Grooming their goats
Getting goats fair-ready can be a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun as wellBy Phillip Bock
Article Photos
TYLER - The last minute preparations of 4-H participants at the Lincoln County Fair can be anything but ordinary as they get their animals ready for show.
"I need hot water to shave my goat," Dana Schaefer said searching the fairgrounds for hot water.
After filling her bucket with lukewarm water, she returned to her goat with shaving cream in hand. The goat, a 3-year-old named Trust, had been secured to a wooden structure called a milking stand, contently snacking on corn.
Dairy judging was Friday, and Bill and Deb Schaefer, along with their daughters, Dana and Samantha, wanted their goats to look their best. Carefully shaving the udder and the body of the goat is just the beginning.
"You have to wash them and make sure their hooves are clipped and clean," Samantha Schaefer said.
The little details can make a big difference during judging of the 4-H dairy goat show. The judges look at everything from the goat's haircut to how well the udder was shaved.
"They look at the size of the udder, how soft it is," Bill Schaefer said. "How it hangs down. It's a lot like a dairy cow show."
Dana and Samantha Schaefer are showing two goats during the 4-H dairy goat competition. It is the one time a year that they show off their purebred toggenburg goats.
"You always walk with the goat facing the judge so the judge always sees the good side of the goat," Samantha Schaefer said while practicing how to show her goat. "You want their back legs a little further apart. You get a view of the udder better."
The two goats compete against each other during the competition. However, since they are the only two goats entered in the competition, they are guaranteed first and second place.
"We've been trying for the last three years to try to get more interest in showing dairy goat at 4-H," Bill Schaefer said. "But dairy goats are not big in this area."
The Schaefers were motivated to get into dairy goat showing by Bill's cousin. She owned a large goat farm and was more than happy to help when Bill told her the girls needed a 4-H project.
"My cousin has been raising toggenburg goats for 20 to 30 years," Bill Schaefer said. "We needed a 4-H project and she was more then happy to help. She was their mentor."
During the competitions the judges also look at the milk production of the goat. Though, with only six goats the Schaefers do not have a very high milk output, Schaefer said. They milk their goats about once a day and do not get enough volume to market the milk.
"We give it to our dog," Samantha Schaefer said.
But to the family, the goats are not just production or show animals, they are family pets.
"They're funny," Bill Schaefer said. "They have their own personalities."
