American Dairy Goat Association – ADGA

All bucks born after January 1, 2024 must have DNA on file before any of their own offspring can be registered with the American Dairy Goat Association.  DNA typing is not required prior to registration of the buck himself.

There are two ways you can complete the DNA requirement for bucks born on or after January 1, 2024.

If the buck you are registering does not have a parent on file or you are confident in your record keeping and the mating, then ordering the DNA after registration is the most straightforward approach.  Once the DNA test is complete, the result can be stored in your account under the animal’s name. Any future registration certificates with this animals name will display the DNA result. 

If you have any doubt about the parentage of a kid prior to registration, please do the following:

• Submit a DNA request for the unregistered kid and provide the tattoos as the unique animal identification.
• The DNA sample can be submitted along with the DNA of any potential parents.

The pedigree can then be confirmed prior to registration.  Additional programming is planned which will allow unregistered kid results to be viewed in your account. Until the programming is implemented, the DNA result for unregistered kids will not automatically show up on your certificate once this animal is registered.

If you have never submitted a DNA request the process is simple. See here for instructions.

Who can order?

The breeder of an animal may request DNA tests for any animal they have bred, however if you are not the breeder you can only request DNA on an animal during your time of ownership. If you do not own the animal and you would like to submit a sample, you may do so if the current owner provides ADGA written permission for you to submit a hair sample. If you have semen from a buck collection these samples can be submitted even if you have never owned the buck. Potential parents do not have to be on file prior to the birth of the offspring. Samples from potential parents can be ordered and submitted at the same time as the offspring.

Which animals require DNA?

To satisfy the mandatory DNA rule for bucks there is no requirement that either of his parents need to be DNA tested, only the buck born after 1/1/24.  All bucks born after this date must have a DNA result recorded prior to the registration of his offspring.

Unregistered due to system backlog?

For animals that have a backlog in registration such as Guernsey and AGS re-registrations, DNA typing can be submitted for these animals using the tattoo, sex, breed, and date of birth. It is not required to wait for a registration number to submit DNA samples. After these animals are registered the DNA result can be linked to the registered name.

What happens if a buck does not have DNA when his offspring are born?

Please make sure DNA is on file before attempting to register offspring from a buck born after 1/1/2024. Most of these registrations won’t occur until 2025, but if a registration is submitted which has a sire born after 1/1/2024 and the buck doesn’t have DNA recorded, the registration application will be refused. The new policy has the potential to create questions regarding unique circumstances. Below are a few situations which may answer your questions:

• Paper registration applications received by the ADGA office will be mailed back to the submitter with a notice indicating missing DNA if the sire does not fulfill the DNA requirement.
• If DNA was not ordered through ADGA.
  • The result needs to be transferred to ADGA.
  • To transfer the results, please submit a support request and choose the help topic “Transfer DNA”. Instructions for making the transfer will be provided in the support response.
  • A DNA transfer fee is charged for this service.
• Offspring cannot be registered online until test results are received by ADGA. This includes the following situations:
  • If the DNA test has been requested for the buck but the hair sample has not been received by the lab
  • If the DNA test result is pending from the lab

What if I bred my doe to two different bucks?

If your doe was exposed to two different bucks during the same heat cycle all kids in the litter will need to be DNA typed.

• Goats can have split litters. Meaning kids born in the same litter can be from different sires.
• Some does are exposed to different sires on purpose and in some cases, this can be a mistake like a buck breakout.
• DNA typing only one kid in the litter is not sufficient to determine the sire for all kids.
• If DNA proves that litter-mates are by more than one sire the ADGA office will have to assist with the registration of those kids. 
• Split litters sired by more than one buck cannot be registered online.
• The ADGA office will not accept registration applications for litter-mates with two different sires without proof of DNA result on file for all kids being submitted for registration.
• Proof of DNA can be a copy of the email you receive with the DNA result from the ADGA Performance Programs Department.

If you have any more questions, please submit a request at our support site.