Bucks Structure

Here is a buck showing its scrotal attachment. This was scored as moderately tight. Anything looser than this I would not use. If it is very hot then the scrotal will loosen because this is part of the bucks cooling system. Be sure that both sides of the scrotal is even. You do not want daughters with lopsided udders.

Look for width in the escutcheon, a tight to moderately tight scrotal, level rump and a wide front end. A buck needs to have all over good conformation being level and smooth across the top and stand on good sound legs and feet.

Buck

Evaluation of Ebony

Here is the evaluation sheet of Ebony the doe who is pictured below. A 1 is excellent, a 2 is good and a 3 is poor. You can see the score given for each different part of the body then all these scores are added together to get her final score that you see at the bottom of the page with a notation of Ex.(excellent) and signed by Harvey.

Clicking on the evaluation sheet will make it easier to read.

Ebony

She milked 12.1 pounds of milk in a one-day milk testing that is about 1 and 1/2 gallons per day.

Thoughts

We are coming to the close of Evaluate Your Own Goat, there are a few things that I need to mention in regard to breeding the best possible Kinder goat.

You want to breed for that big robust animal with a huge front end and lots of extension of brisket. You want the fleshing over the shoulders. You want those big necks that blend into those shoulders.

You want that animal to have a smooth and level top line that begins at the neck and goes all the way to the tail.

You want a rump that is not sloping. You want an udder that is high and tight. You want capacity in that udder, not an udder the size of a grapefruit. You want an udder that fills that escutcheon area. This what they mean when they mention the capacity of udder. You must have that capacity of udder to get a good volume of milk per day.

Care needs to be taken not to breed an animal that is too tall. We do not want to breed just another dairy animal we are breeding a dual purpose animal. Maximun height at the withers is 26 inches for does and 28 for bucks. If you don't where the withers are on your goat then click on Older Post and find the illustration showing the parts of a Kinder goat. Take a yardstick and measure at the withers.

Don't just buy a buck, be very critical when buying or using a herd sire. Look at his dams udder, ask how much she milks. If possible ask to milk her to see the ease of milking. Look at the overall conformation of the dam. Once again watch that rump! That buck is more than 50% of your herd so pay very close attention to him.

Width, teat placement and top line in doelings

Here are some important things to look for in your doelings. Width in the escutcheon (width between the rear legs). This shows the room for an udder.

Teat placement, size and shape. Look for teats that are hanging plum and of nice size.

Look for a smooth and level top line. Watch that rump that it is not sloping. Look for levelness in the chine (this is the area right behind the shoulder blades).

Look at the rear legs that they do not turn inward.

Udders and Rumps

I don't mean to just beat this subject to death but I just want to remind you that it takes a good rump to have a good udder. Don't use a buck with a sloping rump, he will probably pass this on to his daughters, you will then multiply those loose, floppy udders in your herd.

Have a doe with a loose udder then look for a buck to improve this. Udders can be improved in the future generations with the right buck!

Udder Height and Fore Udder

You will notice in the illustration of the fore udder that there are pockets shown in the fore. Some times after a does second kidding some of this pocket fills in. Notice the photo that follows of a good rear and fore udder in a Kinder doe.

Rear and Fore Udder

This is a nice rear udder attachment. Notice on the fore udder how it blends itself into the belly area. This was a 1 in fore udder.

Teat Size and Shape

Teat size is very important in the ease of milking but orfice size is more important. A smaller teat with a nice size orfice can be milked with ease. A larger teat might look like a doe is easily milked when in fact this might not be true because of a smaller orfice size.

Width of Rump and Rear Legs

When you buy a young buck pay close attention to his rump. You can tell when they are very young if that rump is going to be nice. I have seen Kinder herds that were great but with using just one buck that did not have good conformation things changed in a hurry.

Angle of Rump

I am going to type this in because I cannot get it to print large enough to read easily.

The angle of the rump or pelvis from hooks to pins has a direct bearing on the reproductive performance of a goat because it influences the ease of kidding and drainage of the reproductive tract. he Angle of the rump is also related to the length of udder from foe to rear, strength of for udder attachment, and udder depth. Observing the goat on the move from the side, this is a way to evaluate the angle of the rump from hooks to pins. Rump angle is measured from steepness, which is assigned 20 or less points, to levelness, which is assigned 30 or more points. Rumps intermediate in slope (30 to 20 degrees)are assigned 20 to 30 points. Each difference of 5 degrees in the rump angle, plus or minus, results in a difference in the score of 5 points. A rump angle of 50 or more is assigned 1 point.

Udders

I feel sure there are those saying that they just want their goats for milk and really don’t care if the udder is well attached because they are not going to show. Those low floppy udders can cause great pain and suffering to that doe. A low hanging udder that floppies around causes a much greater chance of injury to the udder and also mastitis. We all want the best for our goats.

If you have a doe with a poorly attached udder this can be corrected in the next generation by using the right buck. But using a buck with a sloping rump and poorly attached scrotal will only result in more does with bad udders.

Angle of the Rump

The angle of the rump has a great bearing on both udders of does and scrotal attachments on the buck. A buck who has a sloping rump will probably have a loose scrotal attachment, it will look similar to the udder of this doe in the photo. Bucks with loose attachments will produce daughters with the same trait. Loose udders!

Slope of Rump

Please be very careful of the slope to the rump on your goats. The first of the three illustrations is very sloping this will never give you a highly attached udder. It is going to put that udder in harms ways because the medial suspensory ligament can never hold the udder up and tight with a rump like this.

Front ends

The front end of the first one on the left is much too pinched. The heart and lungs cannot function properly when pinched as shown in the first illustration.

Kinder front ends

Evaluate Your Own Goat

Chocolate Kinder Milk Pudding

2/3 c sugar
3 T (heaping) cornstarch
3 T baking cocoa
3 c Kinder milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 T (heaping) butter
1 tsp vanilla
Combine sugar, cornstarch and cocoa in a sauce pan. Gradually add Kinder milk and beaten egg. Cook stirring often over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Cool. Enjoy!!

Goat Cheese

Take some of that fresh goat cheese mix it with some basil, dried tomato's and garlic then enjoy it on some crusty bread or crackers.

Just a little reminder.