Boer Goat - Meat/Cashmere/Hybrid strength

The Boer goat was developed in South Africa as a breed meant solely for meat production. The term "Boer" refers to the descendants of the Dutch immigrants, or Boers, most of them farmers, who settled the country; thus, "Boer" goat simply means "farmer's" goat. Because of the intense selective breeding over the past 50 years or more by South African goat breeders, the Boer goat is considered far superior to any other goat for meat production. It is known for rapid weight gain and heavy muscling and has high fertility. Boer does typically give birth to twins.

Found here....

I thought I would start a thread about this goat seeing as it is now world-wide and I am extremely interested in finding out all I can about it.

Cashmere production is low but the fact that it is present in the strongest meat breed is interesting. Locally the very poor are being taught to harvest the Cashmere to boost income off of a very hardy breed. The quality of cashmere produced is excellent under harsh conditions.

Extremely resistant to many diseases.....

Brings increased vigour when crossed with other breeds. I am interested in crossing with Saanen as well as purebred. Any info on Boer x Saanen would be greatly appreciated. Doesn't seem to be much out there.

Chelle

i have some nubian/boer crosses
they are great animals, produce more milk than any of my other pure dairy goats, the best of my foragers, they also enjoy a bit more different kinds of foods that the other goats do, with extra enthusiasm.
Most of the goats won't eat banana peals, the boer crosses love them.
Most of the goats retire to sleep after morning browsing... for most of the day, these girls usually keep it up for a while longer, on cooler days, they seem to never stop! they are also the most personable goats i have, they love being pampered and cared for, massages and scratches, the other goats don't care for that however.

on the downside, they show more aggressive behavior, they are quite a bit louder than other goats, the one i had, but do not any longer, would in no way have been able to work out in the urban location i am in now. She sounded like a dinosaur in a hollywood movie!

i am currently trying to decide whether i want to cross kiko or boer back into my dairy herd.

Nubians are pretty animals. I have heard they are loud.... how loud? They are reputed to drop 3 times in 2 years which is pretty good. Your Boer cross Nubian sounds like a really good animal. A bit of aggression may not be a bad idea here. Are they aggressive toward you ... or others?

Chelle

they have never been aggressive to people, but they have been to each other and other animals. I am a large guy and most goats are not intimidating to me, however Boer bucks are very intimidating and amazingly strong. They are ferocious in appearance. I have not raised any Boer cross males to adulthood intact.

Nubians are a breed reputed to be less hardy than other goats. They can be very loud. I am skeptical of supposed dairy goat pure breeds, these animals by and large are extremely variable in production, size and characteristics. I could not say i have been trying to buy production dairy goats, but at least a good family milker, and you really need an older goat for this, but the nubian/boer crosses yielded half a gallon of milk a day in their prime in their first year, which was about double any of my yearling purebreds. The nubian/boer cross also all had 2 babies their first kidding! \

My plan is to get a kiko or boer buck to amp up the size of my herd, production of both meat and milk and then invest in some quality milking animals and a buck from a dairy production breed. Nubians have the highest of any of the large breeds in protein and cream, and that's where the money is to cheese making. Boer's milk is even creamier and higher in protein and also very sweet. The sweetest and creamiest milk comes from the nigerian dwarf, which i happen to have an alpine dwarf cross from...

The only thing holding me back with a nubian buck is whether or not it is a wise choice for the cold north. The Nubian/boer crosses do well enough as the alpines in the cold it seems to me.

The Nubian/Boer cross can be really really really loud and annoying haha. I grew to love it though...

I had some Nubian/Boer cross does as well.  They did very well.  Had two different full blood boer billies and they were never aggressive to me or anyone in the family. Even during breeding season.  My main concern with the Boers is that they are really becoming the dominant show breed here.  It's not necessarily a bad thing.  But when suffolk sheep got to be the major show breed a lot of their grazing ability was bred out in favor of looks.  For the suffolks to maintain condition you really had to pour the grain to them.  I hope the boers don't end up the same.

asmileisthenewak47 wrote:
they have never been aggressive to people, but they have been to each other and other animals. I am a large guy and most goats are not intimidating to me, however Boer bucks are very intimidating and amazingly strong. They are ferocious in appearance. I have not raised any Boer cross males to adulthood intact.

What do you mean "intact"?

Nubians are a breed reputed to be less hardy than other goats. They can be very loud. I am skeptical of supposed dairy goat pure breeds, these animals by and large are extremely variable in production, size and characteristics. I could not say i have been trying to buy production dairy goats, but at least a good family milker, and you really need an older goat for this, but the nubian/boer crosses yielded half a gallon of milk a day in their prime in their first year, which was about double any of my yearling purebreds. The nubian/boer cross also all had 2 babies their first kidding!

Boers are known for twins. And I read Nubians kid more than Saanen. 3 times in 2 years. Saanen don't do well here without a lot more protection and care than the Boer. Is why I thought to get them crossed with Boer. The Boer milk is exceptionally nutritious but never any left after rearing young. I would be interested to see what a Boer x Saanen could do.

My plan is to get a kiko or boer buck to amp up the size of my herd, production of both meat and milk and then invest in some quality milking animals and a buck from a dairy production breed. Nubians have the highest of any of the large breeds in protein and cream, and that's where the money is to cheese making. Boer's milk is even creamier and higher in protein and also very sweet. The sweetest and creamiest milk comes from the nigerian dwarf, which i happen to have an alpine dwarf cross from...

Yes cheese has excellent returns here too. A real good feta.... have you ever made anything else?

The only thing holding me back with a nubian buck is whether or not it is a wise choice for the cold north. The Nubian/boer crosses do well enough as the alpines in the cold it seems to me.

The Nubian/Boer cross can be really really really loud and annoying haha. I grew to love it though...

I think I need to get to hear these loud goats....  They have qualities worth looking into.

Chelle

goodshephrd wrote:
I had some Nubian/Boer cross does as well.  They did very well.  Had two different full blood boer billies and they were never aggressive to me or anyone in the family. Even during breeding season.  My main concern with the Boers is that they are really becoming the dominant show breed here.  It's not necessarily a bad thing.  But when suffolk sheep got to be the major show breed a lot of their grazing ability was bred out in favor of looks.  For the suffolks to maintain condition you really had to pour the grain to them.  I hope the boers don't end up the same.

Probably aggression is to do with each animal profile as well.... not just breed. The aggression is needed in the harsh conditions it was originally bred for. But like dog breeds you get wide variations from animal to animal within a breed.

I would agree with you if breeding standards change into merely how an animal looks. Not good. Doubt it would happen here. I have seen a real pride here in South Africa in the Boer being the animal that made it so popular. Hardiness, meat production, twinning rates, disease resistance....... They are obviously the most common breed here too.

Chelle

We have our Boer Billy on Alpine, Nubian and Boer. Alpine is my pick for a cross.

For Scours I use Gensing. All young goats open up their second stomach at about 30 days and get side ways with microbes. Probiotics use to be my mainstay but I have Gensing for myself and tried it because it is good for the stomach .. worked. For bloat and difficult breathing .. Myrrh smoke up the nose .. takes about ten minutes to react. Good for all new born .. Biblical.

Emile Spore wrote:
The only thing holding me back with a nubian buck is whether or not it is a wise choice for the cold north. The Nubian/boer crosses do well enough as the alpines in the cold it seems to me.

grampa raised Nubians in a climate where a lot of winter days don't reach 0 Fahrenheit you do need a good solid draft free barn for them to spend the night in but if you have real cold winter thats a good idea for any breed.

DustyTrails wrote:
We have our Boer Billy on Alpine, Nubian and Boer. Alpine is my pick for a cross.

For Scours I use Gensing. All young goats open up their second stomach at about 30 days and get side ways with microbes. Probiotics use to be my mainstay but I have Gensing for myself and tried it because it is good for the stomach .. worked. For bloat and difficult breathing .. Myrrh smoke up the nose .. takes about ten minutes to react. Good for all new born .. Biblical.

I don't think we have Alpine here that I have seen. Unless it is what we call Saanen... swiss type milch goat.

Very interesting herbals. Good to know!

Chelle, the Saanen breed is always pure white or cream-colored.  Alpines look similar but can be a lot of different colors (and Saanens tend to be pretty laid-back, while Alpines can be aggressive, not to people but to other goats.  I had one Alpine doe who would literally try to kill her pen-mate -- I think they are very territorial and I just didn't have enough space for that doe.). 

As to purebred dairy does not giving milk, it depends on where you get them.  My Oberhaslis and Oberhasli-Alpine crosses come from top show lines that were also bred for milk (and for easy hand-milking).  I'm milking a cross-bred yearling doe who will give over a gallon of milk a day on twice-a-day milking (I'm milking once a day right now).  And have a registered Oberhasli baby doe out of really top show stock who I expect will give at least that much next year when she freshens.  They aren't cheap, but once you have your breeding stock, you only need to buy a new buck once every few years.

A large part of how much milk you get is management, though.  Your goats need to be healthy and well-fed, and not stressed. 

Kathleen

OK...so the Alpine is different. Thought we may not have it here.

I have heard of very good cross with Boer and Saanen. Good milk and hardiness. That might be worth looking into. I would not want to lose the cashmere that the Boer produces though.

I had a Boer X Oberhasli doe for a while.  She was BIG (Oberhasli's are one of the smallest full-size dairy breeds), a very good milker, with rich creamy milk and a nice quiet temperament.  The only problem that I had with her, and I was told it came from the Boer side, was that the teats were very thick-walled, or thick-skinned, which made it more work to milk her out (and at one point in her lactation she'd be giving nearly two gallons of milk a day, so it was a LOT of work to milk her out!).  Purebred dairy goats selected for easy hand-milking will have soft, thin-skinned udders and teats. 

Kathleen

I could beleive that about the Boer doe. The Boer is not a milking goat.... but the milk quality is exceptional if ever milked.... just very little to spare after the kids have been fed usually. The problem is that pure bred Saanen are far more susceptible to disease and not very tough either. Need lots of tlc I have heard. I would not want that. A cross has proved excellent.... depending on selection within the cross of course. Interesting about the tough teats.... that would then need to be watched for and selected against. Extra work to milk her out is not desirable.

Yes on the need for selection to improve the teats.  I do think that Boer crossed with a dairy goat could be an excellent all-round homestead animal, and hope to see a breed developed eventually.  I know there are people in this country working on it.  If I had room for more animals, I might join them, but the Oberhasli's do very well for me here.

Kathleen