Dairy Goat Judging
For newbies
By Katie Wolf

The Scorecard
• The ADGA scorecard is the most vital tool in judging
• It uses a point system with categories
– 4 categories for “senior does”
• Does who have kidded
– 3 categories for “junior does” and bucks
• Does who have not kidded as well as males

Breaking it Down
• The senior doe scorecard is similar other than the extra category, so we’ll focus on it
• “General Appearance” is 35 points
• “Dairy Character” is 20 points
• “Body Capacity” is 10 points
• “Mammary System” is 35 points

• This is where it is important to know the parts of the goat
• Parts are almost always asked in showmanship classes, so learn them now!
Parts

Simplified
• Now that you’re an expert on parts of the goat, we can start talking about the scorecard
• Basically, general appearance involves straightness of the back, feet, legs, and overall eye appeal
• Body capacity involves depth & width throughout
• Mammary system is all things udder
• Dairy character is a bit more complicated- we’ll get there.

General Appearance (GA – 35pts)
• “An attractive framework with femininity, strength, upstandingness, length, and smoothness of blending throughout that create an impressive style & graceful walk”
• 35 points total
• Subcategories
– Stature
– Head & breed characteristics
– Front end assembly
– Back
– Legs, pasterns & feet

GA sub: Stature (2pts)
• Withers should be high than hips
The black doe on the left is downhill (bad), while the buck on the right is quite uphill
(good). Often, young animals will outgrow being downhill

GA sub: Stature
• Long bone pattern throughout
– Long back
– Tall
– Not “boxy” looking
– Good cannon bone length

GA sub: Head & Breed (5pts)
• Head shapes vary by breed
• Swiss breeds should have straight or dished faces
• Muzzle width indicates power
This doe has a good head. There is plenty of width & depth to the muzzle without giving up femininity. The shape from the side is also lovely.

GA sub: Front End (5pts)
• Prominent withers, smooth blending, elbows
& shoulders tight, strong brisket
The kid on the left shows too much movement about the shoulder and elbow. On the other hand, the doe on the right is very smoothly blended and tight (good).

GA sub: Back (8pts)
• Strong, straight, level, wide rump structure
Left: Beautiful topline; long, level, smooth. Top right is weak in the chine/loin junction, while bottom right shows excessive roaching.

GA sub: Back
• Rump should be long, wide, and level from hooks to pins as well as thurl to thurl
• Should resemble a rectangular plate

GA sub: Feet & Legs (15pts)
• Bone flat & strong, smooth motion, clean knees, straight & square front legs
• Tight toes pointing forward; deep heels
This doe is a problem from the dewclaw down. She toes out and is slightly down on her pasterns as well as splay toed.

GA sub: feet & legs
• Should be able to draw a line from pin bone through hock & heel, with this line hitting the ground perpendicularly
• “Good” hock angulation

Dairy Character (DC - 20pts)
• “Angularity & general openness with strong yet refined
& clean bone structure, showing freedom from coarseness & with evidence of milking ability giving due regard to stage of lactation”
• 20 points total
• Looking at:
– Neck
– Withers
– Ribs
– Flank
– Thighs
– Skin

• The good…
DC breakdown
This doe screams dairyness.
She is long & lean in the neck, sharp in the withers, no obvious fat deposits, thin pliable skin, and a nicely incurving thigh. Feed goes straight to production and not weight gain.

DC breakdown
• …and the not-so-good.
This doe gives up a lot of dairy character. Her withers are not prominent and she has a slightly round bone structure. No ribs are visible and there is a definite fat cover. The 1/3 of udder that should be visible behind the leg is hidden entirely by excess weight.

Body Capacity (BC - 10pts)
• “Relatively large in proportion in size, age, & period of lactation of animal, providing ample capacity, strength, & vigor”
• 10 points total
• Subcategories
– Chest
– Barrel

BC sub: Chest (4pts)
• All about width & extension of brisket
This doe is showing a ton of strength with her broad chest

BC sub: Barrel (6pts)
• Depth in forerib increasing to a deep barrel with widesprung ribs

Mammary System (MS – 35pts)
• “Strongly attached, elastic, well-balanced with adequate capacity, quality, ease of milking, & indicating heavy milk production over a long period of time”
• 35 points total
• Subcategories
– Udder Support
– Fore Udder
– Rear Udder
– Balanced, Symmetry & Quality
– Teats

MS sub: Udder Support (13pts)
• Strong medial suspensory ligament holding udder high; attachments strong & snug
This udder is smacked on there and doesn’t move as she walks. The floor is well above her hocks, and there is plenty holding it there,

MS sub: Fore Udder (5pts)
• Long, full foreudders are good
• Pockets are bad
• This doe has a good foreudder

MS sub: Rear Udder (7pts)
• Height & width is what we’re after
The doe on the left shows the curvature desired from side profile, and the Saanen is showing the general idea of rear udder width as well as height into escutcheon.

MS sub: Balance (6pts)
• One-third of the udder should be seen in front of the leg, one-third hidden under it, and the last third behind the leg
• Also looking for textureshould be elastic with no scar tissue

MS sub: Teats (4pts)
• Uniform size, proportional to udder capacity, pointing nearly straight down or slightly forward, relatively close together

That’s all, folks
• These are the basic ideas of what we’re after in dairy goats
• In addition to the scorecard, there are defects to watch for
• The scorecard and ADGA guidebook give greater detail
• Going to shows and listening is the fastest way to sharpen your skills