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DHIR and Performance Programs
**This page should in no way replace the consultation of a goat veterinarian. It is merely a quick grouping and explanation of terms and helpful information. Always consult your goat veterinarian before supplementing or such.**
Common Dairy Goat Terms, Acronyms, Definitions, and Info to Know
Dairy Goat Registry Association - An organization that allows you to register offspring of registered dam and sires, records, and maintains genetic data/lineage of dairy goat breeds spanning generations. Thanks to this record keeping, a dairy goat's parentage can be tracked back over many generations, from many years ago. These organizations have performance programs that dairy goat breeders can participate in, such as Linear Appraisal, Milk Test, goat shows, etc. These programs help breeders understand how their breeding program is progressing and aids them in making more informed herd decisions/goals, and ultimately further the development of the dairy goat breed.
Dairy Goat Club/Association - These clubs do not register and maintain pedigrees/lineage like the National Dairy Goat Registry Associations previously mentioned above. Instead, they promote the dairy breeds through organizing and hosting sanctioned ADGA shows, creating informative workshops, promoting youth involvement in dairy goats, mentorship, and much more.
They are a great place to reach out to (and join!) if you are just getting started with registered dairy goats, or even if you are a seasoned goat raising veteran. These clubs can provide a wealth of information, and help you understand all of the different aspects of dairy goat raising, breeding, showing, etc.
Not to mention, you will be able to connect with nearby and local breeders, who share your love for dairy goats!
ADGA - The American Dairy Goat Association.
MDGA - The Miniature Dairy Goat Association.
AGS - The American Goat Society.
ADGA Genetics - A website where individual pedigrees, milk production, PTIs, planned pedigrees can be created/compared, inbreeding percentages viewed/compared, and much more can be seen and used to help make herd breeding and management decisions.
Polled - A genetic condition that causes goats to be born without being able to grow horns.
Disbudded/Disbudding - The horn buds of young goats (between 4-14 days old) are burned with a disbudding iron, causing no horns to grow (with the exception of scurs).
Scurs - Small horn re-growths after disbudding, they can occur on both male and female goats, but there is a higher chance of this happening in males.
First Freshener (FF) - The first time a doe has given birth and been in milk.
Freshened - When a doe has given birth. With each successive kidding, a number is added showing how many times a doe has given birth: 2nd Freshening, 3rd Freshening, 4th Freshening, etc.
Kidding - When a doe is giving birth.
Dry Yearling - A doe that hasn't freshened yet and is or over 1 year old, but not over 2 years old.
Weaning - The process when a baby goat (when they are mature enough) begins to stop drinking it's dam's/goat milk, and rely solely on eating solids.
Conformation - Pertaining to the structure/bones of a goat (rump, brisket, pasterns, etc.).
Doe - A female goat over 12 months old.
Doeling - A female goat less than 12 months old.
Buck - An intact male goat over 12 months old.
Buckling - An intact male goat less than 12 months old.
Wether - A castrated male goat of any age.
Heat - When a female goat is in estrus, and is receptive to being bred to a buck.
Flagging - When a female goat wags her tail to spread her scent, telling bucks that she is ready to be bred.
FAMACHA - The process of checking a goat's inner eyelid color and comparing it to a FAMACHA scorecard. This is used as an aid in determining parasitic worm loads in the goats, in tandem with fecal worm counts.
CDT Vaccination - A vaccination that is given to goats to protect against Clostridium Perfringens Type D and Tetanus.
CVI (Certificate of Veterinary Inspection) - When a vet performs a health exam on a goat(s), and upon completion gives the owner a certificate, signed by the vet, stating that the goat(s) were examined and determined to be healthy. These are required when participating in dairy goat shows.
Copper Bolus - A capsule filled with copper wire oxide particles which, when ingested, will imbed in the rumen of the goat where it will slowly release copper over a period of 6 months (duration/effectiveness of release will vary depending on the level of copper antagonists being ingested via water, feed, forage, etc.).
Selenium - An important mineral that usually has to be supplemented regularly (in the form of paste, gel, or liquid injection) due to a large majority of pastures/land being deficient. This then results in selenium deficient forage/hay, that the goats are consuming. Being deficient in this mineral can result in White Muscle Disease. However, before supplementing, one must verify that their land/pasture is truly selenium deficient, as well as consult with a goat/large animal veterinarian. Here is a helpful website that shows selenium soil levels in the USA: Selenium in Counties of the Conterminous States (usgs.gov)
A.I. (Artificial Insemination) - Where a dairy goat doe is inseminated with semen that has been collected from a buck, and stored frozen in a nitrogen tank, until it's time to inseminate a doe.
Lap A.I. (Laparoscopic Artificial Insemination) - Where collected semen is deposited directly into the oviduct of the doe. This procedure requires the doe to be put under anesthesia, and laid on their back in a special 'chair', allowing the reproduction vet to inject semen directly into the oviduct.
Embryo Transfer - Where a donor doe is artificially inseminated, then a week later, a veterinarian flushes the donor's uterus to receive an embryo(s). This embryo is then stored in the same manner as semen, until it is time to be implanted into a recipient doe, who will carry and give birth to the donated embryo(s).
Live Cover - Where you have your doe bred to a live buck. This can be accomplished with a buck that you own, scheduling a driveway breeding with another goat breeder's buck, or leasing a buck to your farm, from another breeder, for a period of time.
Johnes Disease - A "fatal gastrointestinal disease of goats and other ruminants (including cattle, sheep, elk, deer, and bison) that is caused by a bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). Also known as paratuberculosis, this infection is contagious, which means it can spread in your herd." (Paratuberculosis in Ruminants - Digestive System - Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com))
CAE (Caprine arthritis and encephalitis) - A "persistent lentiviral infection of goats. There are multiple clinical presentations: 1) leukoencephalomyelitis, affecting 2- to 6-month-old kids, 2) chronic, hyperplastic polysynovitis, 3) indurative mastitis, and 4) interstitial pneumonia. Presence of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) can be confirmed in a goat herd by means of serologic testing; however, a positive result does not guarantee an individual animal will develop clinical signs of disease. A presumptive diagnosis is based on clinical signs. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for CAEV, supportive care is indicated, with euthanasia necessary in severe cases." (Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis - Generalized Conditions - Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com))
CL (Caseous lymphadenitis) - A "chronic, contagious bacterial disease that manifests clinically as abscesses of peripheral and/or internal lymph nodes and organs. The characteristic purulent material is very thick and non-odorous. Whereas the peripheral form presents as abscesses of single or multiple peripheral palpable lymph nodes, internal CL typically manifests as chronic weight loss and ill thrift. Culture of active lesions for Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is diagnostically definitive. When eliminating animals from the herd/flock is undesirable, treatment consists of consistent, sustained antimicrobial therapy to reduce the numbers of active draining lesions and isolation from other herd mates until lesions are dry and/or resolved." (Caseous Lymphadenitis of Sheep and Goats - Circulatory System - Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com))
Biosecurity Testing - When blood is drawn and sent to an animal lab for testing, to determine if the goats are positive or negative for disease.
Linebreeding - Where related goats are bred together (not directly such as mother/son, daughter/father, brother/sister, and such), but uncles, nieces, aunts, nephews, cousins, etc. to retain desired traits of a genetic line.
Goat Gestation Lengths - For miniature dairy goats, the average gestation length is 145+/- days, while standard dairy goats gestate for 150+/- days.
Rumen - The largest of the four stomachs of ruminants (goats, sheep, deer, etc.).
DIM - Days In Milk, a term used in milk testing, a program that's part of the USDA's DHI.
DHI - Dairy Herd Improvement, a program created by the USDA that consists of performance programs (milk test and linear appraisal) that evaluates and determines dairy goats that have strong production, quality milk nutritional makeup, and quality genetic conformation. It is helpful in making herd management decisions and evaluating the progress/quality of individual goats.
DHIR - Dairy Herd Improvement Registry
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