There has been countless articles and thousands of ideas that have been written concerning boer goats and raising them. I am not going to try to reinvent the wheel but for the sake of copyright infringement I am going to write some of my own ideas. When we first started raising boer goats it was by a fluke more than anything! My father had purchased a herd of boer goats from a breeder in Oklahoma and soon after decided to move and leave the goats. I then took over the herd and the learning began. Now I am writing this so even a beginner can get something from it so if your more experienced scroll down or just enjoy the read! The first thing we learned is boer goats are not cattle! Having been around cattle our whole lives we tried to treat goats like they were cattle, big mistake. We handled, fed, medicated, kidded, and worked the goats like they were our herd and it didn't take long to see it wasn't working. Now some of you reading this may be saying duh, but you have to remember everyone starts where they are and that is where we were. I want to take a moment here to stress how important it is to find a mentor. There is no greater help than to find someone who has raised boer goats (not another breed it isn't all the same) and is willing to take the time to show you the ropes! I spent two frustrated years before I began to learn what I was doing wrong. I can also say from personal experience that it helps to spend hours on the internet reading articles like this but it is still not the same as getting out there with someone who knows the ropes. Let me also say this some of the greatest learning I have done is to visit other people's boer goat farms and see how they have their set up and see what is working for them. I have never completely changed what I was doing but I have altered different things about our operation when I have seen ideas that I like and think would benefit me. Let me get into some things that really helped us when we were getting started. Here is a big one. Boer Goats are not this hearty animal that can live off of tin cans and survive. Your feed program is one of the most essential parts of raising healthy and quality goats and it also has the potential to be one of the most confusing. I will get into what we do for a feed program but first I want to tell you a couple of things that are vital for you in the way you feed your boer goats. Don't under any circumstance feed either grain or hay on the ground! This may be elementary for some but having been cattle people we didn't know. You must at all times keep the hay and feed off the ground and dry. Making the goats put their heads through holes to eat has become my favorite. Some people use troughs and that is fine, if you watch but the thing you have to look out for is the goats getting their feet into their feed. If they do this on a consistent basis you are going to be running a losing battle with worms and disease. You need to make sure you have fresh water, good dry hay(do not feed moldy hay!), and make sure that you keep an eye out for any places that are continually muddy. If the goats have to cross through mud constantly you will see a rise in worms and hoof issues. I have even gone so far as to by a $5 piece of oxb board just to lay it over muddy spots and you wouldn't believe the change it made. The other thing that you really have to watch is that with any herd there is going to be a level or hierarchy set up among your goats. It's inevitable and although I don't enjoy watching a new doe get beat around it is something that you cannot avoid unless you are going to pen everything separately. While this is normal you do need to watch and make sure that the goats on the lower end of the hierarchy are getting the food and shelter they need. I had a case just today where a dominant doe would stand at the door to the barn and not let any of the 5 other does in that pen in. Usually it's not a big deal, but when it's snowing, blowing, and cold... I took her out and stuck her with another doe so the other ones could get into shelter. All of these things are part of being a good and responsible breeder in my opinion. However, if you are in this for any length of time you will very quickly find out there is several ideas on what is good. You have to make up your own mind. As far as what we do for a feed program I will give you some rough guidelines and you can see what works for you! We'll start with our kids. When our kids are born we wait till they are a week old and then we introduce pellet's to them free choice. I use an 18% protein base to help in their growth and overall initial performance. I have used a variety of brands from local mill made to main line names and honestly I am still undecided. I think you will find that what works for you will probably evolve over the time that raise goats. The only caution I would say is don't switch feed to often or to quick as you can get the runs in your goats quick and that can defeat your efforts pretty quick. I usually feed all of my kids free choice until they are 10 to 12 months old. I try to pour as much feed as possible to maintain that growth and energy needed for maturing goats. After they hit this age is where you will begin to see an extremely wide range of opinions concerning feed for your animals. As with any hobby or business venture, you want a reasonable return on your investment. With that said I believe it is a fine line between maintaining healthy animals or just having animals. I personally like my goats to be well conditioned. I believe they are meat goats and as such should look like meat goats and not Nubians running in your pasture. I cannot tell you how many times I have been to people's farms and have just stared at the herd because they are just walking bones. When asked about their ration they respond by saying "I don't have enough money to feed all them all the time", or "they have all the grass they need", or one of my favorites "you can't make any money if you feed them!" I know that fat goats don't breed but skinny and malnourished goats will not breed either. You need to find that happy medium. I use the standard of if you poke your goat behind it's front leg it should just be getting soft. Not massively jiggly but a nice layer of fat. They can maintain that condition and I believe it keeps them healthier for kidding and makes it easier for them to come back around when it comes to rebreeding. Of course as with anything about raising goats these are my opinions and not everyone agrees. Having said all of that brings me to where we are now. For our does we feed full choice hay all the time year round. They have pasture that they graze and of course in the spring and summer hay consumption drops drastically. As far as grain goes I like to give the does a 1 to 2lb ration of a 16% protein feed. I prefer pellets as the goats can't pick out what they like and leave the rest. We also supply mineral and salt at all times. The bucks are also on the similar ration. This system works for us and we are constantly studying to see what we can do to make it better. Having said all of that if you are showing animals that is a completely different arena and one I am not going to get to yet. |
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