Naming A Foundation Animal
Anyone wishing to register goats with the MSFGA must have their herd name registered first. You will find a link to the Herd Name application at the bottom of most all of the web pages.
I know that there are some fainting goat registries that allow members to use their farm name as a prefix on found animals. Because the MSFGA wants to accurately record and register animals to the best of our ability, as of January 1, 2006, we will no longer allow found animals that were not bred by the applicant to be registered with the applicant’s farm name as a prefix. Your prefix should only be used on animals that you created or animals that are born to Does that you owned at the time of conception. If you would like to register a foundation goat and include your farm name then it should be used as a suffix. For example: instead of registering a foundation Doe as “Sol-Orr’s Foo Foo”, because I’m not the breeder, I could register her as “Foo Foo at Sol-Orr”. This lets future buyers and breeders know that I was the one that found this goat and also lets them know that this goat was not bred by me. It’s a more accurate way to record registered animals. Your prefix should be preserved only for goats bred by you; no one else will be able to register goats that you bred with their farm prefix.
If you are submitting an animal for MSFGA Foundation consideration and you know who the breeder of that animal is, then you must use that person”s herd name as a prefix in naming the animal. For example: if I know that a Doe I desire to register was bred by David Pruitt of Pruitt”s Farm, I will submit the name of the Doe as “Pruitt”s Fi Fi”. Herd Prefixes are reserved for breeders only. If the animal being submitted is registered with another registry, then you may submit that name as long as the name contains the prefix of the breeder of that animal. If you don”t know who bred the animal, then you STILL MAY NOT USE your prefix, because you are not the breeder of the animal, you are the owner of a found animal. To properly register the animal, you will need to give it a name and then, if you wish to have your herd name attached to this animal, you may attach your herd name as a suffix. For example: I found a Doe and I don”t know who bred her, but I am interested in registering her as a foundation animal for my breeding program. I will submit her with the name, “Fi Fi at Sol-Orr”.
This is the correct and honest way of registering this Doe as it tells others who see her name in a pedigree later that this Doe was a found Doe registered by Sol-Orr Farm. You don”t have to put your herd name on the animal if you don”t wish to, you may just send the name in as “Fi Fi”, that will work as well. If there is a “Fi Fi” already registered with the MSFGA, then the registrar may attach the owners herd name as a suffix or change the spelling of the name to make it unique in the registry. You will then have 30 days to change the name, at no charge, to something of your own choosing or you may leave it as is. After 30 days, the name will become official and you will not be able to change it later.
Goat names must be unique and different from goats already registered with the MSFGA by at least one letter.
Naming An Animal For Registration
If you are registering a kid that you bred or a kid that is out of a Doe that you owned at time of conception, then the name should start with your Herd prefix, which must be registered with the MSFGA before you will be able to register any goats. The name must not contain more than 30 letters, including your prefix and spaces between letters. Goat names must be unique and different from goats already registered with the MSFGA by at least one letter.
If you are buying a goat that is eligible to be registered with the MSFGA, because it has two MSFGA registered parents, then you must use the breeder”s herd prefix and the name may not contain more than 30 letters, including the prefix and spaces between letters. You should obtain a registration application from the breeder with sire and dam information, date of birth and other information along with the breeder”s signature. You will then need to fill out the transfer of ownership part of the application, the breeder will also need to sign that portion of the application and you will need to add an additional $5 to the registration fee to have the goat transferred to your name after being registered. Goat names must be unique and different from goats already registered with the MSFGA by at least one letter. You will have to have your herd name registered with the MSFGA in order to have any goats registered in your name with the MSFGA. You will find a link to the Herd Name Application on the Form page.