats born with their ears folded and they did grow out of it, but if the base of the ear is sitting tilted on the head that can't be corrected with cardboard. Because of the way the ear is sitting on the head that is what causes the ear to fold lengthwise because that is the way it relaxes down in a folded position. In one that has less or no control over it, the ear tends to go backwards. Here are a couple pictures.

This one shows how the goat's ear goes backwards.

[attachment deleted by admin]


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

This is a blurry picture, but it shows sort of how a baby goat's left ear is slightly twisted with the opening facing more forward than facing downward. It also is hard to tell but it shows the fold in the baby's ear. Hope this helps to sort of explain.

[attachment deleted by admin]


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

> So what should be done if you reserve a baby and when it is born it has a twisted folded ear, a deformity like this?


I would refuse the kid if it did not have good ear positioning. A deposit contract should have a clause that allows for refusal for physical flaws. This is speaking of the base only. Vicki explained it well using the clock as a way to visualize. What ever happens with the actual ear itself is just personal preference but the base should be in the correct position.

I had reserved and paid deposit on a package of goats and the one with the incorrect ear set was part of the deal. I really had to take her or pay full price on each of my purchases. So it was a learning for me for sure.
Lee


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

You cull, you cull for poor breed character, you cull for poor bites, (especially in Nubians taking into consideration where we came from and how a bite gets worse as a Nubian ages) you cull for extra teats and really poor conformation. Cull doesn't have to mean Kill, it can mean sold unregistered and I will ruin their ears with CULL in both ears. Obviously someone with registered/recorded stock would cull more heavily than someone with unregistered stock, because we do have an ADGA code of ethics, a breed standard with faults, moderate to serious and disqualifications. It's all in your guidebook. And since these ears are not pendulous they are a disqualification, you can not ethically click pendulous when filling out her application of registry.


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