- North Carolina breeder
- "First off-Ya'll have some nice looking goats
and some articles that really make you think about breeding boers.I have been in
the boer goat business for about 2 years now and I think that the boar goat
industry has turned into a beauty contest. I don't have any registered stock,
but a few of my goats are fullblooded boer. i have tried the reg. stock, but
found out that they die over nothing!!!! I guess they don't have much of the
natural hardiness that they started out with left after all the selective
breeding they are going through. I have seen goats on some websites that don't
even meet all the characteristics of the boer goat -but THEY HAVE PAPERS! So I
guess that means that they are $5000 show goats right? I'm not in it for the
showing or having the perfect teat structure or the best bloodlines. My goats
get freechioce hay-feet trimmed every 2-3 mos, and about 2 lbs of feed per day
per head. they also are wormed every 2 mos. My goats aren't overly fat but they
are not skinny either.They are just fine and dandy. Just because my doe has a
shorter neck than she's "suppose" to be doesn't mean Im going to cull her out-Hey,she's
a good mama, Her kids look great and i don't have to baby her to keep her alive.
I would rather have her, than a perfect looking "show"doe that doesn't take care
of her kids,Why would I want to breed her? So her kids could possibly do the
same as her? yes they would look great but i don't feel like bottle raising
every set she has. i think that some breeders are focusing on looks more than
they they are focusing on the qualityof the goat and the kids! then when the
kids are born-they pump them up, give them steriods, make them too fat,cause
health problems just to win a show. Some are even registered that don't deserve
a set of papers-all for the almighty dollar. I'm not knocking registered
goats-if the goat meets the standards,by all means -give it the papers.My
opinion on goat raising is, put them in the pasture, feed them, worm them, and
enjoy them and try to make a profit-just do it the right way- The natural way- i
don't believe in putting embryos in another surrogate doe just to get a reg boer
kid- yeah she might have a great showing bloodline but it is not thesable for 1
doe to have over 100 offspring-In my opinion it weakens the breed. i think in
about 10 years Boer goats won't even be boer goats anymore-they are going to be
what people breed them to be-not what they were from the start-a hardy, meaty
breed that could withstand a lot more than they can now. thanks for listening to
my opinion on the boer goat!
|
- "Texas Breeder
- "I reviewed your
article concerning the weakness of Boer
goats with much interest. My wife and I got
somewhat serious about raising commercial
meatgoats in Mills County (Goldthwaite)
about three years ago. We obtained a mix of
Boer Nannies, Spanish Nannies, and BoerX
nannies. We used a Boer Billie from the
Mzuri goat ranch about 20 miles north of
here. The 10 Boer fullblood nannies were
purchased for about $250 to $300 each at
special auctions in the area. We noted at
other auctions the nannies were going for
over $800. We never did that. But we did
pay $750 for the Billie.
Over two years I bought about 200 nannies
and our herd reached 250. Many of the new
nannies were purchased in the Fall of last
year or Fall of the year before. Usually
bred already, they were only $60 to $75
each.
2006 was the drought year. Our survival
rate for born goats was pretty good.
Probably had 90% kid survival with 85%
making it to selling weight which I deemed
about 65 to 75 lbs.
Feed costs were heavy all the way through.
I think I spent 10k on Hay for the winter
and another 12 on feed during the year. My
sales from that production ended up only
about 10k as most of my kids matured in the
Fall and prices were only about $60 each.
In the Spring I did get about $80 each for a
batch of good billie kids but they had been
on pure feed most of the winter and the $20
difference in sales price was not really a
profit.
2007 was rainy and wet. Great vegetation by
April 1 which persisted til now. My kid
crop from winter and Spring numbered about
200 which I had on a 40 acre feedlot with
plenty of feed supplement, vitamin, mineral
supplements, at all times. By late May they
began dying off with obvious anemia from
lungworm. We fought the worms all the way
drenching with Ivomec and later Valblazen at
what seemed frequent intervals. (in 2006 we
never had a worm problem without drenching
our kid crop). By late summer or September when I targeted
their sale date. 50% were dead or sold for
pennies due to being thin and weak. ( I
didn't sell the ones who were truly weak.
Very few of them ever recovered)
No goat type was immune but all fullbloods
died or at least got sick. BoerX did much
better and Spanish goats did the best. Most
of what I call spanish goats likely have
some boer in them but don't show boer
markings.
I concluded before the current kids were
born to put about 60 nannies (mostly 50%
boerx) with a couple of Spanish Billies that
I particularly liked the look of. (dark
brown with Black trim). These guys are very
healthy so far. Most are very vigorous and
are having almost 100% survival rate. There
are also some very loveable patterns going
on. polka dots and other stuff.
I did this because, like you, I find the
Boer lacking any real hardiness. They also
show the poorest mothering skill. BoerX is
a better goat. And I think I currently am
having a better showing with a spanish
billie and a 50% boerX. The kids look
strong and I think will sell at the same per
lb price as Boer kids. They do not appear
at all undersized. It doesn't look like I will have to sell off
many Adult Boer Billies to change my method
of operation as they are all currently
having trouble shaking their worm. I expect
to lose about half of them as well. I am
dumping my pregnant nannies that have been
with the Boer Billies as feed prices are
again high and I do not relish simply losing
money to too much feed, death, and medicine
costs. They are three year olds about 3 to
4 months pregnant and are bringing about $60
each.
This winter I am simply going to trim down
to about 75 to 100 of my best nannies. no
fullbloods among them. Keep my spanish
billies and one favorite little boer billie.
Perhaps I will see enough turn around and
success with this strategy and let the herd
grow again. I am also going to use one
Angora Billie. I have been told by some
Indian friends that Boer meat is not that
good and Angora is better.
Like you, I am a businessman who started
this goat stuff a few years ago. i
primarily practice as a CPA and Tax
Attorney."
|
- North Carolina Breeder
- "I've just read your articles on the
high maintenance Boer and from what we are
finding out, I couldn't agree more. We've
purchased three full blood bucks and about 20
high percentage Spanish/Boer does
over the past two years for meat sells only. We
breed our bucks to our Spanish cross girls and
have had a pretty good
herd to date, i.e., very little maintenance.
We have 4 pastures over about 20 acres
and have just started
to rotate more closely. A friend in the business
that raises Boers for 4H and for open shows
is getting out and has given us 13 of his
full blood girls, most already bred to other
full bloods. So far,
they have needed worming
twice as much as our other girls and have
more hoof problems. We live in Eastern NC so
hoof maintenance tends
to be a little more time consuming than I'd
like. "
- Ag-Ed teacher & Breeder -
"I commend you on
several of your articles and the good overall
information found on your site ! I am a former Ag-Ed
teacher. My son and I dabble in the goat business.
We found out very quickly that there were problems
with the overall hardiness of some Boer Goats.
I soon came to believe that many of these
problems could be better solved, or at least minimize
, through intensive culling and careful
selection, rather than trips to the vets and
intensive up-keep. One example is the fact that we
absolutely refuse to trim feet. Those individuals
that have foot problems get the same treatment as a
crippled cow would; a trip to the sale barn! I do
believe that many show goats are foundered by the
high grain diets that are promoted by the show goat
business. A little more legume forage (like they
were designed to consume!) and a little less grain
seems to make for healthier and better performing
kids. We may not win as many ribbons as some of our
friends, but we seem to bring home healthy females
(we show does) from the shows that have a longer and
more useful life.
We also plan to begin to cull for singles
(cheaters) and large birth weights. It did not take
the beef industry long to figure out the costs of
large birth weights and difficult births. Maybe we
can help future generations to be more demanding for
overall traits, not just big and pretty."
- Vet breeder - "Like the Wisconsin
breeder, I heartily agree that big-boned serves no
practical purpose. Just
look at the most muscular genotypes, callipyge
sheep, piedmontese cattle and tennessee myotonic
goats. none of these breeds/species is big-boned. we
should develop a highly muscled goat and I'd prefer
a non-myotonic type but one with more inhibited
myostatin (piedmontese cattle) or fat cell
inhibition/conversion (callipyge sheep). perhaps we
could enhance/focus on rib-eye/loin muscle thickness
rather than bone development. I think thigh muscle
development is more responsive in terms of length of
muscle rather than thickness."
- Wisconsin breeder -
"Just had to weigh in on your high
maintenance article. I absolutely agree. I was
speaking to a lady who does a lot of showing and she
told me the show does are only bred one, then
flushed the rest of the time. They don't want them
to lose their nice shape. Hmm. Well, how is my 6 yr
old % doe who's had 19 live kids so far ever
supposed to compete against something like that? And
yet, those show animals are the animals that are
pictured in all the magazines. Unfortunately, the
loudest and most prominent voices in the industry
belong to the show industry.
Our
farm is in northeastern WI. We've been raising Boers
since 2000 but had dairy goats before that. We
haven't had the die-offs and the vet bills as many
of the folks on your website mention (we run 35-45
does but usually have about 60 running around with
kids, wethers, and bucks). However, we culled
heavily in the beginning. It didn't matter if it was
a % or a fullblood with lots of ennoblements, if it
was a crummy mother or needed to be wormed
frequently, she left the farm either as food or off
to the sale barn. We're to the point when we need a
fresh bloodline, we only bring in a buck. And this
year, I'm trying AI so I ultimately don't have to
worry about bringing CL, CAE, soremouth or some
other nasty into our clean herd.
We
also cross our Boers with Angoras. The Angora
crosses are big meaty animals, but most importantly,
they produce the thicker hair coat needed to
withstand the weather up here. That hair coat sheds
out in spring. I asked a well known judge once why
the registries frown on cashmere in some of the
Boers' hair coats. His response was, "It makes them
look ratty when they're shedding out." Huh? The
goats up here that carry the thicker hair coats are
the ones that are laying outside when the weather
drops below freezing, chewing their cud and eating
hay out of the feeders with 1/2" snow on their
backs.
We
worm approximately 3-4 times a year, depending on
how wet our spring is. I use Ivomec injectible.
We've had no parasite resistance. The animals all
look healthy and feces samples show the same. In
fall, we don't worm. However, our little herd will
consume over 12 tons of cull pumpkins between
September and December. Pumpkin seeds are a natural
dewormer and pumpkins carry many excellent
nutrients. Our goats live on pasture in
the spring/summer/fall months with access to free
choice grass hay. In winter, we provide hay and
alfalfa pellets (depending on the quality of the hay
we have). Nursing mothers are grained (a combo of
whole wheat, whole oats, and sunflower seeds only).
I've done only
some light showing and have been told my animals
need more bone on them. Have any carcass tests been
done to see if that's the way we really should be
going? We raise our own meat and don't purchase any
off the farm. We recently switched from New
Zealand/Flemish Giant/Lop cross rabbits to
Californians after discovering the Californians
produce more meat. Here's the kicker. They are
smaller rabbits than the other breeds mentioned and
they have smaller bones. Yet they dress out with
more meat than the heavier boned rabbits. Someone
told me his Fainters are dressing out with more meat
than his Boers. Hmm? Is more bone the way we should
be heading?
We've spent
money over the years that I wish we could get back.
A beautiful buck with tons of ennobled animals in
his line. Yet when we crossed him with our does,
he couldn't produce. There was just no
consistency in what he threw. Our best buck happens
to have nothing fancy in his bloodline (and no, he's
not all SA either), yet whatever we cross him to
(dairy, fiber, or meat goat), he consistently
produces the same body on his offspring. He cost
half what the fancy buck did. Trying to convince
buyers new to the industry on this handy trait is
awfully frustrating. They see the show bucks, the
ennoblements, and the big dollar prices."
- Philippine Vet
- "I've recently been informed that ALL goat
upgrading programs in ANY 3rd world country have been
failures. and, true to your opinions, I now also believe its cause is the tendency to
'upgrade' which essentially means increasing the
foreign/exotic percentage in native upgrades. this
system is logically flawed as has been explained to me
by the head of a government agency here. increasing the
boer percentage will naturally decrease the native
percentage along with the native's resistance and
adaptability to the local environment."
- North West Breeder
- "Thank you for your hard
hitting and unvarnished look at the challenges
confronting the Boer Goat industry. My wife and I
happened into the Boer goat business "by accident" after
purchasing a commerical herd of Boers to clean up a
property we had purchased that was overrun with
blackberries and weeds. We
unexpectedly fell in love with their personality and
temperament (we're cattle people!), and so here we are.
I am the product of a four generation purebred cattle
ranching family (Black Angus), and my wife comes from a
purebred Charolois ranching family, that also raised
registered Hampshire sheep. We naturally concluded it
was smarter to raise purebred/fullblood goats for the
same price as commercials. We figured our knowledge of
the purebred livestock industry would serve us some
advantage.
Now, to our
experience. We are dismayed to find that our small herd
of goats (swelled to 35 earlier this year, now down to
17 head, and heading smaller - with ads up locally),
requires far more management time than an equal or even
greater number of cattle, let alone on an animal unit
basis. Our vet bills come close to equaling the gross
income from sales, with the feed costs and management
time thrown in. We find Boer goats to be so disease
prone and unresistent to parasites, and inefficient feed
converters, as to be economically unfeasible. We have
lost few animals due to vigilance, experience, plenty
of expense, and no doubt God answering many of our
prayers.
We are
leaning toward dispersing the herd, and possibly keeping
a few crossbreds as pets, allowing us to observe at a
more arms-length distance financially whether the breed
is able to sort itself out. We are not sure that we
want to weather the financial storm until that time
arrives, since we are not in "too deep". As newcomers
we are not known in the Boer industry. Consequently we
have limited influence on major breeders, or breed
associations. We can't exert much influence over the
direction of the breed. The breed will have to rely upon
courageous breeders of influence such as yourself to
redeem the situation.
We
are no strangers to the rise and fall of breed
fortunes. We raised Angus cattle from the 1940s. We
produced show winners at numerous livestock shows from
the 1960s to the mid-1990s.
We observed the damage that chasing the tan bark, the
show ring, can cause a breed. We witnessed a succession
of fads come and go in the breed, many of them
injurious. In the end the salvation of the breed was
reprioritizing on the economic traits, and the
development of performance measures and records that
enabled the breed to determine heritability
measures that increased the accuracy in genetic
selection for traits that matter most at the calving
barn, the sale barn, feedlot, and the dinner plate.
I believe the Boer goat
industry can profit from the hard lessons learned by the
beef industry. But that will require a collective
willingness to stop making excuses for the current
deficiencies that plague the breed, developing the
necessary performance measures to enable greater
predictability in genetics, and a common sense focus on
real profitability. A lot of underperforming animals
sporting pedigrees will have to be hung up by the
heels. Is there a "quorum" of the leading
breeders willing to pay the immediate, but temporary
price? They can set the future direction of the
breed. If not, other market-based solutions (breeds)
will emerge to satisfy the vacuum.
I hope your excellent
article serves as a catalyst for other leading breeders
to take a candid look at today's Boer goat, and choose
to embark on the necessary steps to put the breed back
on a course to disease resistant, hardy, thrifty,
efficient performers - that retain their beguiling
temperament and personality. Your article motivated me
to send this note of encouragement to you. I'm
confident it is generating a lot of good discussion in
circles of influence in the Boer business. We'll be
keenly observing, and remain hopeful for the future of
Boer goats. "
- Breeder - "Your
article is right on target. A good solid breed is
becoming weak and fragile because of the marketing
fiasco. Keep up the good work, some of us are all ears
and respect your opinion and advice."
- Breeder - "I
have just read your article on the Boer Goat health, I live
in central Ohio and started raising Boer goats 4 years ago
with true SA genetics they were very hardy low maint.
animals but the problem was my goats were not fetching the
high dollars that other goats were bringing, other breeders
were raising show goats or animals whose pedigree had 6,7,8
or more enoblements, so I started with a new foundation herd
so that I to could cash in on this lottery What a regret, I
went from twice a year worming no sichness no vet bills to a
mountain of debt just to keep my new herd alive, I now have
to worm monthly, coccidi runs rampant and do a monthly maint
just to control, I love my goats but this has been a
horrible mistake on my part for getting rid of my original
herd due to greed of just wanting to make the money that
others were making. So in essence what I am trying to say
is that yes we have and continue to breed the hardiness out
of the Boer."
- Virginia Breeder
" I thought your article on the
direction that the Boer goat to be right on target. I
started working Boer goats in Texas on another friend’s
ranch and became very enthused with them. We now live in
Va., where the climate is a complete turn around from
central Texas, and is raising my own goats. Where we are
located would be a difficult area to raise this breed due to
the wet conditions, namely parasites. We have been using
different methods to control this naturally, with some
success. What I am finding here is just what you say, a
great many people are switching to goats to raise, and are
looking at the “well conditioned “ animal and blood lines
rather than what the animal can really produce. I could go
on and on, but suffice to say I think you are right on; more
people that are just getting started should look at this and
save a lot of heart-aches."
- Breeder
"Hear Hear! Finally glad someone is focused
on performance rather than looks. Reminds me of the lipitor
commercial on TV when the beauty queen keels over due to
cholesterol issues - she looks great outside but her
internal health is the real issue."
- Oregon Kiko breeder
"I’m a Kiko breeder on the west coast.
I enjoy your website and noticed your well written open
letter to the ABGA, IBGA and AMGA regarding the various
conflicting advice we’re given on worm control. You are
right on all counts. If you haven’t seen this already, you
might enjoy this wonderfully thorough review on parasites in
small ruminants done in New Zealand. It’s an extensive
review of all current literature on the subject."
(see
report)
- Louisiana breeder "Thanks
for asking the “money” questions. I raise about fifty head
of boer does on my place in southwest Louisiana where we
receive about sixty inches of rain annually. On our farm we
have tried just about every method/medicine available to
combat parasites. Pasture rotation, various wormers, etc.
The best results I have found are to dry lot goats 24 hours
before and after worming giving the medication more contact
time in the rumen. Then release the goats in a pasture at
least six inches high. I have even planted various forages
for the animals, but have not noticed any advantages in
doing so. Pasture rotation on my place did not reduce the
parasite problem it only meant more fence and more labor.
Culling the weakest and keeping the strong seems to be the
only way to deal with this problem in my area. Thanks again
for reminding the experts of this ongoing problem we are
dealing with every day."
- Philippine Vet
"Thanks for the great site! been using it for 2 years
now. Thanks for not being PC on
important issues.
i'm in the philippines. its hot and humid here. not boer
goat country. they can't take the humidity.
i've shifted my focus to a more dual purpose/type
goat- for milk and meat. basically its a meaty goat with a
bigger udder. i think this type's more adaptable here than
the pure and fullbloods.
- bigger/flaring nostrils, thicker neck and wider
intermandibular space. for better heat exchange and
panting/dissipation of excess moisture.
- dark skin, horns, and hooves but light haired. for
resistance to intense sun.
- slicker skin and bristle-like but short, fine hair. for
better heat exchange.
- bigger udder. stressed dams produce a lot less milk and
nutrients. logically, a bigger udder combined with other
traits should solve this.
- more than one teat orifice. for faster nursing/milking.
- finer bone. higher meat to bone ratio is easier to carry
around especially when its hot.
- less intra abdominal and muscle marbling and more
subcutaneous fat. these fat depots are not healthy coz
they're less metabolically active than subcutaneous fat.
I heartily agree with your very
practical breeding goals: 4 functioning teats/quarters, low
birthweight-high weaningweight, short neck, etc. lemme just
add that a long, thin, graceful neck may also result in
higher incidence of colds/throat/tracheal infections.
I just can't understand a beauty contest for food
production animals.
- Texas breeder
"I must admit that I haven't
always agreed with you from time to time, but this time you
are dead on correct. We lost about half of our kid crop this
year (about 40 kids). We have also lost several of our best
fullbloods. At the same time, our small herd of Dorpers has
been almost totally unaffected. We lost only 1 lamb and the
ewes are in great shape. We've wormed the sheep only once in
the past year and have not trimmed a single hoof. Our
commercial goats that are 88% or less Boer are doing fairly
well also. We have painfully noticed that our fullblood
Boers that have the best breeding (on paper) are the worst
at thriving in a commercial setting. It is my opinion that
the vast majority of fullbloods being offered across the
country in countless private production sales do not have
the ability to survive and be profitable in a commercial
setting. The breeder/show stock market cannot last forever.
Eventually, the breed will have to survive on a commercial
basis."
- Texas breeder
"This same issue
is hitting the Nigerian Dwarf breeders. You are DEAD on that
we need to all be paying attention to which lines are hardy
not just on what turns heads in the show
ring! Thanks for speaking the truth boldly!"
- Texas breeder
"Well I'd have to say I lost my whole kid crop
this year. I ended up keeping a few nicer doelings and even
a couple nice bucklings only to have them die of unknown
causes. I'm sure you have heard it a million times but this
year has been the worst. In the
past if you lost any goats they were less than two weeks old
but this year I lost all by 5 months old.I guess I was lucky
not to lose any of my older stock but they took a hit from
the worms as well. Not the show does they were before and
since I haven't been able to get all of them to come back to
condition. Just frustrated. I really think if more people
would get into wethers that the Boer breed would improve by
taking out all the surplus /lower quality stock that newbies
are keeping because "they are registered" I have heard and
bought stock with that same old line "They are on the
smaller side" and "They should produce better than they are"
What? Why register a goat like that. We'll because they are
Full Bloods" Makes me sick how people are so money hungry to
do that.I just wish more people would allow Boers be what
they are intended to be, meat goats and breed quality to
quality and only register quality animals for resale. There
is a high demand for goat meat so lets do are part to fill
it."
- Texas breeder
"I completely agree that show animals should
not be bred at the expense of disease resistant and healthy
animals. I have been noting the animals that remained
unaffected by the recent “plague.” I suspect one of our
problems was introducing so many new animals to our property
over the last 18 months. Even though we quarantined them on
arrival, I’m sure each brought something with them to add to
the mix. Add to that the water-logged land after nearly four
years of drought and a parasite explosion was waiting to
happen. A stringent cull program is something I plan to
implement."
- Washington breeder
"Yes, welcome to the wet club...unfortunately the
goats were dying because they had not been exposed slowly to
the parasites and to be hit all at once overloads the
system, and doesn't allow them to build an immunity to the
parasites over time. We have been raising Angora goats in Western WA since
1990. This breed also is a "delicate" breed that is more
susceptable to parasites (internal and external) and the feet
are also sensitive to the wet environment. They are higher
maintanance than our hardy Nubians...that have been here for a
long time.
In 1999 we started with Boer Goats...we have ample browse
here for them...but it is very very wet...and even swampy much
of the time. They do not do much grazing of low grass, and
always go for the browse. I also supplement hay and grain to
pregnant and nursing mothers. The Angora's can eat and eat
and never put on outside fat...the Boer goats grow much faster
and even start to get chunky without any supplemental feeding.
I have one nursing Doe that has fat behind the elbow and has not
had supplement except for a small grain treat once in a great
while. While others need some supplementing. I can't afford
to worm very often...so they are lucky if they get 4 wormings in
a year...I do feed the kids Payback Boer goat developer with
rumensin and I use a systemic pour on wice, two weeks apart,
on the goats in quarantine after the shows though...those
mites/lice can be nasty. Speaking of mites.
When we first bought in the Boer goats...after a few
shows...they started chewing at their feet and had scabs around
the pasterns...not all of them were bothered...least the Angoras
and Nubians...some Boers more than others...Last year we brough
in a new Buck from the dry side of the state. He developed a
very bad case of heel mites that still hasn't cleared up even
though we have been treating with Ivermectin systemic and using
black salve to smother them. They are some better now and I
think they are clearing...but what a battle! I think the other
goats must somehow have developed a resistance to these and
other internal parasites. I know that we can eradicate the
mites...as long as we don't take them back to any shows.
Hey have you noticed that the Boers make a lot of muscle and
grow really really fast???? I know that is a redundant
question. Even here they grow fast...but the crossbred Nubians
grow much faster...that hybred vigor! "
|
- Virginia breeder
"As a newbie Boer breeder I am fascinated and very excited about
your management findings. I have had various goats throughout
the years, all crosses of Spanish and then Myotonic/Dairy
breeds. I have had my Full Blood Boers for a year now and cannot
believe the difference in management. I actually felt like a new
goat owner since my goats had never required many of the needs
of my Boers. Thank you so much for doing this research and
publishing your findings. I feel the belief that Boers need more
management is an unpopular belief in the industry and you have
given it a much needed voice."
|
- Georgia breeder
"We've raised goats for nearly 25 years. We formerly
raised Spanish and Nubian crosses. I rue the day that we decided
to sell all of our herd, eight years ago, and buy registered,
full blood Boers. We've only learned they are the least hardy
breed in this country, but I'm sure you're correct in that we've
made them that way. "High maintenance" is an understatement. I
have two herds now that I keep separately. One is made up of 33
head of Kikos. The other is comprised of 37 registered or
registerable Boers. We started with the Boers on a five year
plan to create the breeding animals we would be proud to sell.
Showing soon brought an abscess problem to our farm that shut
down our dream. We'll now fight this problem forever and having
high dollar vaccines made has not been very effective. Parasites
and Toxemia have cost us a fortune over time in the Boer herd
and I believe Boers are much more sensitive to selenium
deficiency than any other breed. BOSE is another expense I've
never seen before in other breeds. I've never seen a Kiko with
Toxemia and I wormed them all of two times in the past twelve
months. I put out one roll of Hay for the Kiko's over the winter
(during a freezing rain) but fed them no other supplement. They
are happy to forage in the woods and swamp and they won't even
use the sheds I built for them. They kidded in the rain this
spring. and look as good as they did going into the breeding
season. The Boers, on the other hand, are poor foragers, lay up in shelters and get fat on high dollar
feed. I trimmed hooves on about four Kikos all year while every
two months we're wrestling Boers to worm and trim hooves.
Discounting minerals and vaccines, the Kikos have cost me about
$200 dollars to keep each year. In past years, I've put ten
times that into the Boers for feed alone. That had to stop! I
now expect my Boers to forage hard and earn a place in the herd.
I do not supplement feed for them until they're in the last 4-6
weeks of pregnancy and I expect them to show me some rib and
backbone prior to breeding season. All of our goats have plenty
of area to range for food (118 acres). We had no toxemia or
problem deliveries this spring and I think our parasite burden
is less, maybe owing to foraging some high tannin plants like
lespadeza. It's time we treat our Boers the same as the good
herdsman do in South Africa. They laugh at the way we have
spoiled the breed in this country. They send their herds to the
veldt, unattended, for months on end. They expect every doe to
come back with two healthy kids in tow and no problems. The fit
survive and the unfit are culled or perish. As a result, they've
selected for healthy, hardy, "low maintenance" herds. Until we
do the same, we're only supporting the feed industry, keeping
the vet's kids in college and wearing ourselves out. I would
like to enjoy raising goats for a while longer. It's just got to
get easier.
Good work on you part, Jack! This needs to be
done." |
- Tennessee breeder
"Here in southeast Tennessee we raise both SA Boers,
and NZ Kikos. Your articles hit all the nails on the
head about stock maintenance and striving for hardiness in
goats and leave no room for doubt that it is up to us, the
producers, to provide the market with healthy, hardy
animals. We've got to break free of the "showbiz" mentality
we've accepted as "the norm" and raise goats with better
immune systems, better mothering qualities, and better
parasite resistance.
"
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- Breeder
"I enjoyed the information you provided on the high
maintenance of Boer goats. I recently got involved with the
Boers last October and everything that I read stated how
hardy they are. I am finding that they are higher
maintenance than I understood, your article is right on the
money. I really love the Boer because they are so gentle and
good looking. What can a small breeder do to improve the
Boer breed rather than continue with this downward spiral?
Thanks again for posting so much valuable information on
your website."
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- Alabama breeder "I read with great
interest your articles on "high maintenance" of Boer Goats. Some of
what you point out is exactly why i avoided starting my herd with
them. instead i have selected spanish and kiko breeds. I find the
same problems in these breeds from some of the sources i have
purchased from. i now feel that it is not so much the breed as the
care they are given. my first crop of kids was this spring, so i am
still rather new to this. time will tell if my research prior to
buying goats will help me avoid pitfalls or not. i am interested in
seeing your format for monthly management review you speak of in
your articles. "
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- Pennsylvania breeder
"I have been reading your website a bit. I agree with you
100% and I, we have been raising boers goats for about 1 year. I
have spent more time taking care of goats then I have done with
my beef cattle in 5yrs!!! My
goal is to get away from the excessive labor and start to manage
them like my cow herd. It took me over 20yrs to get to where the
herd of commercial cattle is at. We had some of the worst cattle
in the state 20yrs ago. I don’t want it to take another 20yrs
with goats."
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- North Carolina breeder.
"I live in the piedmont region of North
Carolina. about 2.5 years ago I ran about 40 head of fullbloods
on about 20 acres pasture and wooded (leased land) that year me
and my family bought 5 acres and started to build a new home
with me doing all the work and holding down a full time job
needless to say my goats became neglected well the parasites
showed up like a wall of death when I would check on my goats
(about 2 times a week ) I was finding 2-3 dead at a time
worming wasn't helping, finally I ended up with about 12
goats these goats were moved to my new place after reducing my
herd to 6 does these does today require minimal de-worming (2-3
times a year) and remain healthy and have shiny healthy coats
with excellent membrane color. I have also seen the same results
with their offspring. all in all the lack of responsibility
with my animals made me very angry with myself but also allowed
my herd to become more "parasite resistant" and I believe was a
blessing in disguise just wanted to share this with you ."
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- Texas breeder. "I loved the High Maintenance
article....we were having quite a bit of trouble with the boers
that we had... we wanted something we could turn out on the
pasture and have them clean the brush and maybe something that
we could also show if we wanted... so we had some boers and
they'd been treated like hot house flowers, they refused to eat
any of the brush, only wanted grain and hay (in which they were
quite picky with the hay, refusing to eat the same hay we feed
my show horse). So we switched over to Spanish they better then
the boer but they still weren't what we were looking for. I
finally talked with a friend of ours that had just started
crossing her boers with Cashmere goats. So I bought a few and
LOVE them they are eating things that the Spanish and the boer
didn't even think about eating...They are also producing lots of
milk having healthy kids, and quite a few kids... we've had a
bit rougher year this year (in Texas) because it's been so rainy
and Hot Cold Weather but they did great in the winter because
they had all that hair, We didn't have any trouble with
kidding...had more twins and triplets then usually... We
recently went to a friend of ours this year and out of about 40
something goats she had 6 sets of large healthy triplets that
were of twin quality. Her kids are born small but grow very
quickly... but I was on the net a couple of days ago and looking
at another site with their cashmere kids and their does were
having huge kids with no trouble... in fact one of their does
had 2 kids both over 9 lbs. and 15 inches tall. But we just
started crossing them with some boer x and getting a meatier
type of cashmere goat. Not to mention we are only worming once
maybe twice a year."
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- Texas breeder. "Everything
you said is true. I used to raise Full Bloods but not at the show quality level. The reason I got out
of them was because I felt that they had the hardiness bred out
of them. I now raise Spanish as well as boer crosses. These also
feel the parasite crunch, not as bad though however we find that
some are untouched. I think that across the board the goat
breeders in all aspects of the industry need to recognize these
animals and breed accordingly. "
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- Texas breeder.
"Hooray for
the voice of common sense! We initially started out with
dairy cross goats to clear brush, then decided we needed
more "meat". After purchasing some percentages and a few
fullbloods, we started reading more about crosses. We now
have concluded that we want the best possible Hybrid Vigor
that we can attain. When we paid attention to our herd we
discovered that the cheapest crossbred does were the best
mothers, never had kidding or nursing problems, and had few
parasite issues or hoof problems. We have one doe in
particular who has had her feet touched up once in six
years, only been treated for worms a few times ( when we
thought we had to treat the whole herd), and always delivers
and raises twins or triplets. We now are mixing Boer,
Spanish, Nubian, and Kiko together for the best possible
combinations. And when one is lost, we know the Good Lord
is helping us cull. I've been
involved with horses and dogs in the past, heard horror
stories about cattle and cats, the story is the same. Every
time people try to change nature, they pay a price! Thank
you for your honest and forthright messages, and your
commitment to assisting other breeders with your wealth of
information."
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- Kentucky breeder.
"I agree with your assessments for the most part. It's
only natural for an animal that is constantly pampered to become
less adaptive. We try and breed for characteristics desirable
for the show ring, while at the same time, breed for animals
that look good, have high parasite resistance, good mothering
instincts, etc. I think that's what most of us are shooting for
... at least in the Fullblood Boer Business. This year we
haven't had as many problems with worms, probably because it's
been so dry. And we have also found rotating pastures to be
effective.
In my opinion, two of the biggest problems (as far as parasites)
is that 1.) some breeders overcrowd their goats- making it much
easier for them to pick up things. And 2.) Some breeders don't
give near enough wormer, which results in not getting a good
kill and the worms become more resistant.
Breeders just have to understand from the beginning that having
a herd of boer goats is going to require more daily attention
than their herd of cattle. They also have to determine from the
beginning what their goal is- A Fullblood Show and Breeding
Herd? .. A Commercial Herd? .. A Small Hobby Herd? .. Each of
these will require different management practices, more or less
labor, and much different expenses in medications, feed, etc."
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