Reader Feedback

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. "

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."

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. "

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."

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 ."

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."

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. "

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."

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."