Why Register Goats, Sheep or Camelids of unknown ancestry?
The initial registration is a beginning point, a point of departure, as well as a descriptive document that identifies the referenced animal. Keeping track of pedigree information is a very valuable tool both for you as the breeder and for those who will buy or latter inherit your herd in making informed breeding, culling and purchasing decisions. All pedigrees start somewhere and just because a goat has no know pedigree does not mean that animal has nothing to offer the goat breeding world. Many goats of unknown ancestry have many traits and or genes that would strengthen their breed.
Dams and sires may be admitted to the Grade herdbook. If little or no information is available on a animals’s ancestry, or if the ancestors were not registered, the goat can be recorded as a Grade. Submit an application indicating which breed the animal resembles and a photograph along with all available background information on the animal, including transfers of ownership, if known. If the animal conforms to breed standards for its age and gender but has no registered ancestors, it will be entered in the Grade herdbook as Recorded By Appearance (RBA).
The offspring of an RBA animal and a purebred animal will be recorded as 50% (1/2) Grade. The offspring of a 50% (1/2) Grade and a purebred will be recorded as 75% (3/4) Grade, and the next generation 87.5%(7/8) may, if they continue to conform to the breed standard, be entered into the American herdbook. Therefore, through the use of purebred bucks, an RBA animal’s descendants may eventually enter the American herd book if they have proven themselves to be of appropriate type through several generations of progeny. An American doe bred to a purebred buck will produce 93.75%(15/16) American offspring. By continuing the process of breeding American does to purebred bucks, the next generation will be 96.87%(31/32) American, and the next generation 98.43% (63/64) wi1l become eligible for entry into the purebred herdbook. Pictures are required for all Grade registrations.
A Table to help visualize how the grading up process can
Note: A bred up purebred animal will never be considered more than 99.99%
Note: There are a couple of registries whose animals are considered Purebred 100% by the dairy goat world. However, take for instance the history of the Nigerian Dwarf in one other registry’s beginning herd books. If all the members responsible in that registry looked at the animal and agreed as a whole that this animal is a purebred, the animal was accepted into the herd book as a purebred, without any supporting pedigree documentation. This is NOT The IDGR herd book, but rather a different registry. This is what is known as Recorded on Appearance. This is one of the registries who are said to have only purebred 100% Nigerian Dwarf. Yet are they? Yes for quite a few generations. However, many those original Nigerian Dwarf were Recorded on Appearance and not pedigree. Thus they too began as Grades, not Purebreds. So one has to decide the definition of a Purebred…That is just a bit of trivia for the day. Or you take most breeds in existence of any species. Most originated as crossbreds until the breed standards were met consistently generation after generation. This is why we at International Goat, Sheep, Camelid Registry (formerly IDGR) accept grades and still keep our herd books open.
Another Note of explanation: To figure out the percentage of the offspring, you add the two parents percentage and divide by 2 (average)
Parent 1 | Parent 2 | Offspring | ||||||
Description | Percent | Photo | Description | Percent | Photo | Description | Percent | Photo |
| Breeding to a Purebred 100% each generation..takes 13 generations to be 99.99%. Thus there is a long breeding up process to become 99.99% Purebred in recorded ancestry. The 4th generation will be an American. The 7th Generation will be a Purebred. | ||||||||
| Unknown Ancestry | 0% |  | Purebred | 100% |  | Grade | 50% |  |
| Grade | 50% | | Purebred | 100% |  | Grade | 75% | |
| Grade | 75% | Purebred | 100% | American | 87.5% | |||
| American | 87.5% | Purebred | 100% | American | 93.75% | |||
| American | 93.75% | Purebred | 100% | American | 96.88% | |||
| American | 96.88% | Purebred | 100% | Amercan | 98.43% | |||
| American | 98.43% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.22% | |||
| Purebred | 99.22% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.61% | |||
| Purebred | 99.61% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.8% | |||
| Purebred | 99.8% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.9% | |||
| Purebred | 99.9% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.95% | |||
| Purebred | 99.95% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.76% | |||
| Purebred | 99.76% | Purebred | 100% | Purebred | 99.99% | |||
| Breeding a 0% Grade to an 87.5% American each time So it takes 14 generations to become an American breeding to the lowest person of American. Again, quite extensive breeding up process. | ||||||||
| Grade | 0% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 28.75% | |||
| Grade | 28.75% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 58.13% | |||
| Grade | 58.13% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 72.82% | |||
| Grade | 72.82% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 80.12% | |||
| Grade | 80.12% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 83.83% | |||
| Grade | 83.83% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 85.66% | |||
| Grade | 85.66% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 86.58% | |||
| Grade | 86.58% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.04% | |||
| Gade | 87.04% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.27% | |||
| Grade | 87.27% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.39% | |||
| Grade | 87.39% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.44% | |||
| Grade | 87.44% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.47% | |||
| Grade | 87.47% | American | 87.5% | Grade | 87.49% | |||
| Grade | 87.49% | American | 87.5% | Anerican | 87.5% | |||
Not sure what breed your goat resembles? Try having an experienced breeder in the area look at it or send in a photo to IGSCR and we will help you.
Questions? – We will be glad to help you – Just call or write.