Give me your opinions on my new stud sire

[Keren]

Bought this guy at an annual on-property sale yesterday, from one of the top studs in Australia. He is 14 months old.

Phezulu Heath

Check out the people pokers on him!

For those of you familiar with goats, these are his figures:

2nd fleece: Mic 24.6 --- SD 5.7 --- CV 23.3
3rd fleece: Mic 32.3 --- SD 7.7 --- CV 23.7
Body weight: 52kg

He is by Mallee Park Ned, out of a Phezulu doe, so he has quite a bit of South African blood, with some Texan influence.

He was my third choice from the buck lots, unfortunately my first choice buck was the last lot, so as you know that makes it difficult. I bid hard and fast on the one I wanted, because I knew the bloke who would be bidding against me, but my maximum was 1200 and he straight away bid up to 1300. I gave up -- the way it was going that bloke would have kept going to 2000+. This guy I ended up with was passed in (about 50% were passed in for not meeting reserve), and I bought him privately after the sale for 400 (all the animals ended up selling either in the auction or privately, except for one).

So what do you all think? (pretend he's a Highland if that helps)

 

[Frankie]

Congratulations. He's a fine looking specimen. I'm sure your "girls" will be glad to see him.

 

[Green Creek]

Keren,

I know nothing about goats but he sure is a handsome animal.

 

[CPL]

Keren, I think some of these US guys would like to use you. You definitly have a nack for growing hair! ;-) Congrats on the new guy, he looks nice.

 

[Oldtimer]

Whats his EPD's? Ugliest hairy bull I ever saw...And definitely has a funnel butt besides being the wrong color and having horns.... ;-) :lol:

 

[KNERSIE]

Karen, although I do mean what the numbers mean, I am not that up to date with mowhair standards to really comment on that.

Phenotypically he hasn't got a strong sirey head and nose. The few goat breeders I know always place a very high premium on head quality in the studrams. I am more familiar with boer goats, but the same aplies for angora to a lesser extent.

 

[Jovid]

A little too much ear in my opinion.

 

[Keren]

Thanks for the comments everyone, you all put a big grin on my face! :lol:

Knersie, as far as the figures are concerned. My ultimate breeding objective is produce mohair of less than 30 micron for the first four shearings, and less than 34 micron for subsequent shearings. As far as this is concerned, he is a little strong for my liking. The doe I bought at the same sale is more in line with my objective, being 26.8 on her third fleece. His other figures are acceptable for my purposes.

The other things I aim for are:
- evenness in both length and fineness, so that the whole fleece can be sorted into the same line
- to maintain acceptable fleece weights
- to maintain style and character
- structural soundness and no routine foot trimming
- large frame size and body weight to keep carcase weights up
- good temperament, especially concerning fences

Of these, the main things I wanted to correct in my herd in the short term was poor feet, lack of evenness and lack of style. He is very good in all these areas, so I think he will do well.

Some of the things I dont like about him is he is a more greasy type than I aim for, he is not quite as large and robust as I would like, and also the strong micron I mentioned.

As far as the sirey head, Angoras have more of a dished to straight face, rather than the strong Roman nose of the Boer goat. And although I definitely wouldnt mark him down for it, breeders in Australia on the whole unfortunately put most of their selection pressure on the fleece of the animals, and discount everything else.

His sire is Mallee Park Ned, who is sired by a Sth African buck, De Hannes Rust 0255 "Khulu" - are you familiar with these animals? They are certainly having an outstanding impact on Australian genetics. I'm very excited to have accessed these genetics.

 

[js2743]

thats a weird looking bull please post pics of his calves when you get some lol.

 

[chippie]

Handsome goat. I am a handspinner and his fleece looks like it would be lovely to spin. It has a nice crimp.

 

[cowgirl_telly_369]

Very handsome.