Do you Know About Boer Goats?
The Boer goat, a South African Boer goat, is the world's most productive meat goat. Boer goats are raised in large numbers throughout southern Africa, as well as Australia and New Zealand, the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Their size, rapid weight increase, carcass quality, hardiness, and docility make them desirable. Even when Boer bucks are bred to does of other breeds, these characteristics can be passed down. Boer does are known for kidding up to twice every three years and giving birth to twins and triplets on a regular basis.
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Origins and Characteristics
The indigenous South African goats held by the Namaqua, San, and Fooku tribes were most likely bred into the Boer goat, with some crossing of Indian and European genes probable. The Boer goat is one of the most popular meat goat breeds in the world, thanks to selective breeding and development. It has a fast growth rate and outstanding carcass features, making it one of the most popular meat goat breeds in the world. Boer goats have a strong disease resistance and may thrive in hot, dry semi-arid environments. Production in the United States is concentrated in west-central Texas, especially in and around San Angelo and Menard. The original breeding stock for the United States originated from New Zealand herds. They were introduced directly from Africa only later.
Boer goats have characteristic brown heads and white bodies. Some Boer goats are totally brown, white, or painted, meaning their bodies have huge areas of a different colour. They have large, pendulous ears, just like the Nubian goat. They're known for being docile, fast-growing, and having a high rate of reproduction. When compared to other breeds, does are said to have excellent mothering abilities. Because Boer goats acquire weight at about the same rate as their sires, a buck from a proven fast-growing pedigree will fetch the greatest price, as would its progeny. The principal market for slaughter goats is a 22–36 kg (49–79 lb) youngster; juveniles should achieve a marketable size at weaning age. At 90 days, a child of a proven fast-growing sire may weigh 36 kg (79 lb), while a child of a poor-quality sire may weigh only 15 kg (33 lb). Although an average-quality buck is less expensive to buy at first, it might have a major impact on an operation's long-term profitability.
Boer goats are commonly employed for land maintenance, particularly to minimise bush encroachment on rangeland, due to their adaptability on various terrains. The goats, as typical browsers, can prevent regrowth following bush thinning and feed on plants up to 1.8 metres tall while standing on their hind legs.
Boer Goat History
The name of this breed was derived from “Afrikaans” a Dutch word that means farmer. These large and stocky goats are so strong that they were once used as pack animals in their native South Africa. Boer goats were created by Dutch farmers in the early 1900s, but they were not introduced to the United States until 1993. Indigenous goats held by the Fooku, Namaqua, and San South African tribes were mixed with goats with a mix of European and Indian genetics, resulting in the Boer goat breed.
Because of their stocky physique and thin, moist flesh, Boer goats were bred for meat rather than dairy production from the beginning. These goats grew at an astonishingly fast rate, which was viewed as a boon by the Dutch farmers who maintained them. While this goat breed originated in South Africa, a small number of Boer and Angora goat embryos were smuggled out of the nation via Zimbabwe to goat farmers by agricultural firms from Australia and New Zealand. The smugglers were after the Angora goat embryos, which are renowned for their ability to produce mohair. Snatching the Boer goat embryos was an afterthought at the time.
In New Zealand, the embryos were implanted into goat does. One Australian company that had some smuggled embryos ran into financial difficulties, therefore the embryos and progeny were handed to Rob Moodie, a New Zealand quarantine station operator. The herd was given the name African Goat Flocks by Moodie. Australian Breeding Management, a different Australian livestock company, ended up with thousands of Angora and Boer goats that were eventually freed from quarantine. The children of smuggled embryos cultured in Australia and New Zealand are the source of all Boer goats that have made their way to America.
The Boer goat we know today was developed over decades of careful and diligent breeding. The breed's exceptional genetic traits and steady production of high-quality meat are lauded by keepers. The American Boer Goat Association was founded the same year as the first full-blooded goats of this breed arrived in the country. It didn't take long for the breeding and marketing of Boer goats to explode in popularity in the United States.
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The American Boer Goat Association is a driving factor behind the increased production of meat goats in the United States. Over 7,000 goat farmers are currently members of the organisation. The American Breeders' Goat Association (ABGA) registers around 45,000 purebred goats each year. Importing Boer goats directly from the original South African strain is doable, but they are pricey — even before shipment. Finding a breeder with registered South African Boer goat stock and purchasing animals from them will involve far less paperwork and cost.
Any goat or sheep brought in from Africa must follow USDA laws and be placed in a herd that has been certified to follow the federal agency's Voluntary Scrapie Flock restrictions. This action was taken to prevent the spread of the scrapie virus, which has no known treatment. To prevent the spread of the deadly disease, any goat or sheep imported from Africa had to be isolated for five years. The rules governing the importing of goat embryos from Africa may be eased soon. When purebred Boer goats were brought from auctions in New Zealand and Australia, American buyers paid up to $10,000 per head and still earned money when kids were produced and sold for roughly $7,000 each.
Cross Breeding
While purebred bucks are preferred for breeding, crossbred does are routinely used for kid production, with 7/8 or more Boer progeny. Boer x Spanish goats, Boer x Angora goats, Boer x Kiko goats, Boer x Nubian goats, Boer x Sirohi, Boer x Osmanabadi goats, and Boer x Jamnapari goats are all common crosses. A controversial attempt to crossbreed with the Malabari goat has been made.
Percentage: Due to their ease of acquisition and affordability, Boer goats are particularly popular in commercial meat herds and among those just starting in the Boer goat business. Over time, a percentage of animals can be bred to purebred status in the United States. A Boer goat with 15/16ths Boer blood (F4) for does and 31/32nds blood (F5) for males is considered an American purebred. Bucks must be one generation higher in Boer breeding than does to attain this rank because they have the ability to disseminate their genetic pool much further than a single doe; a higher degree of Boer blood reduces the likelihood of offspring with other breed attributes. Many breeders still use a fine American purebred buck with exceptional results, despite the fact that American purebreds can never be recognised as Fullblood (FB).
Many farmers still prefer purebred or full blood bucks and does, and crossbreeding isn't often used.
Note: The letter 'F' is a typical abbreviation for the percentage of pure blood (in this example, Boer) produced by crossbreeding a Pureblood Boer buck with does of other breeds:
F1: 1/2 Boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, another breed doe)
F2: 3/4 Boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F1 doe)
F3: 7/8 Boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F2 doe)
F4: 15/16 Boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F3 doe)
F5: 31/32 Boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F4 doe)
Boer Goat Personality
The gentle giants of the goat world are coveted not only for their meat but also as companion animals - a role traditionally designated for Nigerian dwarf and Pygmy goat varieties. Boer goats are known for being calm and gentle, despite their size. Beginner goat keepers are normally discouraged from starting a herd of this size, but the Boer could be an exception.
Boer Goat Advantage and Disadvantage
The potential to fetch top pay on the meat market is unquestionably a benefit of having Boer goats. Because of their gentler demeanour, Boer goats may require less climbing and romping "things" in their pen to keep them entertained. Poor, destructive, and occasionally violent habits emerge when a goat lives in overcrowded quarters or has nothing to do all day but wait to be fed - even in the most placid of goat strains.
To make a side income or a full-time living from maintaining Boer goats, you don't need to slaughter or take them to market. Although the number of keepers in the United States has expanded significantly over the last decade, so has the demand for exceptional breeders. Becoming a breeder of Boer goats may be both emotionally and financially rewarding.
The drawbacks of owning a Boer goat are minor and manageable. The first hurdle to overcome when purchasing this breed of goat is the quantity of room required to house such enormous animals, as well as the cost of feeding them. All goat breeds, including Boers, are browsers who need roughage in their diets to keep their rumens in line. Wintering a Boer goat herd necessitates either baling your own hay or purchasing it to meet the health and nutritional requirements of the large goats — all of this adds significantly to farm operating costs.
Boer Goat Reproduction
Boer goats have a high reproductive rate, which helps breeders and meat farmers repay their investment in a high-quality breeding couple. Expanding a herd of Boer goats without spending a dollar on a new stock is possible when you have a Billy goat who lives up to his potential. Boer goats are capable of reproducing at any time of year. At the age of five months, both males and females have reached reproductive maturity. A Boer nanny goat is pregnant for around five months, then nurses her child or children for about three months before being milked or scheduled for breeding again. Nanny goats may only have one child during their first pregnancy, but a Boer nanny usually gives birth to twins. Goats have a traditional breeding season in April and May, as well as from the end of summer to the beginning of winter.
Show Goats
Although it may appear that Boer goats raised for the show have little in common with pastured commercial goats, the distinction is only superficial. They are bred to be larger than normal goats and to have certain visual characteristics, but these are valuable genes to have in a commercial herd. For this reason, Boer goats were originally imported into the United States and other countries. Their value to ranchers stems from the benefits that adding their unique genes can provide to any breed of meat goat. A few farmers could afford to keep a herd of animals that were practically useless.
Show goats are raised to showcase the best qualities of the Boer goat, and their primary goal is to introduce these animals to the general public. It's also a way of acknowledging the best of the best, albeit some truly exceptional goats aren't given special treatment. Show buck and doe breeding stock can and are frequently used for commercial breeding stock. Most Boer goats must be registered with the CMGA, ABGA, IBGA, or USBGA in order to compete. Boer goats are frequently bred for display, but they may also make excellent pets.
How Much Do Boer Goats Cost?
The cost of a Boer goat, like that of any other goat breed, is determined by a variety of factors. The first, and certainly most crucial, consideration is local accessibility. If there are no breeders in your area, the cost of visiting a breeder, inspecting the goat, and $either shipping or hauling it home can be several hundred dollars. If you want to buy a registered or show quality Boer goat, expect to pay between$400 and $500. Doeling or nanny goats sometimes sell for a little more than intact males. Because Boer goats are in high demand and command a high price on the meat market and in indirect sales, keepers should take the time to meticulously document each herd member's health, vaccinations, reproduction statistics, breeding lineage, seasonal weight, and butcher weight in order to support their claims of high-quality stock when selling or marketing them.
Boer goat in India is hard to find. Normal goat meat costs around 400 dollars per kilogramme, whereas the Boer variety costs 1,750 dollars per kilogramme for males and 4,000 dollars per kilogramme for females. Prices for goats range from 60,000 to 90,000 dollars depending on their weight.
Interesting Facts About Boer Goat
This breed's goats are usually white with a redhead.
Boer goats' ears lop – or droop – in a drooping fashion.
The horns of the Boer goat are thick and bend backwards.
Boer goats nearly invariably have brown eyes.
Male Boer goats typically weigh around 350 pounds when fully grown.
Female Boer goats typically weigh between 190 and 250 pounds at maturity.
Boer goats not only have a fast growth rate, but they also have a higher fertility rate than other goats.
Even when males have mated with cross-bed Boer nannies or female goats from altogether different breeds, the prized carcass, personality, and meat quality of Boer Billy goats (or bucks) is often passed down to children.
Boer goats are present in all of the most prevalent top-quality meat goat cross-breeds Boer and Nubians, Boer and Angoras, Boer and Sirohi, Boer and Kiko, Boer and Osmanabadi, and Boer and Jamnapari.
Although Boer goats are known to be tough, some keepers may find that they have more problems with internal parasites when growing them in warmer regions. The typical life expectancy of a Boer goat is 8 to 12 years. In this article, we have come across Boer goat characteristics and origin, history, cross-breeding, reproduction and some of the interesting facts about them.
FAQs on Boer Goat
1. Why Are Boer Goats So Expensive?
Because they grow quickly and produce excellent carcasses, Boer goats are in high demand. Due to the limited number of animals imported at the time, breeding them has been prohibitively expensive, but as the number of animals imported has increased, prices have become fairer.
2. What is a Boer Goat?
The Boer goat is a prominent meat-producing breed that originated in South Africa in the early 1900s. Their name comes from the Afrikaans (Dutch) term Boer, which translates to "farmer."
3. What is the Average Size of a Boer Goat?
Boer goats are the largest of all goat breeds, with a rapid growth rate. Bucks (males) grow to be 30 inches tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds when fully grown. Boer does (females) can reach a weight of 190-230 pounds when fully grown.
4. What is the Importance of the South African Boer Goat?
African goat breeds are noteworthy because of the high demand for their meat. As a result, millions of Boer goats are raised in southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Their size, rapid weight increase, carcass quality, hardiness, and docility make them desirable.
5. What Do Boer Goats look Like?
Boer goats are distinguished by their brown heads and white bodies. Some goats are totally white or fully brown in hue. Like Nubian goats, they have long, pendulous ears. A mature Boer buck weighs approximately 110 to 135 kg, while a mature doe weighs approximately 90 to 100 kg.