SCIGBA, NAMING A GOAT & HERD NAMES        

A goat’s name identifies the breeder as well as its individual name. Understanding the parts of goat’s name will help you name your animals and understand something about a goat when you see its name.

 Example:  CHANCE ACRES (breeder’s Herd Name) STARLIGHT (individual goat name)

The whole goat’s name, including the Herd Name plus the Individual Name cannot be longer than 30 characters. This is partly so the whole name fits on the Registration Certificate as well as for ease of writing and saying the name.

NAME IS PERMANENT AFTER REGISTRATION

Goats need to keep their original name given by the breeder and when they were registered. Subsequent owners can, of course, give them nicknames or call names, but the goat’s registered name cannot be changed. The reason for this is to keep track of lineage, which makes it possible to determine inbreeding percents as well as our rare lines percentages.

For example, if a goat’s name changed 4 times throughout its life when going from one owner to another, it would become nearly impossible to know who that goat really is and their lineage. 

Changing a goat’s name would cause much confusion for the registration and lineage tracking of its offspring. Subsequent breeders might unintentionally breed siblings if one of their goats has a pedigree that uses the old name of a goat and another uses the new name. Comparing pedigrees of offspring becomes confusing at best and generates suspicion of poor record keeping (or worse) when one copy of a pedigree has one name and a newer copy has a different name. 

HERD NAME IDENTIFIES THE BREEDER

The Herd name used is always the Herd name of the registered owner of the doe at the time of breeding. The person who owned the dam at the time the doe was bred is the breeder. Therefore it is the breeder’s Herd name that becomes a permanent part of the offspring’s name, even though the offspring may have been born at a different farm, as in the case where a pregnant doe is sold to a new owner. (For example, Phoebe is owned and bred by Bella Vita (Herd name). She is then sold, pregnant, to Joe Smith, whose herd name is Land o’Lakes. When she has her kids, the kids are named and registered with the Bella Vita herd name, Bella Vita Candy and Bella Vita Jolene.)

A Herd name is approved by the SCIGBA Registry. It must not include or be too similar to a Herd name that is already reserved or sound too much like another Herd name. It needs to be approved for SCIGBA standards, including not being too long as mentioned above (less than about 20 characters without the goat’s individual name). Owning a Herd name is an important part of building your reputation and recognition as a breeder.

To register a goat you must have a Herd name as the breeder. We even have a form for people to obtain a Herd name without becoming a member – see our website under “Non Member Enrollment”. (3 Non-Member Enrollment) 

When you become a Member of the SCIGBA, you submit a Herd name as part of the application, and several preferences may be requested.  To ensure a Herd name is available, you can call the SCIGBA Registry at (660-851-0101).