The Goat Source Newsletter
Volume 5 Number 3 March 2008
Here is your March issue of The Goat Source Newsletter. I have been having lots of fun with the Goat Source Blog. As you know (you get the newsletter on the blog), I have been moving lots of things over to the blog format. It is much more interactive than the website and very flexable. The newest addition is the "Buy My Goats A Beer" widget. If you like what you see - buy my goats a beer (yes, they like beer) and I’ll donate it to Heifer International. I’d like to see comments - if I get feedback, I can write about the things you want to hear about.
It is with regret that I am going to shut down the forum, as it has not generated much interest. I had hoped it would be a great place to get together with like minded goat folk, but aside from early posts, it has mostly died. Time to dispatch it to forum limbo.

Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends.

What’s New This Month?

• So, How Do You Name All Those New Kids?
• Long Time ADGA Member, Judge and Friend Passes Away
• This Month’s Quiz
• Classified Ads
• You Call Him What? by Connie Reynolds
• Answer to the February Quiz/Congratulations to the prize winner.
• Helpful Hints

So, How Do You Name All Those New Kids?

Kidding season is fast approaching (already here for some people!) and with all those cute new kids comes the need for a whole crop of new names!! Do you have a system for naming (or as I like to call it - a method to your madness)?
Many people have a system involving a set formula, such as all kids have names with a different group criteria for each year - ie. this year flower names, last year spices…
Others use a combination of sire and dam names. I remember a Nubian buck that was very popular many years ago, named "Super Buck". He had lots of offspring that were named using "Super" as the first part of their name (after the herd name).
I use a combination initials to ID the sire and dam and the kids name follows. I used to try and follow some sort of pattern going down the dam or sire line, but finally gave it up as a bad job. I did have a streak going with a buck I bought. His name was Foxx’s Pfoxx, he had a daughter named Pfoxx’s Pflox and she had a daughter named Pfloxx’s Pflax. Pflax had a horrible udder and that was the end of that! Now, I just name the kid whatever strikes my fancy.
Last years kids are Chunky Monkey (very large boy!), Moaning Myrtle (she never shuts up), UPS (she’s brown), Firecracker (red head with a temper), Black Cat (Firecracker’s sister), Corona (Cuervo’s daughter), and Letter Fold (folded ears).
The herd name is first in the registered name, so Corona would be named as follows:
Columbine GC Corona The G stands for Gordon (her sire), the C stands for Cuervo, (her dam), so by looking at her registered name, I have her bloodlines in mind. If I have a buck or doe with the same initial, such as "Gordon" and "Gabriel", I would use the intials GO or GA. I have come up with some strange combinations this way, and have to be careful I don’t wind up spelling something, well lets just call it inapropriate!
There are many websites that have name suggestions.This is a collection of links.
http://www.goatconnection.com/names.htm

Long Time ADGA Member, Stephen Richter, Dead of Heart Attack

District 5 News group passed on the news that Stephen Richter died of a heart attack, Saturday Feb. 16th. He was a well known figure in the dairy goat world, with a long career as a breeder, judge and appraiser. A guestbook has been set up at http://www.webs-best.com/SteveRichter.htm for those who wish to leave their thoughts and stories. He will be missed by his many friends and aquaintances in the goat world.

This Month’s Quiz
 Remember - the first correct answer to the quiz gets a prize! Email your answers to me at The Goat Source.

• What is Tetanus?

Classified Ads

Saint Patricks’ day is coming - get your goat person a great green shirt! Get Yer Goat has them!!

I Love Goats! Pocket Knives Laser Engraved folding pocket knife (opens to 6 ¾ inches). Black composite handle with pocket clip. Every goat person needs a good knife!! I love mine and use it all the time!
Order today - $5 each plus S&H. Discount when you order more than one. Email me at The Goat Source for more information. Need a good fund raiser? Order these for resale OR get your own design laser engraved (custom orders must be for quantity of 100 or more). Quantity discount on all custom orders!! I can work with you on custom orders, just let me know what your needs are!

YOU CALL HIM WHAT?
by
Connie S. Reynolds
autumnfarmboers.com
Ravenswood, WV

Oh dear, I have to admit that I have greatly disappointed many a customer by the names I have given my goats. And people aren’t quiet about it any more when they hear the name I give a goat. Use to be they would just go, "Oh?" Now, I’m hearing, "What a crazy name. Why did you name him that?" In my defense, all I can say is that I would like to see them name one hundred kids every year and see if they don’t start running out of ideas. I guess that’s my problem, I haven’t run out of ideas for names.

Some people give really odd names to their goats, I think, but when that goat goes and wins show after show, or gets sold as the highest goat in the auction, then suddenly that name is magic. People are asking, where did they get such a show winning name? It just suit’s a famous goat, they say.

Then, along comes my Boo or Lightning Bug or Bouquet. For some reason people don’t think that sounds like a famous name. Boo was named Boo when my young niece saw her and that was the first thing she said to the goat. Lightning Bug got her name because she flitted around and just seemed to light up any place she want. She had personality plus. Then there was Bouquet. No, not named after a bouquet of flowers, but I just couldn’t call her Bucket. I was in the stall when tiny little Bouquet thought she could take a flying leap across her mom’s small water bucket (I have learned not to put big buckets in stalls). Her front legs got across, her belly got caught in the middle of the bucket and her hind legs were stuck on the other side of the bucket. And, she was just too short to simply stand up and walk across the bucket. There she was, stuck. Her little legs inches above the floor, swinging back and forth. She came this close to getting the name Bucket after I lifted her off the bucket. If she had been a boy, she would have got the name Bucket. Now how would that have sounded in a show ring - "Here we have the grand champion of the whole world - Bucket!" Then everyone would be wondering how I came up with such a show winning and appropriate name.

I also do theme years. One year it was cowboys. I had John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Hopalong Cassidy, etc. Another year it was breads - Muffin, Biscuit, Muffinette, Cinnamon Roll, Crescent, Sweet Roll, Honey Nut Roll, Sour Dough, Corn Bread, etc. Now, candy bar year was fun. We had Snickers, Babe Ruth, M&M, Hershey, Fifth Ave, Clark Bar, Toffee, Carmel, etc.

We don’t want to forget the snack food year: Cheetos, Pringles, Pretzel, Potato Chip, Frito, Cracker Jack, Popcorn, Peanut, Almond, Cashew, etc. I haven’t quite had the nerve yet to name a goat Pork Skins.

Oddly enough, I’ve never felt the desire to name goats after vegetables or fruit… yet. Brussel Sprouts just doesn’t roll off the tongue easily, or Broccoli, Cabbage, Green Bean, Spinach, Kale, Mustard Greens. Okay, I did name one little girl Sweet Potato and she was a real dandy. Naming a goat after fruit is worse. Could you imagine a goat named Banana or Kiwi? Okay, I take that back now. A goat named Peaches would be cute. I’ll have to write that down for later.

We do have a Sun line on the farm. The original mother, Sunshine, has a whole series of little girls named Sunlite, Sunbeam, Sun Bonnet, Sun Flower, and the latest, Sun Pixie and Sun Dixie. I just couldn’t name those last little girls Sun Visor or Sun Screen. Now, if they had been boys …

Then, to remember who belonged to whom without running to look in the records, I would do things like, mother Gabby had Gabriel and Gabe, mother Mabel had Abel and Gable, mother Ester had Estelle and Edith, mother Hannah had Hyacinth and Henry, mother Boo bred to the Eggsfile line had Eggs Boo and mother Boo being from the Bodacious line, so the brother to Eggs Boo got named Bodacious Boo.

And then there was the year of the Bobs: Billy Bob, Annie Bob, Joe Bob, Frank Bob, Sue Bob, etc. I did give one goat with just a single name that year, Elaine. I don’t know, she just looked like an Elaine to me. And, some goats will strike you that way; just one name seems to fit.

Oh, don’t forget about cereals. They make great names. Particularly names like Coco Puff, Honey Snap, Sugar Snap, Frosty O’s, Post Toasties, etc. See, how can buyers complain about names when there are such great names out there waiting to be snapped up and put on a goat?

So what do goat customers do when they don’t like the name I have given a goat? Let’s just say there are a lot of goats in the area that have been renamed Connie now. I think it’s a way to reprimand me and my name giving. Why do I think that? They like to call up and tell me how Connie has been, how many kids she has had, if she likes to beat up on other goats, how a good worming did her a world of good, or how the children love her because she will eat anything they hand her on their picnics, particularly cookies and peanut butter sandwiches. Yes, I do believe there is a certain amount of glee when they call up to say her nick name is now Connie.

So, what am I doing this kidding season on names. Movie theme is sounding rather attractive to me right now. I have a kid out there that would make a great Zorro with that slash of white across his face. And, I definitely have a Chainsaw running around. Also remember that movie foods can be included like Goobers, Buttered Pop Corn, Raisenettes. You know, I have a funny feeling a lot more goats are going to end up with the nick name Connie again.
THE END

Answer to the February Quiz:

Here is the answer that was sent in for the quiz.
What is a Body Condition Score? Why is it important?
Doc Kat B wrote:
Body condition score is used to quantify the goats body condition-ie it gives you a numerical score for the ratio of body fat to lean muscle.  It is a great tool when you are teaching kids to judge.  The AQHA has a very nice article with good numbers on their website 4ahorse.com that applies to horse, but can be extrapolated over to goats (Note: I tried to find this article and it didn’t seem to be there. It may have been deleted or moved. Leslie)

Here is the definition:

Body condition scoring serves as a useful, easy-to-use management tool to determine the nutritional needs of a  herd. Using a numeric scoring system,  you can evaluate goats in the field to estimate body energy reserves. This information can be used to adjust feeding strategies. Since body condition greatly affects reproductive performance as well as feeding efficiency, monitoring body condition  can greatly influence a producer’s bottom line.

Here is a link to an article from Dairy Goat Journal:
http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/82/82-3/Donna_Meyers-Raybon.html

Also here is a link to an ebook I have on Body Condition Scoring:

Body Condition Scoring by Carolyn Eddy

Here is another link:
http://kinne.net/bcs.htm

Doc Kat B was the first (and only!) with the answer and wins the prize for this month! Congratulations and I will contact you in a few days!! Thank You for participating!

Helpful hints:
When I set up the buckets of grain to distribute to the various pens, I always put the grain in the same color bucket for the same pen each time. This way, all I have to do is look at the bucket color to tell who gets what. It also makes it easier if I have help doing chores, I can just say the green bucket goes to the kids, …etc.

When you are trimming kid feet, take the opportunity to have a look at their teats, to check for any problems. It is not unheard of for extra teats to grow that weren’t there when the kids were born. While this doesn’t concern many meat goat raisers, it is a "no no" in dairy goats.

That’s all for this month,
See you next month!!
Leslie, The Goat Source
The Goat Source
13611 NCR 9
Wellington, Co 80549
(970) 568-9622
http://www.goatsource.com
The Goat Source