Goat 4-H question

[ccmarie]

At our county fair a couple weeks ago, I watched some of the dairy goat showmanship. Most of the goats had not been milked that morning. Some were so engorged that milk dripped on the ground as they walked. Is there something in the requirements about not milking your goat, or were the kids unprepared? It seems to me that a goat not in pain and milked properly would be a lot easier to handle. As a nursing mother myself, I know how much that hurts.

 

[Stacykins]

Each show has rules for the dairy goats as when they are to be milked out before the show. Unless the milking happens there in the fair barn at the exact same time (this is what occurs for most fairs), it is up to the honesty of the showman (and yes, some people do bend the rules). Some does might be such heavy producers that the amount of time between milk out time and the time in the ring causes them to fill back up again.

 

[H Diamond]

Most shows have a specific time that the doe has to be milked out by (usually 12 hours prior to the show give or take) to show in the conformation type classes. Like Stacykins said, if the doe is a heavy producer and if the show is running late or she spent a lot of time in the show ring, yes she's going to be full. Ideally you want the does udder to be full but not engorged. A full udder gives a nice rear udder height, which of course is great for competition. If the doe is so full she is dripping milk, and you decide to milk just a little out to take the pressure off, the first place that milk comes out of is the top of the udder. So... it's kind of a tricky thing getting that balance of full enough but not too full. That being said, all the 4-h shows I've ever seen for the showmanship portion of the show requires the doe to be completely milked out as it's not about the doe's conformation, but about how she is handled.
My suggestion would be to contact your local extension agency (if you are in yuma county, they have a website, I just googled it). They will be able to give you the rules for 4-h shows.