A little history about the breed and characteristics of the boer goat....
This is exerpts of a speech our son Reuben wrote about Boer goats for Grade 7:
The Boer Goat
"Goats will eat anything" is a saying that most people have heard, but this is not true. Our goats have proved this to us. We had our goats at the fair in September, and one man came up to our 1 year old buck and tried to interest him in a unlit cigarette. The goat wouldn't take it. Also, my Mom dropped her beaded bracelet in the feed manger one night, and the next morning it was still there!
The boer goat was developed in South Africa for meat production. "Boer" goat means "farmers" goat. Over the past 50 years they were bred by South African goat breeders, and now the Boer goat is much better than any other goat for meat production. Goat meat is called chevon, and it is a tasty and healthy meat. The boer goats have been in Canada since 1993.
Boer goats are usually white with a red or brown 'hood' over the head and shoulders. The boers that are pure white are called Savannah Boers, the all red ones are called Kalahari Boers. Boers have floppy ears, and usually have big horns. A baby is called a kid, an adult female is called a doe, and an adult male is a buck. A young male is called a buckling, and a young female is a doeling. The goats have 4 stomachs. Goats are very choosy about what they eat, but they can eat more different varieties of plants than other livestock. They will eat weeds, shrubs, tree leaves, blackberries and types of tree bark, as well as hay and grass or course.
Boer goats usually have twins, but we've had two that have had 4 babies each, and lots that have had triplets. We just got a new barn up to fit all the goats in for the winter. In the summer we pasture them on 30 acres across the road. We have three Akbash dogs, Buck, Bridgett, and Bree, for protecting the goats against coyotes and other predators. I own 3 goats myself, and my brothers have close to 80 goats. My goats names are Vivian, Crystal and Ruby. Vivian has had 5 bucklings in 3 kiddings. One died and I sold the other four. Crystal hasn't had kids yet and Ruby is a Kalahari doeling that I just got for Christmas.
The babies are fun. They like to play just like children do. They like to play games like king of the hill, jumping on hay bales, and hopping on their mother's back, and games like tag too.
I hope from my speech that you have learned that goats are fun to raise, that they can be fun to play with and that they are gentle and calm animals. Oh, and by the way, do you know what a goat becomes after it's three days old?...........
