# will Boer goats "clear" an overgrown lot



## T.J. (Mar 23, 2011)

i have a few acres that was logged 2 years ago and now it's overgrown with briars,honeysuckle,and general brush & weeds.

i have been thinking about getting some Boer goats but someone told me that Boer's are not that good at clearing brush.....that they prefer pasture ground.

so,will Boer's clear my lot for me or would another breed be a better option.

any help or advice will be appreciated.

T.J.


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## St0rmyM00n (Mar 23, 2011)

T.J. said:
			
		

> i have a few acres that was logged 2 years ago and now it's overgrown with briars,honeysuckle,and general brush & weeds.
> 
> i have been thinking about getting some Boer goats but someone told me that Boer's are not that good at clearing brush.....that they prefer pasture ground.
> 
> ...


My boer x clears brush really good I don't know if it has to do with the nubian in him but he looks more boer than he does nubian.

My 1 acre was fully over grown and him and one other goat cleared it out pretty good. They still have a little more to go but with spring here and summer on the way it will grow up more just as fast.

If you had more than what I do I am sure they will clear it.


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## T.J. (Mar 23, 2011)

StOrmyMOOn,

thanks for the info.i appreciate it.

i thought they would - but i know very little about goats so i thought it would be better to ask people that would know.

cows,chickens & hay i know about....but never had goats before

thanks again,
T.J.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

We started with 7 mature boer and boer X and we had 6 acres of nothing but briars, vines and ceder trees of every size, It took around 3 years for it to look a lot better, but they did better than a large mower(brush hog) would have done, without breaking any equipment trying to figure out where all the rocks, and stuff would be in the way of the tractor.  

It is recommended around 5 to 7 animals per acre of heavy pasture, but I would say if you had 2 adult boer goats per acre, they would get the job done in a couple years.  We now have a herd of 21 does and 3 bucks and that seems to be plenty for our land, without having to feed a bunch of hay in the summer. NOte: we no longer have brush or thistle for them to eat, and they have at all the cedar trees as high as they can reach, so now they are on pasture.

Don't forget they need shelter, goats are not cattle and hate rain.  We used large calf huts the first couple years, and we also used silo rings set on their sides to make tunnel houses. 

Plenty of fresh water and it would help you goats to have loose goat minerals out all the time, really helps with worm loads.


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## T.J. (Mar 25, 2011)

thanks for the help & advice - i really appreciate it.

one guy i talked to about goats told me i needed a "brush" goat. i am not sure what he was referring as a brush goat.i know i would rather have a Boer or Boer cross - if they will do the job ..... and from the info here it seems they will.

thanks again,
T.J.


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## RabbleRoost Farm (Mar 25, 2011)

A brush goat is also sometimes called a "grade" or a "scrub" goat, simply because they're just mutts.

Unfortunately a lot of the hardiness of the Boer breed has been bred out of them since the Boer craze hit America (Boers were imported from Africa etc etc) because people wanted them NOW and didn't care about quality since they were the "new" thing. It's the same with spotted Boers now. People don't care about the quality as long as they have loud, flashy spots.
But back on track...

I'd probably agree that you'd do better with a bunch of scrub goats because they won't need so much attention in regards to constant deworming, hoof trimming and the likes. Many Boers need to be coddled to survive because they're being bred to be show goats more than being high-producers like their originators intended, which is sad since the original imports were so good at their jobs. 
I'm not saying there -aren't- good Boers out there, but to get good genetics from breeders that have been working on functionality versus "beauty" you'll be paying an arm and a leg unless you're rich to begin with.

Maybe a few percentage Boers or something would be better? Anyway, don't let me throw you from owning goats. I'm starting with Boers myself. Aren't I the intelligent one... 
Just make sure and do your homework before hand. A show goat won't do well in the field because they're not bred to be productive. The standard nowadays is geared almost entirely towards the showing aspect, so be aware of that.


Show goats tend to be HUGE when a medium-size would be preferable for producers, since medium sized does can produce more kid compared to their own weight than a huge doe would be able to (if I'm going too deep into this subject just ignore me). Does are thin and dainty (long slender necks as an example. where does the meat go on a SLENDER neck? big, thick, and meaty is what they should be going for) instead of thick meat producers like they were intended to be. Bucks are smooth instead of being a solid massive animal... Don't get me started about them changing the standard (with no explanation other than looks) so that two teats are preferred to four either. 

Ask me anything if you think of it. I'm by no means an expert, but I read a lot and will try to do my best to help. 

Edit - spelling


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 26, 2011)

If you are really interested in boers, you might want to look for a boer/kiko cross, kiko are very hardy, but have more attitude.  We have boer/nubian cross we are very happy with them.

I would recommend purchasing goats from a farm that has boer cross that is raising them in conditions that you are planning on putting yours in. I wouldn't purchase from show people who do nothing but worm every month and feed,show feed, year round. Look for a herd that is used to being on pasture most of the year and is being wormed on as needed basis, this is referred to the Famancha scale. Their goats will be hardier, because they wont be keeping bloodlines just to do good in the show ring. PUrchasing from a commercial percentage herd will probably give you hardier animals.  Does that are able to kid in pasture conditions, and raise kids on pasture, will give you very harder offspring. Not saying that there is never any human intervention, but it will help elimanate some of the bloodlines that are being babied along just for show. 

If you find some spotted or colored boers, be aware they are having a lot of health problems, like the previous person said, people keep absolute junk, just because they have color, everyone wants them and are willing to pay 2 and 3x the amount as a traditional color boer.  Even colored boer crosses are very popular.


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## St0rmyM00n (Mar 26, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> If you are really interested in boers, you might want to look for a boer/kiko cross, kiko are very hardy, but have more attitude.  We have boer/nubian cross we are very happy with them.
> 
> I would recommend purchasing goats from a farm that has boer cross that is raising them in conditions that you are planning on putting yours in. I wouldn't purchase from show people who do nothing but worm every month and feed,show feed, year round. Look for a herd that is used to being on pasture most of the year and is being wormed on as needed basis, this is referred to the Famancha scale. Their goats will be hardier, because they wont be keeping bloodlines just to do good in the show ring. PUrchasing from a commercial percentage herd will probably give you hardier animals.  Does that are able to kid in pasture conditions, and raise kids on pasture, will give you very harder offspring. Not saying that there is never any human intervention, but it will help elimanate some of the bloodlines that are being babied along just for show.
> 
> If you find some spotted or colored boers, be aware they are having a lot of health problems, like the previous person said, people keep absolute junk, just because they have color, everyone wants them and are willing to pay 2 and 3x the amount as a traditional color boer.  Even colored boer crosses are very popular.


I agree with you about buying them from a farm that uses them for this exact purpose your looking for. I just had my ear chewed off for saying this very thing. I don't look at my goats as actual pets, they are working goats to me and have a purpose of clearing brush. They do their job well.

But I have no experience with full bred goats at all. The cross breeds suit me better. 


To the OP they will eat your trees bare if you let them I had to put a fence around my peach tree so if you have any trees you don't want them touching make sure you block them off trim them up so they grow higher these goats will climb/stand on the tree and try to get to the juicy stuff.

Good luck!


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## T.J. (Mar 27, 2011)

thanks for all the help & advice.i really appreciate it.

one thing i dont want is a "show" goat.i guess i'll try to find some Boer crosses or just a few brush goats.

thanks again for the help,
T.J.


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