Evaluating Meat Goat Breeding Stock:

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What to look for in breeding stock before you buy:
Structual Correctness:
refers to the skelatal system or bone structure of the animal.A goat should hold its head erect,neck should extend out the top of the shoulders.A goat should travel and stand wide and straight on both front and rear legs,legs placed squarely under the body.Stiff joints and sore feet may be clincial signs of disease or genetically related problems to structure.Goats should have a strong,level top and a long rump with a slight slope from hooks to pins,goats should be heavy boned and strong on their pasterns.Avoid goats with open shoulders,weak tops,weak pasterns,or steep rumps.
Muscle:
generally a goat that walks and stands wide is going to be heavier muscled.The goat should have a deep heavily muscled leg and rump.When viewed from behind the widest part of the leg should be in the stifle area.The goat should have a broad,thick back and loin that is naturally firm and hard handling.A good goat should be wide through its chest floor,with bold shoulders and a prominent forearm muscle.The forearm is the best indicator of muscling in thin goats.
Volume and Capacity:
refers to the relationship of body lenght to body depth and body width.Goats should be long bodied,with adequate depth and spring of rib.Avoid selecting goats that are short bodied,shallow bodied,narrow based and flat ribbed.
Frame:
size indicates growth potential,maturity pattern.Extremely long legs are no more desirable than extremely short legs.The goats height measured at the withers should be slightly more than the hips.
By: Susan Schoenian,Sheep & Goat Specialist,University of Maryland