Who We Are
|
Grafton Show 2023
Photos with permission AABMGS |
BUYING MINIATURE SHEEP AND GOATSFinding a registered breeder to buy from and choosing registered animals can help to make sure that you know exactly what you are buying. See our pages about the individual sheep and goat breeds if you are wondering which breed to choose.
Before you can move goats or sheep to your property, by law you need to get a Property Identification Code (PIC) from your state agricultural authority and register with the National Livestock Identification System. Your breeder will provide you with a National Vendor Declaration to lodge in the NLIS system. |
|
HOW AABMGS BEGANIn March 2014 a number of miniature goat breeders recognised the potential of crossing Australian Miniature Goats with the larger varieties to create scaled-down versions of the larger dairy, meat and fibre breeds. These goats could be productive in various ways like the larger breeds but be more easily managed and better suited to hobby farms.
At that time in Australia the existing miniature goat organisations only catered for ‘designer pet’ miniatures with show height limits for adult bucks up to 63.5cm and does to 57cm. In order to promote the development of new goat breeds in Australia and to provide a Registry that could include new breeds in the process of development, a new organisation was needed and the Australian All Breeds of Miniature Goat Society Inc. (AABMGS) was formed. Later the AABMGS was approached by sheep breeders seeking access to a registry for miniature sheep breeds and so the AABMGS added miniature sheep. |
Emma with Rivergate James Dean – 56.25% Pygmy Goat (photo Banjo Edwards)
|
BREED DEVELOPMENT
|
AABMGS, in consultation with those members working to develop a particular breed, creates a breed standard for each breed as the need arises.
AABMGS includes the Australian Miniature Goat among the breeds it registers and promotes, recognising it not only for the role it can play in ‘miniaturising’ other breeds, but also as a breed in its own right. Similar ‘miniaturisation’ projects have been undertaken in the USA by crossing the Nigerian Dwarf Goat with larger dairy breeds to produce mid-sized versions of these larger breeds. The recent arrival in Australia of the Nigerian Dwarf and American Pygmy goat breeds offers even more potential for new breed development in this country. In contrast, Babydoll Southdown sheep and Persian sheep are heritage breeds that were traditionally small. Much modern sheep breeding in Australia is focussed on producing large, lean sheep but these breeds offer an alternative. |
