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Thought Id post a couple of pictures to count the abundance of air plain ears
These are the last babies of the year. Just a few days old
LaToggs (Lamancha / Alpine Cross boys)
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Adorable! Does the sundgau kid have wattles?
Goatberries Happen!
That would be a good cross. Funny thing is that I have always liked the no ears on lamanchas
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Yep those are waddles
I always get a kick outta seeing "lamancha" kids colored like what they are crossed with. In this case a Togg. That one took after his mama and the lighter one his daddy. Which went to a friends farm (Mary Mattox) to be used as a breeding buck.
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^^^ LOL I can so hear it in your text, "Icky without ears"
Its ok Im not a big fan of the no ears either. I am used to them and it doesnt bother much anymore. But I love the breed for what it brings with it.
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Actually, I think the little elf ears are adorable if impractical. My goat mentor raises LaManchas, and they're a neat breed. Only problem is, they're really hard to hang onto because halters and collars both tend to slip over their heads if they pull back, and there's no back-up of grabbing onto a flying ear if they try to charge past you. The ear squeeze is my go-to restraint for Cuzco when he's being naughty (stops him like a statue), and you can't beat it for making them cooperate for things like drenching. These big ears are also really fun to scratch.
My goats were penned next to my friend's LaManchas at State Fair last year, and the #1 question from the public was, "Why would anyone cut off a goat's ears??" I sometimes told them that my goats ate them off, but people were always a good bit relieved when I assured them that these goats were born that way and no one abused them. I wonder how many ignorant people stormed out of the goat barn in disgust because they didn't bother to ask. I'm sure this is one of those things the PETA crowd would love to run with: "Cruel goat owners cut off goats' ears and eat them as a low-fat alternative to pork rinds!"
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Dave, if you produce a 3/4 alpine 1/4 lamancha with at least 2 to 3 inches of ear nubbins and I would scoop it up!
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At fair we would tell them that the Lamanchas were actually Nubians that we removed the ears from. They are great deep fried with sugar and cinnamon. It would take em a few seconds before they realized we were messing with them