what is the best way to pass on traits

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I have a grade Alpine doe that gives about a gallon of milk a day.It doesn't take long after she gets milked to start getting that full bagged look.I wanting to try to get a doe from her with similar milking quality and quantities,in other words carry on her good genes to the next generation of does, so when she retires I'll have a doe just like her.She had 2 bucks this year , the sire was a registered French Alpine .Will line breeding her with one of her bucks give me good results that I am looking for. If not what is a good breeding method to try to carry on her good genes?

-- SM Steve (unreal@msn.com), March 12, 2002

Answers

If you have paperwork on the doe go back to the breeder of the doe. Having one doe with good milk ability doesn't necessarily mean that all of her bloodline is like this. And very honestly unless she is on limited grain and just grass hay or pasture 8 pounds of milk from an Alpine isn't good production, though it is wonderful on those rations for a Nubian! What you want to look at in breeding your doe is a buck whose mother had excellent milk production along with a tightly attached udder, who has daughters who also milks as well or better, and who has sisters who also milk well. Most decently bread Alpines have good milk supplies, so I would extend your search to good feet and legs, excellent support of the udders, and size. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 12, 2002.

A.I. her to a buck from Three Rings, or some other herd with very high milk production. Three Rings

In fact, I have a Three Rings buck for sale ( $400-), and bucklings will be available from these lines also, starting at $100. Wisdom's Way Alpines Magnolia just had two bucklings from a great buck- Iroquois KC Yreka Legacy. Legacy's dam, Shahena'ko Bellflower, was a breed leader, #1 in the country for butterfat in 1995, she gave a LOT of milk, over 4,000 lbs in 305 days if memory serves me well. Legacy had a daughter make the breed leader also, so I think he is able to transmit this trait (he also gives high butterfat). Magnolia's sire, Magellan, is the son of another breed leader- Three Rings Bijou, again, milking over 4,000 lbs. Maggie milked well as a yearling last year, peaking at about 7-8 lbs, it looks like she is off to a really great start this year too. Tracy from this forum has already reserved one of these bucklings, the other will be available at $100.

Now I'll quit with my sales pitch! :-)

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 12, 2002.


Hmmmmmm..... Grade alpine who milks a gallon a day.... well, that is respectable, but depends what the other breed is, if its Saanan, then that would be about avg to low. I breed Alpines like Rebekah, and also have to focus on dairy character and milk production, but we are now a commercial dairy and I have to. I would suggest looking carefully into the pedigrees if you can and look for triangles, can you possibly get any information on her background, does she by chance have a tattoo in her ear? What you need to find is if the lines will cross well. You can take the top ten doe and a top dairy producing buck and get a flop because the lines didn't cross. I've been there, done that early in the game. I then got smart and looked for the triangles in the pedigrees and the lines used, what was successful.

Linebreeding.... hmmmm if it works its called linebreeding if not then inbreeding, thats the saying in the dairy world. It may work, but what you will get is consistency of traits, meaning either the good or bad. So linebreeding doesn't necessarily mean you will get the results you need.

what do you need to improve on this doe? Like Vicki mentioned you also need the body to support the udder with milk. I have does that milk 16-18 pounds a day or over 2 gallons, they are older, around 5 and 6, but their bodies are structured to hold up. I can't make money on my dairy by turning over does who can't still hold up that udder after 5 or 6 yrs. You can try looking at different lines for milk production. What bloodlines were in the sire you used, the French Alpine? Hoach's lines, Qu'Appelle, Iron Rod, Sweet dreams, Three Rings, Cherry Glen, Shining Moon, are some of the higher producing lines, however, if you go to the ADGA site and look for production and breed, you will see Coach Farms come up a lot.

The Sunshine and diamond work well too as does the old raymar. boy, i could go on and on here, STOP!!!!! Hey, I do ahve 2 american Alpine bucklings for sale, their dam milks 16-18 pounds a day But I am keeping one, would be a fool not to. Their sire is a rare breeding.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.


Thanks Vicki, Rebekah and Bernice for the information,this should give me somethings to think about for a month or so.I guess what I've been made to realize, is how important it is to have registered pedigree stock and how I've dependened on others endless work and years of breeding not knowing what was invloved to get goats that milk well , have nice utters, strong body and good tasting milk. The main trait I was looking to get from my Alpine doe was the utter shape and the large easy to milk teats ( I have large hands) .I had a purebreed Nubian that had a tighty attached large utter but small teats that when milked , the milk would always hit my hand before going in the pail.Her doe which I still have ,has pendulum utters that are loosly attached ( not a well liked quality )but she has large teats that I can milk easy and has a very long lactation period.My Alpine's utter is well attached, large but slighty pedulus in shape. Vicki ,I know the breeder of my Alpine and will talk with him on suggestions.Bernice, when you say look for triangles, does that mean look at the mothers , daughters and sisters of the buck? The doe is not registered ( no tattoo).I don't know the exact ammount of milk she gives because I let the kids nurse off their moms and just milk in the mornings.Rebekah, thanks for the web sites, I'll think about A.I. Although my brain feels like it's pop a circuit or two with what seems to me now as information over load ,After a few days of thinking, I'll be able to use you'lls advice to help me improve my stock and possilby get the traits I think are useful for my needs.Thanks again. For anyone keeping score I had four doe's kid this year, 5 bucks and 1 doe.

-- SM Steve (unreal@msn.com), March 13, 2002.

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