Continuing my fascination with genetics, this post is about the coat patterns of goats.
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Goat Coat Color
Although it is true outward appearance is really of little importance, a fun bonus with raising Nigerian Dwarf Goats is the variety of coats and patterns. One goat can look similar or look completely different from their herd mates. I could have a herd of 15 goats and all 15 goats potentially could look different. This fascinates me. The genetic process for goat color is
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The Science Behind Color & Pattern
Simply because I find it fascinating, I’ve been researching the science behind Nigerian Dwarf Goat coat colors and patterns. I have discovered it is quite complex. But for this post, I’ll start with the basics of genetics.
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Polled, or Not?
Polled animals are animals born naturally without horns. Some breeds of cattle are entirely polled. There are not any goat breeds entirely polled. In goats, the polled gene is dominant. This means that a kid can only be polled if one, or both, parents are polled.
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2018 Willow & Tam Breeding
Last year Willow was bred with Crash. Having been bred with Tam this year, I am curious to see the similarities and changes in her kids outward appearance.
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2018 Kidding Season
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.
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2018 Georgia & Tam Breeding
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.
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2018 Bunny & Tam Breeding
We just brought Bunny home last summer, so this was our first experience with breeding her. Her coloring is similar to Willow’s, so I was interested to see the similarities and differences between their kids.
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NWODGA 2018 Goat Conference
A couple weeks ago I attended the NWODGA’s annual goat conference. It was a great day and I learned a lot from the speakers I had the privilege to listen to.
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2017 Willow & Crash Breeding
As I’m learning about color and pattern genetics, I want to put it into my real world. I want to learn more about which traits are dominant in my herd, which traits are seemingly missing, and the mysterious traits that are sure to be uncovered.
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