Boer Goat Talk

We raise Boer goats. We keep 20 to 25 breeding does and, at present, have 3 bucks at stud.

Our approach to breeding is to make it easy on the animals and on us as well, we are both in our 60's. What we do is breed twice per year so that our kids are born in Feb- Mar and again in Oct- Nov. Where we live, central Texas, the weather is good during those months, not too hot and not too cold. We have enough does so that each doe is bred only once per year.

All of our goats are sold for show, to FFA and high school Ag students, or as replacement breeding stock. We occasionally have people wanting to buy a goat for slaughter, which is fine with us, but they have to pay our price ($125 to $200) and then we tell them that they have to do the slaughter, they usually change their minds.

All of our animals are registered (ABGA the association of choice) percentage, American purebred and full blood. Our bucks are, all three, full blood.

Sure would like to hear from other breeders, so join in and let's give this thread life.

We have a few Boer goats on our small farm. We have 1 billy, and 3 nannies, 2 of which are due to have babies in the next couple of months. We also have one weathered Nubian billy that is just a big old baby. We started raising goats about 4 years ago. At one time, we had a 20 head herd of both Boer and Spanish goats. I would never have imagined myself even wanting to be around 1 goat, much less several. But, I can honestly say these animals are beautiful creatures and I enjoy them so much.

Hi there Hickchick. Hey, maybe we will be able to keep this forum alive afterall.
Couldn't agree with you more. Goats can grow on you.
We had 25 kids born between 13 and 20 February. Sold all but two doelings. It sure is quiet around here without all those little ones.

Hope to keep it going, have not been around for a while. Moved into a new place with new pastures and brush and willow and the herd is in 7th heaven. 10 ewes so far and 2 billies, 1 boer that must be breeding or there was an immaculate conception but has horrible feet and 1 older kiko that just joined up. Expecting kids in 3-4 months which is not great for here since it will be cold but have some experience with that and if they stay on mom and have creep feed they should do ok. The ewes are mutts so to speak but the plan is to breed for size and meat. There is a large market up here for goat.

I don't have Boer goats, just a small herd of Pygmy goats and one fainting goat. Do you have trouble with your goats busting your fences? These little brats of mine rub against the fence until they get it sprung out at the bottom, then they crawl under it.

They have 10 acres of pasture, woods and brush to roam in, but are continually getting out. I guess I am going to have to run hot wire all along the bottom of the fence. We enjoy our goats and sell the babies as pets, but they are also a pain in the neck because they are so hard on the fencing !!! If we fence in any more land, I think we are going to use cattle panels... that should keep them in!

Melinda

Melinda, before you run a low hot wire, it will be trouble if it is kept low. Try running a strand of barbed about 2 inches from the ground, pull it banjo string tight and then tie your fieild wire to it between the fence posts. They will not crawl under that. It will also help to keep the less desirable creatures from crawling under from the outside.
Yup, cattle panels will work and, you are right, they will be expensive.
Don't get me wrong, I am not downplaying the low hot wire. It is just a problem being low that it will be more prone to shorting out because of wet grass and weeds making contact with it.

Thanks for the info on running the barbedwire. I might try that. I was worried about keeping the weeds from shorting the low hot wire.

To keep this Boer goat related, my sister was thinking about getting 3 or 4 Boers but was told that they are hard to birth. That if she is not out there helping with the kidding, she will lose babies and maybe even the moms. Is there any truth to this? My Pygmy's have no problems at all. I do keep a close eye on them, but they have never needed any assistance, even with triple births.

She has 20 acres and 4 horses, and she was wanting a few goats to help keep the brush down. Now she is wondering if she wants Boers or should go with another breed. Any opinions on this?

Thanks
Melinda

We have lost a couple kids at birth, usually it is because they were very large. One was completely deformed, but that was just a freak of nature.
We are with our does when they kid, so if there is trouble we can lend a hand, normally we are just spectators. With only a few goats, being there at kidding time should not be a problem for your friend.
Here is what we have learned over the years. We feed our breeding animals an extra ration of feed before we put the does with the buck and during the time they are breeding. After taking the does away from the buck, they go back to regular rations. We have found that folks, and we used to do this as well, continue with the extra feed rations during the gestation period. During gestation, most of the nutrients go to the fetus and they tend to get very large leading to difficulties during kidding.
Once the doe has had her kids we increase the doe's feed rations significantly to aid in her milk production, the best source of nourishment for the kids. We also set up a creep feed area for the kids, giving them access to feed all day long. The result has been, normal sized kids (7 to 9 lbs) at birth that tend to grow very quickly during the first three months.
The Boer is probably the most popular, if not, then close to it, breed of goats in the Country. We have been raising them for going on 13 years now and we would not even consider going to a different breed. Go to any livestock show and see what breed of goats are being shown. Almost 100% Boer. There is a market for them.
Please pass this on to your friend and wish her luck with her decision.

I've learned the same thing with my dairy goats. I used to give them extra grain when they were pregnant, but the kids ended up being very large, and I ended up having to assist in a large number of kiddings. I got pretty good at pulling kids out, and even "going in and getting them", though that isn't something that's very pleasant to do. But I quickly learned that if you don't give them any extra grain, the kids are much smaller, and I don't have to assit in as many kiddings. My does miss the extra grain, but I promise them that they'll thank me when they're giving birth. Funny thing, though, is none of them have remembered to thank me.

This is extremely interesting as i have been working with a neighbor who was having troubles birthing and thought it was about dad's size and how it relates to the does size (do not breed a large male with a small doe). This make a heck of a lot of sense and will see how things work out this time around, since just moved and the boys are with the girls but have not been grained since the move but got onto much better pastures. Have not had a problem with births yet in that way (not 100% boers) and am usually just pleasantly surprised by a new voice in the herd.

Any tHoughts about pregnant girls and willow? If i remember correctly willow is bitter because of the asprin in it (sacylic acid (sp)) which is also a blood thinner. They really do like it and get upset if you walk away without giving them their share!!

Thank you all for the information you have given. My sister is going to go ahead and pick up a couple Boer does that are bred already. After reading this, she is not going give them minimal grain and good pasture suplemented with hay when needed. She is looking forward to some babies being born.

I have a picture of my minature donkey jack named Jememiah in the 'Furry Friend' contest on the Homesteading forum. If you happen to head over that way, give us a vote !!!

Thanks
MrsMcClain

My husband and I raise boer boer cross kiko and we are expanding into gene masters It has been a challenging choice but totally addictive we have gone from 4-5 goats to over forty and hope to double before the end of the year. alot of learning going on but thanks to folks who do not mind sharing we have been able to solve most delemas without any huge diasters. We have both registered and commercial herds. I am not overly nastolgic but all my goats have names and I have a book of namesfor the 200 does I plan to have in the next 5 years when God sees fit to enlighten me how to get a barn built, My husband and I live with our 5 children in southern Ontario Canada. I have managed to fail at every other animal I have tried to farm. Either I failed to keep them alive or raccoons and coyotes ate them all but this time we put up 5 wire fence alternating hot and ground and the goats have stayed in and the predators stayed out so far. Thank God I have finally found a profitable stay at home job.

Hey guys, anyone still active out there? We are having some kids now (planned) and have an enclosed barn to keep them in and we are doing well with what we have...5 healthy kids on the ground! Lost one to an inexperienced mom. Kid was the first born but one of the cranky moms came due and put her in with the other girls and away from the boys and wethers. I think she killed to one kid, it was doing fine and there was a commotion in the barn one nite and 2 days later the kid had passed on. No other signs of infection or

As far as fencing, we have discovered that the wire mesh for reinforcing concrete works good for fencing, but not so good for feeders, the welds are not stong enough. Kind of inbetween cattle panel and welded wire and cheaper than either.

About 5 yrs ago two boer females found their way to our place. They lived wild and spent time in a cave or old goat shed in woods --we provided straw water and feed. About a year ago one got tetnus and we had her put to sleep. The remaing one started hanging out with the deer. My wife decided she (the goat that is) was lonely so we bought two more boers--a small doe and a wither. After some coaxing we got them all fenced together with shelter. Everything was fine until Rascal the male started ramming me and other goats when we fed. He seems to sense that the old goat is getting weaker and he has gotten more agressive. In the past few days we have separated the old one at night with her own water and feed--that is working but he still takes a shot once in a while. They are well cared for eating, hay, medicated goat feed and veggie scraps. He has nailed me a couple times when I bend over to fed and give him the perfect target. Any thing we can do to protect old goat and reduce his agressiveness other than goat roast--my wife will not allow that.

Thanks for your help.

Ted

There is nothing you can do to change his behavior. I would suggest that you sell him and buy another doe about the same age and size as the other doe. Good luck.