4-H Goats

Rusty

I bought two wether Boer goats for showing in 4-H.  A wether goat is one who has been neutered. On September the 23rd I bought my goats from a nice family we go to 4-H with.  Each of my goats was about 3 months old already. After I got my goats, my sister decided she wanted a goat too, so she bought one as well. The reddish colored one is named Rusty. The other goat's name is Houdini because when we first got him, he escaped a lot but not any more.  My goats are market goats, these are goats that are intended to go to the market for meat after the sale.  (I will not be eating my goats.) 
You have to work with your goat and practice every day so you will be ready for the show.


I first showed my goats in the East Texas State Fair and placed 4th and 10th place in their classes.  A class is a weight range that is decided after all goats are weighed at registration for the show.  This way all goats are divided into groups of goats that are the most alike. 
The way you show market goats is; First, as you lead your goat in and around the show ring you should be confident and always keep your eye on the judge while also knowing what your goat is doing. Several times when all of the other goats stop walking you need to setup your goat or brace it.  Bracing is when you try to get all four feet setup like a square then push on his chest with your knee so that his back gets hard as he braces to push back on you. When the judge is two to three goats over, you really need to start bracing your goat. 


Next, when the judge is in front of your goat, you have to brace the goat really hard because the judge will be feeling the back of your goat. While the judge is doing that, he may ask you some questions such as how much you feed your goat, what is the goats name, etc. 


Then, when the judge is done checking all of the goats in the class, he will pick out the goats that he likes the best and pull them to the side.  He will then check these goats again before putting them in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place order.  


Finally, you will walk your goat out of the ring. If your goat placed 1st in your class, you will most likely be called back with all of the 1st place goats from each class to be judged again for a Grand and Reserve Grand champion out of the whole group.


Different rules will apply in different shows, so be sure to check the rules before you register or go to a show.


When you get home from the show even if you win first place you still need to work with your goats. 


I hope this post will help you learn how to show your goats. 


Here are some pictures of us working with dad to build our goats a shelter.  Now the goats can get out of the weather and we can keep them separated when we feed to keep some from eating the others food.

Building the shelter.

   

Taking a break for a photo. 

 

Fresh by Brookshires

Portobello  Mushrooms.

Learning about lobsters.

Desserts at the Bakery

Baby bananas.

Flowers in the floral department.

Colored cauliflowers.   

Fresh fish and octopus.

Bread in the Bakery  

Cheese slicer

 My mom scheduled another awesome field trip for TACHE! She had organized a field trip to the new grocery store FRESH. We went to the fruit and vegetable area first.  It was neat because they had all kinds of exotic fruits and vegetables. They had colored cauliflower, all different kinds of mushrooms, live and dried herbs, dragon fruit, lots of root vegetables, mini pineapples and  also miniature bananas. Plus lots of other yummy looking fruits and vegetables.  Second, we looked at the meat and seafood section and they had there own lobster tank and a sushi bar where you could buy prepared sushi. We got to watch the chefs prepare some sushi too. They also had different kinds of whole fish you could buy head and all. In the meat area we got to talk to the butchers. They told how they made their sausages and they made patties with vegetables and cheese in them. At the cheese counter, they had a cheese slicer that I thought was neat because it cut the block of cheese with a thin piece of wire.  The cheesiologist gave lots of different samples of cheese that were good( well most of them).  The cheesiologist let us smell some of the  cheeses. They had a big  cheese wheel from Wisconsin; but now back to the rest of the store. Next we saw the full burrito bar, sandwich bar, and soup and salad bar and where the chefs cooked and prepared dishes that you can buy and take home and microwave. Also the chefs had made bagged meals, you could buy and take home. We went from there to the gelato bar which is an Italian ice cream. Gelato is like regular ice cream or yogurt but it's creamier than ice cream and is healthier. Then the tour guide showed us the tofu isle and the gluten free isle too. Then we got a tour of the bakery. The chefs  had made lots of different breads and desserts for us to sample. We got to sample homemade tortillas that were good but my moms  tortillas are better. We also tried pumpkin bread, baguettes and some homemade peanut butter cups that were great! Next, we got to go to the store room which was fun because we got to go into a giant freezer that was less than 10 degrees. Lastly, we saw the floral department that was interesting because it had different flowers which I had never seen or heard of before. That wraps up the tour. I had an awesome time and would rate it 8 stars out of 10. 
                                               That's all thanks for reading
                                                                             Christopher

Patty pan squash.

Dragon tongue beans.

Texas quail eggs.

Cheese isle. 

Fruit.

Stack of cheese.