Can You Register A Kid Goat If Only One Parent Is Registered

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Goat registries are very beneficial when you want to have the best of a particular breed. Registries have listed breed standard requirements, and animals that don't conform to the standards can't be registered. This helps prevent unwanted characteristics or problems from becoming prevalent. Some rules for goat registration are fairly universal. In most cases, only goats with registered purebred parents can be registered. Also, if an animal is purchased, a transfer of ownership must be submitted before the new owner can register the goat. If the goat was already registered before purchase, then only the transfer of ownership is required.

Dairy Goats

ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) — ADGA includes Alpine, LaMancha, Nigerian Dwarf, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable, and Toggenburg breeds. You can register online at www.adga.org. Membership is not required for goat registration, but it lowers the registration fee and provides many other benefits.

American Goat Society (International Dairy Goat Association) — Accepted breeds include French Alpine, LaMancha, Nigerian Dwarf, Nubian, Oberhasli, Pygmy, Saanen, Sable, and Toggenburg. Original breeders may register animals online at www.americangoatsociety.com. If the animal was purchased prior to registering, then a paper registration application must be submitted along with a signed bill of sale.

Miniature Dairy Goat Association — The goats in this registry are all crosses between Nigerian Dwarf goats and the other dairy breeds including Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable, and Toggenburg. Different herd books are used for the subsequent generations of the crosses. Parents must be registered through the American Dairy Goat Association, American Goat Society, Nigerian Dwarf Goat Registry, or the Canadian Goat Society. Register online at https://miniaturedairygoats.net/ or print and mail.

International Goat, Sheep, and Camelid Registry — International Dairy Goat Registry — They accept purebreds, grades, American, and experimental breeds. They are the only registry that accepts San Clemente Island goats and considers themselves "open herd book." They may allow an animal to be graded up. Register online at https://www.igscr-idgr.com/.

Nigerian Dairy Goat Association — Accepts only purebreds. Register online at http://www.ndga.org/ or print and mail-in completed forms.

International Sable Breeder's Association — Goats registered here must have been previously registered with ADGA as a photocopy of that registration is required. Write the goat's color plus any other pertinent information on the ADGA certificate photocopy and mail it plus $3 to:

ISBA REGISTRATION
P.O. BOX 5039
CENTRAL POINT, OR 97502

More info can be found at https://www.sabledairygoats.com/index.html

Meat Goats

American Kiko Goat Association — In order to register a goat through AKGA, you must have owned the goat's dam at the time of kidding. Your goat may be subject to a DNA test as part of the registration process. They keep track of Purebred New Zealand as well as Purebred American Kikos. There is a registry for Kiko/Boer crosses as well. Register online at https://kikogoats.com/ or print and mail.

National Kiko Registry — This registry accepts goats from the other Kiko registries, and the parents only need to be registered in one of their accepted registries in order for a goat to be registered with the NKR. DNA tests are encouraged but not mandatory. Print forms from https://nationalkikoregistry.com/ to mail.

American Boer Goat Association — Whoever is applying to register a goat must have owned the goat's dam at the time of kidding. They do keep track of percentage Boer goats. DNA testing may be required in some cases. You must join the association in order to register goats. Join and register online at http://abga.org/.

Spanish Goat Association/Spanish Goat Conservation Society — Partnered together, the association and conservation society have recently taken steps to verify breeders of Spanish goats. They are a breed that is often crossbred with others; therefore they are starting to implement DNA testing. Although not required, the DNA test can help determine purebred lines. Register online through https://www.sg-cs.org/.

Myotonic Goats (Still considered Meat Goats)

The Myotonic Goat Registry — This registry has an open herdbook and accepts percentage does as long as they are at least 50% myotonic. All registered bucks must be purebred (at least 94% myotonic). Print the application from https://myotonicgoatregistry.net/ and mail.

American Fainting Goat Organization — This is a fairly new registry dedicated to preserving the historic, original look and function of fainting goats. While they keep an open herd book, they do not accept overly tall or meaty goats. They do accept miniature fainting goats. All must have some degree of myotonia and conform to the historical breed standard. Print forms found at http://www.americanfaintinggoat.com/ and either mail or email them in.

International Fainting Goat Association — This association has various levels of registration depending on if you can prove (via photo) that your goat fully "faints". Goats that meet all qualifications but do not have both registered parents are considered "heritage" but their offspring are eligible for premium status registration. Download forms at https://www.faintinggoat.com/. They can be emailed or mailed for submission.

Fiber Goats

American Angora Goat Breeders Association — Angora goats are graded by conformation, size, and, most importantly: fleece quality. Goats must be purebred and white. Print forms at http://www.aagba.org/index.html to mail in.

Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association — Goats with registered parents can be easily registered, those without can be registered for record purposes. Find forms at https://www.cagba.org/.

American Colored Angora Goat Registry — This registry accepts goats whose parents are registered under any of the other Angora registries. A goat with unregistered parents can be inspected for possible registration. Download and mail-in forms from https://www.acagr.us/.

Pygora Breeders Association — Pygora goats come from a cross between Pygmy goats and Angora goats. Register online or mail in the form at https://pba-pygora.org/.

Miniature Goats

The Miniature Goat Registry — This registry deals with crosses between Nigerian Dwarf and other dairy goat breeds. It takes six generations for the cross line to reach purebred status, the generations leading up to purebred status are F1, F2, and so forth. Register online or print and mail from https://www.tmgronline.com/.

National Pygmy Goat Association — Print forms found at https://www.npga-pygmy.com/ to mail in.

Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Association — Mini silky fainting goats are a new breed still working on developing fully. While there are a good number of ideal goats, many are accepted into the registry as "promising" in the gene pool as long as they are bred to an ideal goat. Miniature silkies have roots with the myotonic goats but do not require fainting to be part of the breed. This registry/breed is more about the look than the particular genetics. Print and mail in the registration form from https://msfgaregistry.org/. The registration form is for goats with registered parents, the foundation form is for new lines.

Where will you register your goats?

Originally published in the September/October 2020 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.