SCI Bloodlines

International Dairy Goat Registry
Your official SCI Goat Registry for 40 years since their exportation from the San Clemente Island
idgr-san-clemente-island-goat.com

This is a brief history of a few of the ‘formerly accepted bloodlines’ whose names were created by a former breed researcher. We now are finding upon researching the histories of these goats, viewing original registrations and documents, histories, that much is left out by using some of these bloodline names as bloodlines and stopping with them. We are totally missing many of the Founding herds and information. We also are finding that miss-coding is being done on bloodlines, as well as miss-information on some of the bloodlines listed below. IGSCR is working directly with some of the older breeders, as well as a geneticist to correct and more accurately represent the bloodlines or long-term herds.

As a registry, IGSCR has decided not to place bloodlines on Registration Certificates for several reasons. In fact we are taking a completely different approach. We look at Founding, Blended and Anchor herd lineages. The Anchor herd title was created by a newer long-term breeder, and totally fits. What are seeing that too much time is spent on the “Bloodlines” and breeding by bloodlines. This is creating a lot of havvock in breeding, creating inbreeding depression and coplete confusion of how to breed and preserve the breed. Much care must be taken in this. Yet it is true that there are and were closed herd lineages, where folks bred their goats for specific characteristics.

After speaking with folks who have bred the San Clemente Island goats for many years, we find that just because we breed two goats together who have specific characteristics (like a cape over the shoulders), that doesn’t mean the offspiring will retain that same characteristic).

Still ongoing project, and some old lineage percentages and even old lineages themselves are being corrected, as more information surfaces
Registration Certificates are an official record of Breeder, Ownership, Identity and Pedigree. This is not really the scope of bloodlines.

Great care MUST be used when breeding for bloodlines.

Don’t make the mistake of breeding out vital traits of the San Clemente Island that have always been in the goats since the Island.
Beware of Inbreeding Depression. This is caused by breeding too closely in lineages. Inbreeding for generation after generation leads to loss of vitality and genetic defects. This is too close of breeding and causing a lot of problems. Inbreeding is not to be confused with Linen Breeding which is the breeding of lineages that are not as closely related. Line breeding can actually enhance breeds/bloodlines, and even save breeds from extinction.

HISTORY OF THE BLOODLINES

Some of these accepted bloodlines are Founding Herds, and others are 2nd and 3rd generation breeders Blended lineages from different founding herds off the island. In talking with a couple of geneticists, bloodlines names were created from herds that were being bred at the time the names were created. Likely the 2007 era and a little later.

However, let us look at some of the Bloodline names that were created in earlier years. All they are, essentially, are farms who raised San Clemente Island Goats. Some were in closed herds, whereas others were not completely closed. Bottom line is that if they were not a predomintely closed herd, then those farms were not really a bloodline. This is by definition.

IGSCR spoke with a geneticist and also a veterinarian about what constitutes a bloodline. The definition of a bloodline is essentially:

A group of animals who were raised in a predominently Closed herd to outside influence for 4-7 (generally 7) generations. This creates heritable traits that a farm wants to breed for.

Do all the Bloodline names listed follow these guidelines of the definition of a bloodline? Some yes very definitely and others absolutely NOT. Also miscoding is being done that is misleading to folks and causing mass confusion and incorrect data.

In general, all the San Clemente Island goats ran unattended on San Clemente Island for many years. If you think about how animals handle themselves when left alone, they do tend to establish themselves into Family Lineages or groups. The dominant male often will end up with a herd of females. The other male often is kicked out on its own to find another group of females. Did the San Clemente Island goats do this? It is hard to say. Very likely they did, but it is anybody’s guess. What we do know is that the San Clemente Island goats on the island had a basic standard of general characteristics. However, there were defintely different horn types, variations in base coat color and extra pattern traits (roaning of ears and nose, chamoisee aka what IDGR calls DILUTED San Clemente Island pattern, spotting, darker coats looking almost black etc) on the island.

Some of the Bloodlines listed below do fit into the Bloodline names created by the breeders group at the time of name creation. Others just do not fit into that bloodline name. Still others are missed altogether, who were a closed herd during that time frame. Others have not enough information on their farms to really be classed as a Bloodline.

From hereonout, IDGR.igscr-igr.com will be talking about Founding Herds, Blended and Anchor herds on a different page.

USA Bloodlines and Gene Pools (listed and by another organization)

Shared by a couple of breeders who have done a lot of work on the bloodlines of San Clemente Island.

Please Note that these bloodline names are shared only because breeders have been using these herd names or bloodline names for years as breeding tools. Neither IGSCR nor IDGR had anything to do with the creation of these names or the history of these names and farms. Many breeders of today insist that these bloodlines be placed on registration certificates. We were complying for awhile, but we no longer are placing these names on Registration Certificates. Much work must be done on the true bloodlines of this breed, which we are currently working on. Also working on how to code these bloodlines correctly.

AHRENSBERG – (Code on Bloodline Certificate: A) (Founding Lineage) Based out of CA but line has since moved to Grace Heritage Ranch in TX. This is our rarest line.
LARRY WARREN (formerly INCORRECTLY NAMED Earth Spirit)– (Code: LW [formerly coded ES by former researchers, but IGSCR has changed this to reflect the true bloodline]) (Founding Bloodline) Larry Warren obtained the goats from Garry Warren, who had them hand-picked for color by Phyllis Larsen and Diane Nelson, who drove them to Garry Warren’s aunt’s house, bypassing the Fund for Animals adoption camp. Note: Earth Spirit Preserve did not have a bloodline. They had multiple San Clemente Island goats at different time frames.
NELLIE-GAIL – (Code NG) (Blended farm) May be a Founding Bloodline, but we do not yet know the origin
NEW HAMPSHIRE – (Coded NH) (Blended farm) from Dave Adams East Hill Farm and SVF (Swiss Village Farm Foundation) and Leslie Edmundson, Little River, in VA
PLIMOTH – (Coded P) (Blended farm) named after Plimoth Plantation in MA. This herd was held by the park, Wellsbrook Farm and Nook farm.
RIVETTI Ranch (coded R) (Founding Herd)
TEPPER – (Coded T) (Blended farm)
CANADIAN Bloodlines and Gene Pools

GIL aka Alta Mesa (Blended foundation lines) – Farm name was Alta Mesa. The BLAKE line from Milton Blake in NC, was initially based in NC but the last of the Blake’s herd is gone, and part of this herd went to the Gil farm in Canada. We now find that Alta Mesa is a 2nd generation breeder ,blending lines of Blake, O’Ben (O’Ben is founding herd), San C (founding herd) and G’Elf (founding herd).
VANCOUVER ISLAND – The Vancouver Island line is is run under the farm name of QLLC These goats came from Alta Mesa (who are O’Ben, Blake, San C, G’elf. [these breeders were themselves Island Impot breeders and Founding Herds]) Her founding goats were Island Medley’s. Farm name of QLLC.