British Boer Goat Society

The British Boer Goat

Second only to dogs in length of time since their domestication, goats have been managed by man for approximately 12000 years. Since then we must have had approximately 4000 generations which have been improved and bred for specific purposes.

Milk, meat and fur were the first initial reason for breeding. This led to very specialised breeds like Angora, Cashmere and high-class milkers like Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg, Nubian etc. The only breed of goat in the world specially bred for meat is the Boer goat.

The Boer goat originates in South Africa and is completely different in appearance from the established dairy goat. Developed specifically for meat it is a stocky animal with short legs, broad chest and thick rump. Apart from the Boer’s distinguished colours of chestnut head and white body and its evident docility, the main characteristics are its body conformation, which makes the Boer the first meat-producing breed of goat in the world.

Embryos from South Africa were first exported to Germany in 1983 and since then the Boer has found its way to the UK and other European countries.

Several studs were established in Britain in 1988 when the British Boer Goat Society was formed.

The main commercial use of the Boer is crossing the animal on dairy goats to produce better quality and faster growing meat animals for the rapidly increasing goat meat market. The meat is for the health conscious consumer and suitable for diabetics. It is low in cholesterol with little fat.  The price for the produce has been in the past always better than the price for lamb.

4 Month old
50% Boer
carcass.

The initial domesticated goats of course produced little milk, little fibre and poor meat carcasses. This has been improved tremendously over the years.

The direct comparison of milk goats to meat goats is the same as with milk cows to beef cattle:

• Milk goats – AN, BA, and BS are the leading milk producers for quality and quantity, but poor carcasses.
• Boers – produce little milk but good conformation and carcass quality.

Boer goat meat from a fat young animal is at any time as palatable as the meat from any other stock breed and the most tasteful varieties of dishes can be prepared from it.

The most determining factor in the income of a meat animal is its fertility and here the Boer goat is a winner. Boer goat does kid regularly every year and a kidding percentage of 160 to 200 is normal. With proper care a Boer goat doe is able to kid three times in two years although one annual kidding is more normal. . A Boer goat doe has a long producing life span of approximately 10 years and cases are known of Boer goat does kidding at an age of thirteen years.

As with most milkers, the Boer goat has short smooth hair and can be easily kept in good health. During and after kidding, the Boer goat needs good management to care for the many kids and with its placid temperament it is easier to keep in fenced paddocks and fields than longer legged breeds.

Although more and more breeders establish stud herds and join the British Boer Goat Society, there is still a severe shortage of good breeding stock. New bloodlines have recently been imported from New Zealand, Namibia and Canada, embryo transfers and artificial inseminations are being carried out but the strong demand for the export market cannot be met. This shows that the British Boer is now well established and wanted mainly in countries that have strong ties with Britain.

Although the Boer goat was originally bred in the warm South African climate, the breed has adapted well to the harsher northern climate and given field shelters, they can be outwintered in lowland areas of the British Isles.