# Linear Appraisal question



## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

Mind you, I have family milk goats and doubt we will ever show, although I do have a few good quality does from a successful and reputable breeder. We do aim to improve on what we have through good breeding. I would like to participate in Linear Appraisal (at our breeder's invite) this coming year. I have one 5 y/o doe who has a far from perfect udder. I know that! I'd like to know more about her structure, width, all that. Would getting her appraised be a joke or looked down on? Do does have to be freshened to be appraised? I mean I know their udders couldn't be appraised if they weren't freshened but do they HAVE to be? I guess she should. Is it okay to have your herd appraised if they different breeds (I have reg. Fr. Alpines and reg. La Manchas)?


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## Katarina (Oct 25, 2007)

Yes, I would do LA it is very educational and enjoyable. 

You have to have all of your goat appraised no matter what breed unless they are less then a year old or have been apprised in the past year.


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## Ravens Haven (Oct 26, 2007)

I would do linear if I were you. I did linear my first year ever in goats and let me tell you it wasn't pretty but I learned loads that have carried me throught these past 5 years, so go ahead and get your learn on...plus it is a great time visiting with friends.


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

I plan to do LA this year for the 1st time. I understand that I sign up everyone that I own. Do I clip everyone as if they were going to a show? How early do you get notification what day it's on? I work & need enough advance notice to schedule that day off. Can you video record it? I figure I'll learn a lot & I don't wnat to forget anything


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## Ravens Haven (Oct 26, 2007)

Yep you have to sign up all your milking stock, young stock and bucks are optional. If you are going to clip then yes show clip them but clip them all keep it uniform don't have some clipped and some unclipped. I don't rememeber how early last year they notified me but if there is a day you can't do it make sure you put it on your application. I have never video recorded my session so I don't know if you can or not, I would guess you could. Someone else will have to answer that one for you.


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

My understanding was, if you have Nubian and Lamancha, or any other dairy bred you can choose to appraise either one, or all.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

I didn't clip some of my not so nice does...or my bucks and some of my young stock. My scores were pretty uniform, clipped or not. I tried to at least clip udders with a 10 blade even if I didn't clip the whole goat. You don't have to appraise all your breeds- my first year I didn't appraise my grades- but you do have to appraise all your goats of milking age in the breed you choose. The appraiser will excuse does that aren't in condition...like my son's free-martin :lol

Appraise- it is worth it!


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## Ravens Haven (Oct 26, 2007)

I didn't know that you could pick and choose the breeds you want to Linear, that is interesting. The clipping tip came from a friend of mine that has been in goats for many moons now, I don't always clip all of mine either but that was his suggestion, keep it uniform. 

But even though opinions differ one will stay the same: APPRAISE....


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Well...some will say not always to appraise. The purpose of appraisal is really to follow the impact that the bucks that you use are having on your herd. It is to asses the bucks by looking at their daughters, really. If you are not using a buck consistently, or trying to improve by using certain bucks consistently, then LA, while interesting and eductaional, will not be as worthwhile.


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

For me it is worthwhile because I learn about the structure of the goat. If I know the goat, and get help with evaluation, it will be easier to choose the right buck for her.


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

I do plan to appraise all my breeds- I only have a few La Manchas & just 1 recorded grade......my main breed is the Nigerians. I do have 4 bucks & it'll be interesting to see the impact of the older 2 boys. The younger 2 will have their 1st kids this spring.


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## Knotneer (Nov 12, 2007)

baileybunch said:


> Would getting her appraised be a joke or looked down on?


I have a 4 year old doe who is really ugly. She's been appraised three times and the appraisers have never given the slightest hint that she was unworthy or I was a nut for keeping her.

The appraisers I've had were all people who were passionate about goats and wanted new breeders to succeed. Their knowledge, experience, willingness to answer questions and explain type is invaluable. They do have their quirks but no-one is going to laugh at you or use the phrase "good sausages" to describe your doe.


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## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

Okay. One more thing. This doe is not yet bred. I <might> breed her in January. So, with the appraisal in May, she won't have kidded yet. Does she qualify? I'm confused, so I'll lay it out then you all can tell me...
I'll have a grade Alpine (2nd freshner, 3 years old, kidding in March), 2 Fr. Alpines (ff, year old, kidding in March), 1 LM (ff, year old, kidding in April), 1 LM (5 years old, kidding in June).


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Nearly all my First fresheners were apraised heavy bred, as in a week before their due date, it killed a couple of their final scores, but it is still worth it. Babbett was appraised not in milk and she was 5. 

If you use appraisal wisely when you are new, and since you don't really have daughters of your bucks to do, it's really a critique of your brood stock...listen carefully ask tons of questions and then when you get your paperwork, look at all the individual scores in each section...notice any patterns develope as poor scores in catagores of your goats. Simplistically you want your bucks family to be higher in those areas of the score card.

Once you are appraising your bucks kids, you can then see how they are scoring differently at the same ages their dam were...better and he is doing a good job for you,,, worse and he is not. YOu should see your first 3 scores improve sometimes dramatically as you fix you nutritional management, nothing but genetics and some udder health/care can fix the last score. Vicki


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

"look at all the individual scores in each section...notice any patterns develope as poor scores in catagores of your goats. Simplistically you want your bucks family to be higher in those areas of the score card."

This was big for us. When we first appraised we had only been in goats for 2 yrs. We were able to see on paper where we consistently needed the most improvement (we had great heads, pretty decent udders, needed strength and height above all else).

We could see pretty clearly what we needed. So, they next time we went looking for a buck we only considered options that came from lines strong in those things plus we looked specifically by those traits on the adga website. I am really looking forward to seeing those things improved as a result of using this guy!


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Oh, and my favorite AND least favorite part of the appraisal last time was when the appraiser looked at one of our FF and said "what an...interesting...doe!"

huh?

He continued to say "I cant wait to see her when she is 5 years old. She will either be spectacular..or...MORE interesting" :lol

So I am REALLY interested in seeing how she does on appraisal this yr as a 3 yr old. Better? or more INTERESTING?!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Also take your breed into consideration. Lamanchas rarely will get the stature scores of Nubians, and nubians never the rear udder of Alpines. So compare apples to apples also.

My favorite appraisal story was a young junior doe. I had pretty much looked over a group of about 10 kids and it was late fall, so I decided just to have JW look at them for me to get down to the 8 I wanted to keep. I was getting some good scores, and pretty similar scores until I brought out one doe. He told me to let my daughter hold her for me...so I gave her to her and walked over with John and stood next to him...he started chuckeling, as I was looking at how long bodied, how pretty headed, how really dairy...oh my god her front legs were awful, I mean awful, all the way into the shoulder...I had never seen her stood up like this with someone holding her. She went unregistered to a family farm the next weekend! And excused for being out of condition  Vicki


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