Notes from The NorthbranchOn the Art of Retention
Here in NW Pennsylvania, spring is in the air: the snow has receded, daffodil greens are poking up out of the ground, and I've even heard the peepers calling to their loved ones on several of the warmer evenings recently. Most importantly, it is a time of unbridled joy - those of you who frequent this site know just what I mean -- it's kidding time! And, except for a couple of my late-bloomers, it's time for me to assess which youngsters will be retained for my herd, and which ones I will offer up to folks on my wait list.
At NorthBranch Abbey, we take genetics seriously and, as the object of my affection, the American Nigora just so happens to be the recipient of all my blood, sweat, and tears. So while folks are anxiously waiting for me to send out the list of available kids, I am studying pedigrees and watching each and every goat that has graced my paddocks this year as a precursor to choosing my pick(s)-of-the-litter. So... just what does it entail for a kid to make it through my gauntlet of evaluations?
If I am to be honest, choosing kids to retain for breeding starts before they are even conceived. A good shepherd must be able to objectively evaluate his herd in order to determine what is needed to create a "better" Nigora. Careful consideration must be given to herd members that have less than stellar confirmation, poor fleece quality, lackluster dairy production, or a predisposition towards undesirable issues such as parasite infestation or hoof scald. In each case, it pays to choose a sire that is strong in the qualities that are deficient in the dam and facilitate these breedings, in hopes that the desired traits will be produced in the offspring.
Many of my selections are also based on genetics as well - since I (personally) do not espouse "line breeding," I am always trying to figure out how to produce kids that will help me realize the next filial generation. This method of breeding is very much like the game of chess - for I am always trying to think "10 moves ahead." The mathematics can be exhausting... leading me to suspect that perhaps I could have paid better attention in school (lol).
Once the kids have "hooves on the ground," if I have done a good job with my pairings, I feel half of the hard work is done. At this point, I simply have to wait and see which kids, barring anything obviously undesirable (such as the wrong sex) will be the ones who are most likely to fill the categories for which I am aiming. Certain traits, such as fleece quality and dairy prowess, are impossible to determine in young Nigora kids, and so, using our best judgment, must be speculated upon based on what the parents have produced.
Some readers have suggested that they will choose for characteristics such as coat color, blue eyes, or the tendency to be naturally polled. Early on in my role as a Nigora breeder, I too, placed a good deal of weight on these attributes, but alas, attractive as these traits are, I now almost immediately shelve them amongst those that I consider "skin deep." They are not, in and of themselves, worthy enough to sway my decision to retain, because these traits are not singled out as necessary attributes in the ANGBA standard and thus, have no bearing on the makings of a good Nigora.
By way of example, allow me to draw your attention to the lovely Lila, one of the most unlikeliest of candidates to be chosen for retention. "NorthBranch Abbey Lila" was born in 2018, a year when most of the Nigoras kids I offered were curly, colorful, and blue-eyed - compliments of the flashy Nigora buck I had been lucky enough to score from a breeder of quality Nigerian Dwarfs who was "not interested in crosses." Lila, on the other hand, was unremarkable in appearance - plain black with little frosting, practically slick, brown eyed, and horned. I didn't think much of this "ugly duckling." Indeed, the only reason Lila remained on the farm was, quite simply, because nobody else wanted her.
As time went by (my ignorance notwithstanding), Lila matured into a handsome doe, of whom I am grateful was overlooked as a weanling. For though her guard hair is still very short and very black, her fiber has the longest staple of all the Nigoras on the farm, and is a lovely hue of dove-grey. As fate would have it, we lost her sire shortly before his first crop of kids arrived, making Lila the source of some very special genetics.
As a dedicated shepherdess, I always try to use my head to make the best choices that will help lead me to F6 and that elusive "perfect Nigora." Still, I can't discount the phenomena that sometimes, in spite of myself, I just get lucky.