Begginer Livestock Help

[77Herford]

Yeah, never met a sheep with personality, doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

[Smittenroade]

I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
What do you guys think of Boer goats?

 

[Roll farms]

I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
What do you guys think of Boer goats?

That's a can of worms....

Boers have earned a bad rep for being parasite-prone, bad mothers, weak legged, bad-uddered, etc.

IF you find a breeder who focuses on the strength of their overall herd, instead of the almighty dollar, and get strong healthy animals, you can do well w/ them.
Especially since you are in TX. When boers live in wet climates, there tends to be more problems b/c of hoof rot and parasites.

I bought 3 very fancy Boer show does when I first decided to get into meat goats. 2 died giving birth, the other produced puny kids that didn't thrive.
I said, "To heck w/ this!" and sold the Boer buck I had, got a Kiko, and had some big old healthy babies. But that Kiko buck was MEAN, and people where I lived did not care about the vigor of the kids, they wanted Boers / boer looking goats (white body / red head) to show.

By then I'd started reading goat rancher magazine and had learned a thing or 10 about the right questions to ask and qualities to look for.

If you're wanting to raise goats for meat / market alone, I would suggest a Boer buck and several Boer x Spanish and / or Boer x Kiko does, OR a Kiko buck and Boer x Kiko or Boer x Spanish does. There's really no reason to spend the money on purebreds if they're going to market (IMHO). And I've found crossbred boer goats are ever so much hardier than purebred for the most part.

You might also want to buy a dairy doe or two, to get extra milk to raise bummers on. Their kids will be leaner, but can still sell as meat animals or be kept for breeding.

Keep records of which does are the best mamas - weigh the kids at birth and weaning (some weigh every 30 days, too). Keep track of which does look the best when their kids are weaned. If the doe loses half her condition and becomes weak during the process, you won't be able to rebreed her as fast and she's not a keeper. If a doe gets wormy more than 1-2x a year, cull her. If she orphans her 1st kids, give her a second chance, but cull her if she rejects her second kids, too. That sort of thing.

I have 2 FB Boer does now. One kidded 6 wks ago and already one side of her udder has dried up completely, I'm having to supplement her smaller kid. The other one I bought purely for color as a baby...she is half the size of my % boer kids the same age.

All my other meat does are % Boer or Kiko and they do well.

eta: Most Boer breeders will not tell you these things, they want to promote the breed.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
What do you guys think of Boer goats?

Run for you life!
Take the money and go on a nice long vacatio instead!



Sorry haven't had my coffee yet this morning.


If you aren't wanting to do shows and high-end breeding stock for sure look around and consider the vigor of a crossbred. and for sure purchase from a farm that is raising goats the way you want to raise goats. There are a lot of boer farms raising their goats in pens only and worming often. I would aviod that type of stock and go for stock that is pastured and are wormed on an as needed basis. Their stock will have way less problems and not as resistant to worms.

That isn't to say boer goats don't need any grain supplementation, because they will. unless you have tons of alfalfa and very high protein forage and hay available to you. If you aren't wanting to feed harldy any grain, then that is another thing you need to look for in your new boers, Is the stock you are buying being fed grain all year round, or are they more pasture raised. Can the moms raise a set of twins to 50 or 60 lbs on barely any grain and only pasture and/or hay?

good luck on your decision?

 

[Smittenroade]

lol thanks both of you great info! I am actually copy/pasting the stuff I need for later...
From what I've gathered a cross-breed most likely Boer/Spanish would be the way to go. I read that the cross-breeds are much hardier all around.

But to tell you the Gods honest truth...There are ALOT of people that raise goats around me..(1 out of 5 houses) I will stop by a couple places and ask around about their breeds. I am mainly just trying to get a in-the-ballpark estimate of what I need to search for.

From what you guys are saying I shouldn't exactly focus on the breed as much as the quality. Most people around here raise there's naturally (Not in pens) I think any meat goat would do. I know to check it head-to-toe for flaws ect and ask about the persons culling preferences and ask to see the mom and pop. (Sire and Mare?)

Is there anything else that I should ask, or pay close attention to?
Like diet? Should I get papers on it?

BTW...also, should I buy as kids? Or should I go for a mature buck/doe?