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it in a linebreeding aspect! It simply means, that an unrelated buck must be used for a generation from time to time. An outcross will provide hybrid vigor, therefore improv- ing overall thrift and longevity in any herd. While linebreeding is the great genetic


revealer, outcross breeding is the great bal- ancer. When breeders feel they are in a ge- netic corner, an outcross can bring them back to center. In our own herd we have seen the benefits produced by selective linebreeding. For years we have utilized linebreeding


as a large part of our breeding program. Eight years ago we purchased a new buck named WWCHH Money Maker to use on our mostly commercial doe herd. His sole pur- pose in our herd was to produce fast growing, marketable meat kids and provide some re- placement does that carried more muscling, in hopes of improving our liveweight-to-rail weight ratio. Not only did this buck provide what we needed in one generation, he became the foundation of our now registered herd. His kids were fast growing, heavy muscled and converted feed into growth more than any buck we had previously used. After seeing how consistent his kid crops were for a couple seasons, we found we were having fewer and fewer does in the herd he could breed because we were keeping so many of his progeny. At this point, the typical herd approach would be to replace Money Maker with an outcross buck. In this case however, we chose instead to utilize linebreeding. We bred Money Maker to a doe that was 50% related and


made a young buck we kept back for our own usage. This young buck was then used to linebreed all of the Money Maker daughters, further locking in the phenotype and geno- type of Money Maker in our herd. If we roll the clock forward to today, more than 95% of our herd goes back to Money Maker at least twice. He has become the foundation of our herd and the reason our kid crops each year are so consistent. Although, we use Money Maker’s blood to linebreed, we also buy an outcross every few generations. In eight years, we have used four outcross bucks and five of our own linebred bucks. By weaving in a little outside blood from time to time we have maintained frame size and longevity in our herd while gaining the benefits linebreeding can produce.


Understanding genetics will require much more than a single month’s article, ho- wever, the foundation can be laid so that breeders can start to breed with more strategy than generations past. Utilizing both line- breeding and outcross breeding effectively will maximize the genetic and marketing po- tential of any productive herd. As bucks are turned out to breed, let us all consider the opportunities that linebreed- ing and outcrossing can have on our bottom- lines.


(Gregory Meiss raises Boer goats and is head nutritionist for his family’s com- pany, Meiss Feed and Supply, Sibley, Ill. He can be contacted at 217-379-7985, through Facebook: Meiss Boer Goats or by e-mail at gmeiss@meissfeedandsupply.com.)


What am I really


paying for?


One of my friends asked, “Why do you pay so much money for your kids to show goats?” Well, I have a confession to make, I don’t pay for my kids to show goats. So, if I am not paying for them to show, what am I paying for? • I pay for those moments when my kids become so tired they want to quit but don’t.


• I pay for those days when my kids come home from school and are “too tired” to go the barn but go any- way.


• I pay for my kids to learn to be disciplined.


• I pay for my kids to learn to take care of their body.


• I pay for my kids to learn to work with others and to be good teammates.


• I pay for my kids to learn to deal with disappointment when they don’t win what they’d hoped for but still have to work hard in the grading. • I pay for my kids to learn to make and accomplish goals. • I pay for my kids to learn that it takes hours and hours and hours and hours of hard work and practice to create a champion and that success does not happen overnight. • I pay for the opportunity my kids have and will have to make life- long friendships.


• I pay so that my kids can be in the ring instead of in front of a screen. I could go on but, to be short, I don’t pay for show lambs, I pay for the opportunities that showing lambs pro- vides my kids with to develop attrib- utes that will serve them well throughout their lives and give them the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far, there is no greater investment out there.


~Unknown Author~ 16 Goat Rancher | August 2021


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