Photography can prove to be an exceedingly valuable skill for dairy goat owners and breeders. In this series we will first discuss the merits of a dairy goat photo collection as well as discussing how to take good photos that show your animals to their best advantage.
Let's discover the different ways photos can be put to use. First of all, photography can be an excellent breeding tool when used for record keeping. Each year breeders spend many hours studying the new kid crop, choosing the show string, evaluating herd sires and, in general, examining the many faults and virtues of each animal in the herd. Why not, in the process of evaluation, take a photo of each animal, to be filed away and used for the purpose of comparison the following year.
Suppose your favorite doe gave you twin doe kids and you weren't sure which would prove to be the better of the two. Perhaps one was longer and taller, but the other, while not as sharp, showed more width throughout. Or perhaps, one was more level over the topline but shorter coupled. If you had only two kids to keep that year you might be able to trust to memory the differences you noted, but with many kids one's memory can easily become over-taxed and deceptive. Take a photo (or several) of each kid. Label it with the name of the animal, age and date and file it away. Next season when your kid crop freshens you can pull your photos and make comparisons. You may find some interesting correlations or you may find that the animals have matured differently than you imagined. In either case you are certain to learn something.
Continue your photo record each season and you'll find it will be quite enlightening.
Another way to put your photos to use is in conjunction with classification sessions. Many people are a bit overwhelmed with classification. Suddenly so many parts of their animals are being critiqued and identified with code numbers. Just what is a Code 4 rump or Code 3 feet? Why not take photos of each animal during the classification session. Perhaps a side view, rear view and any special close-ups. Later these will prove to be invaluable aids when studying, comparing and evaluating the classification scores.
Your photos may be used for pictorial pedigrees. Animals die or are culled or sold, and before many generations pass only the nearest kin are still in the barnyard. If you photograph your animals each season, you will have that picture of GCH + HB Billy Boy before he's dead and gone, and you will be able to look back over the years at the progress of your breeding program. Take photos for your own use in evaluation and for others. Record improvement from sire to son and granddaughter. Keep track of outstanding brothers and sisters. Such photos will be of great interest to others and will serve as a wonderful historical record in your own files.
These very same photos then become one of your most valuable advertising tools. In selling stock perhaps many of your buyers will be from out of your area. If you advertise in a national publication, by all means, show off your stock with photos! Let others unable to visit your farm see your animals, too. Here, once again, pictures of dam and sire, as well as the animal in question, will be of special interest to your prospective buyers.
Are you selling semen? How about photos of your bucks' outstanding offspring? Have a permanent GCH doe, a winning kid, an animal classified EX or VG? Show them off!
How about a pictorial sales catalog to be sent to prospective buyers? Put your camera to use and let your photos work for you. The old adage, "a picture is worth a 1000 words" is quite true here. You would be surprised how many people refer time and again to old periodicals, American Dairy Goat Assn. directories and Breeders Directories, and other publications where your animals can be put on view. Let people know your stock through photos.
Do you belong to a breed club? Consider entering their All-American programs, you may have a winner! These promotional programs are judged by American Dairy Goat Assn. licensed judges primarily on photos. Here, three photos - a side view, top view and rear view - are usually requested. But don't wait for the deadline. Take your photos when your animals are at their best. Take your camera to the shows so you can get those necessary shots when the animals are clean, clipped and properly uddered up. For those who don't sell stock or don't consider themselves as serious breeders, who may only have a family milker or two, or whose goats are a family 4-H project, photos can be of very important sentimental value. Record the fun and excitement of that first 4-H win, a showmanship competition, or just the plain fun of kids gamboling with kids! Whatever your needs, let photos help you every step along the way with your dairy goats.