Let’s pull the entire Goat Detail home screen together and walk through it like breeders who are trying to make decisions, not just admire pedigrees.
I am referencing the layout for Mulan here so you can follow along visually, but feel free to pull up any of your goats at https://genetics.adga.org and click on “Pedigrees” to search.
The Top Navigation: Your Control Panel
At the very top of the page you see the ADGA Genetics header and the main navigation menu: Home, Pedigrees, Planning, PTI/ETA, Production, Type, DNA, and Help. Once you understand this menu, you can move anywhere in the system without getting lost. The site works best when you use these internal links instead of your browser back button.
In the upper right corner, you see your username along with Logout, Change Password, and MyGenetics. If you are logged in, that means you can save goats, save planned breedings, and build comparison groups. It is super easy to create an account and free, so definitely do that!
The Goat Identity Block: Confirm Who You Are Evaluating
Centered at the top is the identity header for the animal. In this case:
J&M HIDEAWAY AB MULAN – N002082457 (AM Doe)
DOB: 3/10/2020
FS85 (VVVG) @ 04-01
Breed Percent: 100% N
This block confirms:
- Full registered name
- Registration number
- Herd book designation
- Sex
- Date of birth
- Final appraisal score and breakdown
- Age at appraisal
- Breed percentage
Before analyzing anything, confirm you are looking at the correct animal and herd book category. American, Purebred, Experimental, and Recorded Grade animals all appear in the system, and that matters when you are comparing data.
The Pedigree Display: Your Genetic Map
The large central box displays the pedigree tree. You will see S for sire, D for dam, and then the generations expand from there: SS, SD, DS, DD, and so on.
Every registered name is clickable. That means you can instantly move into any ancestor’s Goat Detail page without running a new search.
Even before you click the Inbreeding tab, you can start spotting patterns. Repeated herd names, heavily used sires, influential maternal families. The home screen pedigree is your first genetic map. It tells you what was stacked, whether intentionally or not.
The Left Sidebar: Where the Real Analysis Begins
On the left side of the screen you see the deeper analytical tools:
Pedigree
Inbreeding
Line Breeding
Progeny
Linear History
CDCB Data
Production Eval
Type Eval
The home screen is just the entry point. Each of these links opens a deeper layer of evaluation. If you never click past Pedigree, you are only using a tiny fraction of what this system offers.
The PTI/ETA Snapshot: Four Numbers That Signal Direction
Just below the sidebar links is the small PTI/ETA summary box. On this goat, it reads:
PTI21: 0
PTI12: 12
ETA21: -13
ETA12: -39
This is not the full evaluation. It is a directional snapshot.
PTI stands for Production Type Index. It blends production and type genetics into one number.
There are two versions:
PTI21 weights production twice as heavily as type.
PTI12 weights type twice as heavily as production.
On this goat:
PTI21: 0
When production is emphasized, she is essentially neutral. She is not predicted to significantly raise or lower a herd under a production-heavy goal.
PTI12: 12
When type is emphasized, she is clearly positive. She contributes more value when structural traits matter more than milk volume.
Now look at ETA.
ETA stands for Estimated Transmitting Ability. It is often more sensitive to limited or uneven data.
ETA21: -13
ETA12: -39
Both ETA values are negative here. That signals caution and likely reflects limited or incomplete supporting records behind the estimate.
A serious breeder reads this box as a directional clue, not a verdict. It tells you where to look next. You then click into the full PTI/ETA page and examine reliability, individual trait PTAs, and production history. We will get to that.
That tells you immediately that if your herd focus is milk volume and components, she is not your genetic powerhouse. If your herd focus is structure, durability, and mammary support, she likely has more to offer.
In this specific case, it is important to note that Mulan did not complete a full 305-day milk test because we stopped early. That absolutely affects the strength and reliability of her production data and helps explain why some of these numbers are weaker or more volatile. It also reinforces an important breeder lesson: finishing milk test matters. Once data is recorded and locked into the system, incomplete records become part of the permanent genetic picture. If you want the most accurate evaluation possible, you need complete lactations contributing to it.
Format and Save: Turning Data Into Planning
Below the PTI/ETA box you will see:
Format Page for Printing
Save To MyGenetics
Formatting for printing gives you a clean pedigree view without navigation clutter, useful for farm files or discussions.
Saving to MyGenetics allows you to build organized groups of animals and planned breedings. That is where ADGA Genetics shifts from browsing information to actively managing herd direction.
How to Think About This Screen
The Goat Detail home screen is not the conclusion. It is the doorway.
From this one page, you can confirm identity, study pedigree structure, see a quick genetic direction signal, and decide where to dig deeper. If you stop at the names and final score, you are missing the real value.
Serious breeders click into Inbreeding. They review Production Eval. They analyze Type Eval. They compare reliability and PTA strength. They let the data guide the next mating decision.
This screen is not just a pedigree viewer. It is the starting point for building a herd on measurable, heritable progress instead of memory, marketing, or ribbons.
Up Next: Reading Inbreeding