Georgia is black with random spotting, roaning, and frosting

Ronald is solid gold with random spotting, a white poll, and frosting.

Back in 2021, Georgia developed gangrenous mastitis directly after kidding. Her odds were not in her favor for surviving. Thankfully, she did survive. One of her mammary glands, though, does not produce milk. I had decided she wasn’t going to be bred going forward. However, my daughter wanted to breed her and had agreed to bottle feed the kids if necessary.

We didn’t breed any goats in 2022, but in 2023 Georgia birthed two handsome bucks and had no trouble keeping them fed.

Georgia has had 12 kids. Eight boys & four girls. Betty is her one doe we have retained.

EUMELANIN COLOR

Color	Ronald	Georgia	GG1	GG2
Dark Brown	–	–	–	–
Black	–		–	–
Unknown		–

PHEOMENANIN COLOR

Color	Ronald	Georgia	GG1	GG2
White	–	–	–	–
Cream	–	–	–	–
Tan	–	–	–	–
Gold		–
Red Brown	–		–	–

AGOUTI LOCUS PATTERN

Color	Ronald	Georgia	GG1	GG2
Solid		–
Chamoisee	–	–	–	–
Buckskin	–	–	–	–
Cou Clair/Blanc	–	–	–	–
Swiss Marked	–	–	–	–
Sundgau	–	–	–	–
Hidden	–		–	–

WHITE SPOTTING & MODIFIERS

Color	Ronald	Georgia	GG1	GG2
Random
Belted	–	–	–	–
Schwartzal	–	–	–	–
Roaning	–
Frosting
White Poll
Moon Spots	–	–	–	–

POLLED, OR NOT

Color	Ronald	Georgia	GG1	GG2
Polled	–	–	–	–
Horns

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

Please keep in mind this information is primarily for me. I’m posting it publicly in case others are interested. However, I don’t claim to know all the things. This is my method for keeping records of the genetics because I find it fascinating and I’m trying to educate myself.

#2kpioneer

The post 2023 Georgia & Ronald Breeding appeared first on .

This is the 4th time Georgia has freshened. It is also most likely her last. The birthing went well, however she ended up with gangrenous mastitis. Since that diagnosis doesn’t have anything to do with the topic of this post, I will save that story for another day.

Georgia’s dam is Willow, who is a solid cream color with random spotting and roaning. I have not seen what Georgia’s sire looks like, but the registered description states “black, frosted muzzle and ears, white on face, sides.” Georgia is black with random spotting, roaning, and frosting.

Tam has a buckskin pattern. His sire is light buckskin, while his dam is a medium buckskin.

This year Georgia birthed two bucks and a doe. Most often if you have a black goat, the pattern of the other parent will be present. This is definitely true with these 3 cuties. All have variations of Tam’s buckskin pattern.

This is a total of 10 kids for Georgia. Six boys & four girls. We have kept one of the does, Betty.

EUMELANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	EG1	EG2	EG3
Dark Brown	–	–	–	–	–
Black
Unknown	–	–	–	–	–

PHEOMENANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	EG1	EG2	EG3
White	–	–	–	–	–
Cream		–	–	–
Tan		–	–	–	–
Gold	–	–			–
Red Brown	–		–	–	–

AGOUTI LOCUS PATTERN

Color	Tam	Georgia	EG1	EG2	EG3
Solid	–	–	–	–	–
Chamoisee	–	–	–	–	–
Buckskin		–
Cou Clair/Blanc	–	–	–	–	–
Swiss Marked	–	–	–	–	–
Sundgau	–	–	–	–	–
Hidden	–		–	–	–

WHITE SPOTTING & MODIFIERS

Color	Tam	Georgia	EG1	EG2	EG3
Random	–		–
Belted	–	–	–	partial	–
Schwartzal	–	–	–	–	–
Roaning	–
Frosting
White Poll	–
Moon Spots	–	–	–	–	–

POLLED, OR NOT

Color	Tam	Georgia	EG1	EG2	EG3
Polled	–	–	–	–	–
Horned

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

Please keep in mind this information is primarily for me. I’m posting it publicly in case others are interested. However, I don’t claim to know all the things. This is my method for keeping records of the genetics because I find it fascinating and I’m trying to educate myself.

#2kpioneer

The post 2021 Georgia & Tam Breeding appeared first on .

This is Georgia’s 3rd freshening. We missed seeing the births by just a few minutes. But, as far as I could tell she did great and had no problems afterwards.

Wander’s sire is Tam, who is is buckskin. Wander’s dam is Willow, who is a solid cream color with random spotting and roaning.

We had a bit of an oopsie in the barnyard. Wander literally broke the wire fencing and ended up on the girl’s side. So this was an unplanned pairing.

Georgia’s dam is also Willow. I am not sure about the color and pattern of Georgia’s sire. Georgia is black with random spotting, roaning, and frosting.

Georgia had one buck and two does. These babies look nothing like her last two births, which had Tam for the daddy. All three of these cuties are primarily black with tons of roaning. Last year’s kids had very little roaning.

This is 7 total babies for Georgia. Four boys & three girls. All healthy and spunky.

EUMELANIN COLOR

Color	Wander	Georgia	DG1	DG2	DG3
Dark Brown	–	–	–	–	–
Black
Unknown	–	–	–	–	–

PHEOMENANIN COLOR

Color	Wander	Georgia	DG1	DG2	DG3
White	–	–	–	–	–
Cream	–	–	–	–	–
Tan	–	–	–	–	–
Gold		–	–	–	–
Red Brown	–

AGOUTI LOCUS PATTERN

Color	Wander	Georgia	DG1	DG2	DG3
Solid	–	–	–	–	–
Chamoisee	–	–	–	–	–
Buckskin	–	–		–	–
Cou Clair/Blanc	–	–	–	–	–
Swiss Marked		–	–	–	–
Sundgau	–	–	–	–	–
Hidden	–		–

WHITE SPOTTING & MODIFIERS

Color	Wander	Georgia	DG1	DG2	DG3
Random	–
Belted		–	–
Schwartzal	–	–	–	–	–
Roaning
Frosting
White Poll
Moon Spots	–	–	–	–	–

POLLED, OR NOT

Color	Wander	Georgia	DG1	DG2	DG3
Polled		–	–	–	–
Horned	–

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

Please keep in mind this information is primarily for me. I’m posting it publicly in case others are interested. However, I don’t claim to know all the things. This is my method for keeping records of the genetics because I find it fascinating and I’m trying to educate myself.

#2kpioneer

The post 2020 Georgia & Wander Breeding appeared first on .

Thankfully another uneventful kidding season. All the mamas did great.

Our farm gained 7 bucks and 5 does.

I pushed out their kidding dates this year because I don’t like having babies in the colder, rainier weather. This year they were born the last week in April and first couple weeks in May – except for Moon, who kidded in July because her first breeding didn’t take.

Georgia

2 bucks

Willow

1 doe & 2 bucks

Wyldestyle

1 doe & 1 buck

Bunny

1 buck & 2 does

Moon

1 buck & 1 doe

#2kpioneer

The post 2019 Kidding Season appeared first on .

This is Georgia’s 2nd breeding season. She did fabulous again. The pregnancy and birth were trouble free. And, even though she’s a bit stand-offish towards her human and goat friends, she is a great mom.

Tam’s sire is light buckskin, while his dam is a medium buckskin. Tam also is buckskin.

Georgia’s dam is Willow, who is a solid cream color with random spotting and roaning. I am not sure about the color and pattern of her sire. Georgia is black with random spotting, roaning, and frosting.

Georgia had two bucks. They are both buckskin. The lighter buckskin has similar coloring to Georgia’s doe she birthed last year. The other buck is darker overall – more black areas and the brown areas are a darker brown. Neither have much roaning.

This marks four total babies for Georgia. Three boys & one girl. All buckskin.

EUMELANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	CG1	CG2
Dark Brown	-	-	-	-
Black
Unknown	-	-	-	-

PHEOMENANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	CG1	CG2
White	-	-	-	-
Cream	-	-	-	-
Tan		-	–	–
Gold	-	-	-
Red Brown	-			-

AGOUTI LOCUS PATTERN

Color	Tam	Georgia	CG1	CG2
Solid	-	-	-	-
Chamoisee	-	-	-	-
Buckskin		-
Cou Clair/Blanc	-	-	-	-
Swiss Marked	-	-	-	-
Sundgau	-	-	-	-
Hidden	-		-	-

WHITE SPOTTING & MODIFIERS

Color	Tam	Georgia	CG1	CG2
Random	-		-	-
Belted	-	-	-	-
Schwartzal	-	-	-	-
Roaning	-		-	-
Frosting
White Poll	-		-	-
Moon Spots	-	-	-	-

POLLED, OR NOT

Color	Tam	Georgia	CG1	CG2
Polled	-	-	-	-
Horned

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

Please keep in mind this information is primarily for me. I’m posting it publicly in case others are interested. However, I don’t claim to know all the things. This is my method for keeping records of the genetics because I find it fascinating and I’m trying to educate myself.

#2kpioneer

The post 2019 Georgia & Tam Breeding appeared first on .

Continuing my fascination with genetics, this post is about the coat patterns of goats.

In my previous post on coat color, I mentioned that the Agouti locus determines the color of a goat. Part of determining the color is also determining the pattern.

A goat receives two alleles on the Agouti locus – one comes from the dam, one comes from the sire. If the alleles are the same (homozygous), such as both being buckskin, then the kid would also be buckskin. However, if the alleles are different (heterozygous), different combinations of color patterns can be expressed. The Agouti alleles are co-dominant, meaning they both can be shown. In general, though, the pattern with most tan will be expressed.

Two other things to consider are pattern modifiers and white spotting. White spotting can change what we see on the goat’s coat, masking its genetic color pattern.

Agouti Allele’s

This is not a complete list, but the most common in Nigerian Dwarf Goats

SOLID

When only pheomelanin is present and no eumelanin this produces a solid pattern. This is the most dominant pattern.

Our goat, Bunny, is a solid light cream color with white spotting.

CHAMOISEE

Also known as Badgerface. Goats with this pattern are tan or brown, with a black (or dark brown) underbelly, dorsal stripe, facial stripe, and lower legs.

BUCKSKIN

Also known as San Clemente. The body on a buckskin can be cream, tan, or dark reddish brown. They are distinguished by their black (or dark brown) cape around the head, neck, and shoulders. Buckskins also express black (or dark brown) on top of their tail and chevron on the back legs. Their head is black (or dark brown) with lighter stripes.

Vern is a dark buckskin with random spotting.

COU CLAIR/COU BLANC

Also known as Peacock. These goats have a tan (cou clair) or white front (cou blanc), while their back half is black (or dark brown). They also have black (or dark brown) facial stripes.

SWISS MARKED

Also known as the Toggenburg pattern. Goats that are Swiss marked have a black (or dark brown) body. The pheomelanin (white, cream, or tan) areas include all 4 legs, facial stripes, ears, and under the tail.

WyldeStyle is Swiss marked.

SUNDGAU

The Sundgau pattern is similar to the Swiss marked pattern with a black (or dark brown) body and light legs, facial stripes, ears, and under the tail. However, the Sundgau pattern also has a light underbelly. It also has black (or dark brown) stripes on their light legs.

NO PATTERN

When there is only eumelanin and no pheomelanin present, this produces an all black goat. This is the most recessive pattern.

COMBINATION PATTERNS

Because goats can show both the pattern they inherited from their dam and the one they inherited from their sire, sometimes combination patterns occur.

Crash is a Buckskin/Swiss Marked combination.

White Spotting & Other Modifiers

Sometimes, in certain areas the eumelanin and/or pheomelanin pigments are not produced. This results in white spotting.

Genetically, the base color is still present, but it is masked by the spotting.

There are multiple genes associated with white spotting, so one goat could have multiple spotting patterns.

RANDOM

Random spots on the body

BELTED

White band around a goat’s midsection. The belt may go entirely around the goat, or not – and be referred to as a partial belt.

WyldeStyle has a partial belt with her Swiss markings.

SCHWARTZAL

The body is primarily white with dark markings on the head and sometimes the legs.

ROANING

Roaning is when white hairs are sprinkled among colored hairs. They are single hairs, not spots of white.

Georgia has roaning throughout her body.

FROSTING

When ticking occurs on the muzzle, ears, or tail it is known as frosting.

Georgia also has frosting.

WHITE POLL

A white poll refers to a white spot on top of the head.

Bunny has a white poll.

MOON SPOTS

Moon spots are random spots of color on top of a base color.

Moon has moon spots.

My goal is to take this information to learn more about and enhance our own herd.

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

The post Goat Coat Pattern appeared first on .

We had three does due to kid the end of February to the beginning of March. Thankfully, all three mamas did great and we had a problem free kidding season.

We had such a mild winter with barely any snow, so I was hopeful the births would happen snow free. Nope. We received the most snow of the entire season during those couple weeks during kidding. The only snafu this caused was that we couldn’t use one of the kidding pens I planned to use.

BUNNY

Bunny surprised me just a little by having her baby a couple days sooner than I was expecting. She was in her kidding pen, though, so all was good. I was also a bit surprised that she had only one baby.

Farm Girl heard a goat making a horrible sound, when she investigated she noticed Bunny was in labor. We got to the barn just as Bunny birthed her little boy. We watched and watched expecting her to have another. After half an hour, both Farmer John & I checked her using the bouncing method and decided there were no more babies.

Because the temperature was below freezing I made the buckling a goat coat using fleece I had in my stash.

He was born on our friend’s birthday, so we started calling him Frankie. This worked out perfectly since one of my new favorite show’s is Grace & Frankie.

GEORGIA

Georgia, Georgia, Georgia.

She would have had her babies out in the snow. And, it’s all my fault.

I wasn’t expecting her to kid for another few days so I opened the stall door in case she wanted to go outside. She did. As I was about to go back inside the house I decided to check her backside for any indication that labor might be close. I noticed her vulva was a different shape. It had been puffy. Now it wasn’t puffy, but it was elongated. I right away brought her back into the barn and shut the door. I wasn’t expecting things to progress as quickly as they did, but I was hoping the change meant she was close.

Since Georgia had a change, I walked over and checked Willow. She did not have any noticeable changes, so I went back to peek at Georgia. Holy Guacamole, she was in active labor! She was laying down in obvious distress making a horrid sound.

I literally turned around, walked a couple feet, and grabbed the goat cam. Within those few seconds she pushed out her first baby – a boy. I stood there in awe and within another minute or two she delivered her second kid. This time a girl. It happened so quickly, I’m not even sure she knew she had another baby.

Doe on the left. Buck on the right. Their markings are incredibly similar, but the little girl’s tan areas are darker and redder than the little boy’s.

Georgia was a first freshener, so I was slightly concerned about how she would do during labor. She did fabulously. Below is her labor video.

WILLOW

I was getting a bit nervous about Willow. I was expecting her to kid over a week sooner than she did. For the most part, she didn’t seem in distress. But, there was a time two days before she delivered that I thought for sure she was in labor. When I checked her, her vulva was actually open a bit. Then later she was laying with one leg out obviously uncomfortable. A couple hours later – nothing. She went back to her typical self.

The next day – nothing. No indication that something was wonky the day before or that labor would happen soon.

The next morning, before taking the kids to school, I checked on her. I noticed nothing.

By the time I got back from school, she had 3 babies. I was so relieved!

She had 2 bucks and a doe.

I did get video of Willow’s birth. But, since the little rascal opted to have her babies in the short amount of time I was not home, the video is all from the goat cam.

This was our second kidding season. Last year we missed Willow’s birth by just minutes also. So this year I was determined to learn how to know when a goat is nearing labor.

I researched the topic and put up camera’s so I could watch their every move. I watched a ridiculous amount of Goat TV searching for signs that labor was near.

What I learned is that no amount of Goat TV will really give an indication of when labor is near. None of my goats gave early signs. I even went back and watched video prior to their labor’s searching for signs. Virtually nothing. One time Bunny pawed at the ground – big deal, Moon paws at the ground or backs of people and other goats all the time and she’s not even pregnant. Willow had a bit of excitement, but that was two days before she gave birth. I already knew she was close, so that didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know – expect cause me to worry something might be wrong.

None of the typical signs happened until they were in active labor. I was hoping for signs a little sooner.

I need more practice before the tail ligaments give me a clue to labor being near. I started feeling what I thought were their ligaments about a month before they were due. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice much of a change. Willow and Bunny’s may have been getting softer, but not so much that it was a clear indication of labor. And, Georgia’s always seemed loosey goosey to me.

I will continue my labor sleuthing skills next year.

I am incredibly thankful for the seemingly easy, trouble free births. We have 3 mama’s who did great and a total of 6 healthy babies.

The post 2018 Kidding Season appeared first on .

Georgia was a first freshener this year, so I was excited to see what her babies would look like and what kind of mom she would be. The babies are darling and she is a great mom.

Tam’s sire is light buckskin, while his dam is a medium buckskin. Tam also is buckskin.

Georgia’s dam is Willow, who is a solid cream color with random spotting and roaning. I am not sure about the color and pattern of her sire. Georgia is black with random spotting, roaning, and frosting.

Georgia had two kids, one buck and one doe. They have amazingly similar markings. They are both buckskin, but the buck is lighter than the doe.

Tan is dominant over other colors and I know these are only 2 kids. But, it is a peculiar thing that Willow, who is solid cream, has solid black babies. But Georgia, who is black, did not. It is definitely something I want to take note of in the following years.

EUMELANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	BG1	BG2
Dark Brown	-	-	-	-
Black
Unknown	-	-	-	-

PHEOMENANIN COLOR

Color	Tam	Georgia	BG1	BG2
White	-	–	-	-
Cream	-	-	-	-
Tan		-		–
Gold	-	-	-
Red Brown	-		-	-

AGOUTI LOCUS PATTERN

Color	Tam	Georgia	BG1	BG2
Solid	-	-	-	-
Chamoisee	-	-	-	-
Buckskin		-
Cou Clair/Blanc	-	-	-	-
Swiss Marked	-	-	-	-
Sundgau	-	-	-	-
Hidden	-		-	-

WHITE SPOTTING & MODIFIERS

Color	Tam	Georgia	BG1	BG2
Random	-		-	-
Belted	-	-	-	-
Schwartzal	-	-	-	-
Roaning	-		-	-
Frosting
White Poll	-		-	-
Moon Spots	-	-	-	-

POLLED, OR NOT

Color	Tam	Georgia	BG1	BG2
Polled	-	-	-	-
Horned

Science is Fun & Genetics are Fascinating!

Please keep in mind this information is primarily for me. I’m posting it publicly in case others are interested. However, I don’t claim to know all the things. This is my method for keeping records of the genetics because I find it fascinating and I’m trying to educate myself.

#2kpioneer

The post 2018 Georgia & Tam Breeding appeared first on .

I brought home Georgia when she was about 12 weeks old. She is a spunky thing, like her mom, Willow.

I love her markings and think she will make a great goat to show.

* * * * * * *

PEDIGREE

THE BB MISS GEORGIA O’KEEFE
D1822232

DOB: 7/16/16
disbudded
black & white

* * * * * * *

Here she is learning bad habits from her mama. They like to sneak out and find fir trees to nibble on – even in the snow.

* * * * * * *

KIDDING HISTORY

Georgia was a first freshener in 2018. I am so pleasantly surprised how the role as mama has calmed her personality.

2018 Kidding

x Tam
DOB: 3/2/2018
Twins: 1 buck, 1 doe

2019 Kidding

x Tam
DOB: 4/27/2019
Twins: 2 bucks

2020 Kidding

x Wander
DOB: 4/15/2020
Triplets: 2 does, 1 buck

2021 Kidding

x Tam
DOB: 4/19/2021
Triplets: 2 bucks, 1 doe

We didn’t breed our herd in 2022

2023 Kidding

x Ronald
DOB: 5/2/2023
Twins: 2 bucks

#2kpioneer

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