# "Blue" Nubians



## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

I have two Nubian does who are both the beautiful "blue" color...a mother/ daughter pair. I would like to have the best chance possible at kids the same color...how does the genetics work on that? Would I only get it from a blue buck, or black, or white?? 

Sorry for sounding clueless here, but I've never paid much attention to the color genetics.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

The roaned black nubians are my favorite color of nubians too, but to be honest, there are much more important things than color to be selecting for.  You'll be much more sucessful selecting for conformation and production than you will be selecting for color.

There really isn't too much info out there about goat coat color genetics. But, I would assume to get more of the ones you have, I'd assume you'd be most likely to get it using a buck that color as well. About the only thing I've seen as common color genetics is that white is dominant, otherwise, it can be quite a crapshoot.


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## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

I know there is more to breed for than color, but I have a lot of really good producing/ good conformation goats to choose from in a variety of colors so I was curious which color/ patter would be most likely to produce blue kids.


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## yarrow (Apr 27, 2004)

in nubians...black to black will always give you black...in some form..blue is a dilute black ..usually a diluted black roan..you might get black and tan..black with spots...black and white moonspots..all sorts of black...even solid black..all shades of blue from a dark navy to pale silver...but it all still black.....here over the years...most of my blue kids have been from blue dams ...bred to almost soilid black bucks.....BUT...blue to blue should up your chances of blue..


susie mo. ozarks


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

I love blue and that will be a purchase point when I broaden my herd, there are many awesome looking blue nubians out there so I fully intend on having my cake and eating it too, after all if you are breeding what you like to see and feeding it why not include color as part of your breeding plans? just of course not the sole focus.


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## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

Thanks Yarrow! 

I bred these girls last year to my black/ white spotted buck (they were not mine at the time, but I did just purchase them). The mother kidded a month early due to an unknown reason (we guessed that the daughter resumed nursing when milk came in as I caught her nursing two weeks after the kidding); those twins were DOA but they were both black. The daughter who is also blue was bred to the same buck and kidded with triplets (as a FF!!), she had a black/ white spotted doeling, a black/ brown doeling with frosted ears, and a black/ brown buckling with spotted ears (she was a bit freaked having triplets and was not a good mother though). A friend is loaning me a buck this fall, as I intended to get out of goats and sold my buck, and I can choose between a solid black polled buck with a white star on his head or a brown/ cream buck. Obviously the tempting choice is the black, polled buck but I still have to think some more on it.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

I have a lovely blue girl this year, and I will be using a friend's new blue boy to cover her come Fall. 

When we get blues, it's from a black doe and red buck.


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## harvestmoonfarm (Nov 24, 2012)

Pony said:


> I have a lovely blue girl this year, and I will be using a friend's new blue boy to cover her come Fall.
> 
> When we get blues, it's from a black doe and red buck.


So could these 2 theoretically produce blues?


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## yarrow (Apr 27, 2004)

what color were the buck's sire and dam?...with him having spots and roaning...he may carry all sorts of color genetics....many of the plain jane browns will produce all sorts of color...my most spotted oeling this spring was out a totally brown doe...even solid brown ears.....part of the fun with the nubians is NEVER knowing for sure what you'll get.....the parents of the black buck that I got lots of blues from were not blue either...dam was solid black...sire dark brown with lots of roaning.


susie mo. ozarks


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## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

You might try the literature written about horses, which have been studied extensively. My understanding is there are lots of genes involved. Color - black - is one. Roaning is another separate gene. You get blue roan with a combination of these. Goats also have ticking, a coloration that develops over time(but not the same as true graying). Add in all the different patterning genes... makes for a lot of fun. 

Oh, man! I'm developing goat envy! Currently most of mine are all-white Saanen crosses.


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## CJBegins (Nov 20, 2009)

The b/w sable buckling I bought in march this year has turned into a blue roan. I clipped him and he looked silver and white. It was quite impressive.


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## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

Here they are. The daughter is the darker girl. The mother is my absolute favorite, she reminds me of my favorite painting...want to take a guess?


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## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

I have seen several alpine/ nubian crosses in my area that have the coloration of the daughter. If I were not opposed to crossbreeding, do you think an alpine buckling would do the trick? I have a friend who breeds beautiful, well producing alpines.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

http://www.whisperingwillowndg.com/color-genetics.html

http://www.cagba.org/genetics_goat_clr_20041.pdf


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I had nearly an entire herd of what you are all calling blues. I called them "silver". 

My herd buck was "So-Gay Roman" out of GCH (red buck "So Smooth Too" and black doe "Gayleen"). I bred Roman to all three (small herd) does (2 blacks and 1 red). Every single one had one or more silver kids. When I lost Roman, the silver went away. (Roman's granddams and sires on both sides were "not" silver.)

Here is a little excerpt I was fortunate to keep when my computer crashed. It shows some of the silver kids. (In this video, one young buck is teaching my present herd buck, Alginon, how to butt heads while he was still a baby.)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQd6XRINEjs"]www.*youtube*.com/watch?v=fQd6XRINEjs[/ame]


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

krebolj said:


> she reminds me of my favorite painting...want to take a guess?


Starry Night? :teehee:


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## yarrow (Apr 27, 2004)

krebolj said:


> Here they are. The daughter is the darker girl. The mother is my absolute favorite, she reminds me of my favorite painting...want to take a guess?




here.. I would call the daughter a black roan... again, just part of the COLOR FUN of nubians LOL... (pretty girls)...

I have a just weaned girl that I'm still waiting to see if she is going to end up a very roaned black roan or a blue... time will tell.. I have 3 adult does in the herd now that are blue.. Edith, Jackie and Leila..

first is Edith.. she has given me many blue kids over the years, by different bucks... Nite and Jackie are in the 2nd picture.. Nite is a black roan (lot more roaning on her body then you see in the picture).. Jackie is blue with a belly band AND spots... you would think I'd get all sorts of color from her.. so far we've gotten various verisons of black (no blue) and a HUGE 14 lb single frosted tan and white splashed buck this year.. breeding her to the black & white spotted buck this fall.. fingers crossed>.. 3rd picture is Leila.. she had triplet black kids this past spring bred to a black roan buck.. going to breed her to the same buck as I'm breeding Jackie.. 

susie, mo ozarks


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Beautiful "silver/roan/blue" goats


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

I have a lil blue roan Nubian doeling....Her dam is black with tan trim, frosted ears. Sire was a red roan. Twins in the litter, one red roan buck, and the blue roan doeling who has red roan cheeks & leg patches & a white splash.... 

The color surprises that pop up in goat are fun.... I'm not much on color, but I wouldn't mind having a solid eared Nubian....but alas, all mine have frosted ears...


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## yarrow (Apr 27, 2004)

I too really like my solid ears (I have 3 lines that give me mostly solids)..even the spotted kids will have solid ears (those are my fave).. ALL my blues have been frosted tho..

susie, mo ozarks


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

yarrow said:


> I too really like my solid ears (I have 3 lines that give me mostly solids)..even the spotted kids will have solid ears (those are my fave).. ALL my blues have been frosted tho..
> 
> susie, mo ozarks


I reserved a doe kid from Buttercup Acres and twin does were born... One sister is wildly spotted, looks marbled and she has solid ears... I had second choice on the breeding so the doe I ended up with is the lightly spotted kid with frosted ears.... Love the solid ears on my girls sister, but my girl has the very lovely Saada head and ears, so I'll take those in any color, even frosted


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