🐐Goats: picking a good one

Picking your goat is the most important decision of your whole project. A great feeder and a great showman can’t fix a goat that was never going to make weight or was never built right. Take your time, bring a grown-up, and use this page as your checklist.

The rules your goat has to meet

Before you fall in love with a cute kid, make sure it can actually show at the Navajo County Fair. These come from the NCJL Terms & Conditions.

Rule	What it means for you
55 lb minimum, 130 lb max show weight	Under 55 lb at weigh-in, your goat moves to the prospect class and cannot sell.
Under 12 months old at fair	Born after mid-September 2026 for the 2027 fair.
Milk teeth only	No permanent front teeth (incisors) can have come in. Older goats fail this.
Meat-goat type	Must look like a meat goat and fit USBGA/ABGA standards. Boer and Boer-cross are the safe choice.
Wethers disbudded before 3 weeks	Scurs (leftover horn nubs) can’t be over 1 inch. They cannot be removed at the fair.
Does don’t have to be disbudded	But most show families still prefer disbudded does for safety.
Males fully castrated	Bucks can’t show. Only wethers (castrated males) or does.
Scrapie tag	Official USDA scrapie ID tag, looks like AZ1234-0222. The breeder should have this on already.
Owned 95 days before tagging	For 2027 that’s about June 11, 2027. Buy well before then.
Max 2 goats	You can tag and show up to two, but only sell one.

Rule: If the goat you’re looking at has horns, scurs longer than 1 inch, or is missing a scrapie tag, walk away. None of those can be fixed at check-in.

Read the full list on the Paperwork & Legal page.

Wether or doe?

Both can show and sell in the market class.

• Wethers usually grow faster, get heavier, and carry more muscle. Most market goats at the fair are wethers.
• Does can be a little smaller and slower growing, but a really good doe can win. Does also don’t have the urinary calculi risk that wethers do.

If it’s your first year, a wether is the simpler choice.

What a good market goat looks like

Stand back about 10 feet and look at the whole goat first. Then get your hands on it.

From the side

• Level top. The back should be straight from the shoulders to the hips, not sagging in the middle or sloping down hard at the rump.
• Depth of body. A deep, wide barrel means room for feed and growth.
• Long body. Longer from shoulder to hip usually means more loin.
• Clean front. Neck blends smoothly into the shoulders, not thick and bull-like.

From behind

• Wide between the hind legs. That’s leg muscle. It should look like an upside-down “U”, not a “V”.
• Muscle over the loin. Put your hand flat on the goat’s back right behind the ribs. You want it wide and firm, not sharp like a roof peak.
• Thick, full leg. The rear leg should be muscled from the hip down to the hock.

From the front

• Wide chest floor. Space between the front legs means a big heart and lungs.
• Straight front legs. Not knock-kneed or bowed.

Structure and health

• Correct bite. Lift the lip: the bottom teeth should meet the top dental pad evenly. Not sticking out (undershot) or too far back (overshot).
• Strong pasterns. The goat should stand up on its toes, not sink down on its ankles.
• Bright eyes, dry nose, no cough. Runny nose, snotty eyes, or coughing are red flags.
• Smooth, shiny coat and no scabs around the mouth.
• Good feet. Trimmed, no limping.

What to avoid

• Horns or scurs longer than 1 inch
• Pot belly with a narrow chest (fat and no muscle)
• Weak, sunken pasterns
• Bad bite
• Coughing, runny nose, diarrhea, or a dull coat
• A goat that fights the collar wildly and won’t settle down at all
• A goat with no scrapie tag or no paperwork

Heads up: A really fat goat at the breeder’s farm is not the same as a heavy-muscled goat. Fat feels soft and jiggly. Muscle feels hard and full.

How big should it be when you buy it?

Market goats gain roughly 0.3 to 0.5 pounds per day on a good show feed. Work backward from check-in on Tuesday, September 14, 2027.

Buy date	Days to fair	Rough gain	Buy at this weight to hit 70–95 lb
Late April	~140	45–65 lb	30–40 lb
Mid May	~120	40–55 lb	35–45 lb
Early June (deadline!)	~95	30–45 lb	40–55 lb

A goal of 70 to 95 pounds at the fair is a sweet spot: well above the 55 lb minimum but nowhere near the 130 lb limit. Most kids born in January through March hit this range easily.

Tip: Buying in April or May gives you more time to train and more room for error if your goat gets sick or off feed for a week.

Checking the disbudding

Ask the breeder when the kid was disbudded. It has to have been before 3 weeks of age. Then feel the top of the head yourself:

• Good: two smooth bumps or flat spots, maybe with a little scab.
• Okay: small scurs you can barely feel.
• Risky: a scur you can grab with your fingers. Scurs keep growing, and if it’s over 1 inch at the fair you’re out.

Visiting the breeder

Call ahead, show up on time, and bring a parent. Walk through the pen and watch the kids move before anyone catches one.

Bring to the breeder:

• This page (on your phone)
• A notebook and pen for the record book
• A halter or collar and lead
• A dog crate, stock trailer, or truck with a topper
• Straw or shavings for the ride home
• Payment
• Questions (below)

Ask the breeder:

1. When was it born?
2. When was it disbudded?
3. Has it had its CD&T shot? Been dewormed? When?
4. What feed is it eating now, and how much?
5. Does it already have its scrapie tag? Can I get a bill of sale?
6. Was it born and raised in Navajo County? (You’d qualify for the Bred & Fed class.)
7. Can I see the parents?

Get a bill of sale with the date, breeder’s name and address, and the scrapie tag number. You’ll need it for your record book and the Seasonal Pass.

What it costs

Market goat kids from show breeders in northern Arizona usually run roughly a few hundred dollars, and top-quality prospects can be more. Add feed, shots, a collar, hoof trimmers, and shelter supplies. Write every dollar in your record book. Where to look is on the Where to Buy page.

Next steps

• Set up your pen and shelter before you bring the goat home: Goats: raising and housing
• Start collar training in the first week: Goats: learning to show
• Get your Seasonal Pass and ShoWorks entry done early: Paperwork & Legal