# Boers and Nigerian dwarves together?



## justafarmgirl (May 28, 2014)

Hello, I am sorry if this has been asked before but I tried to search it and couldn't find anything...

I started raising Nigerian Dwarves in March and love them! My husband wants to raise Boers as well for the meat. I keep my females in one pen and the bucks are separated (actually this is just the plan as I have not brought my buck home yet). I hear that many people successfully keep different breeds of females together but can I keep the bucks together? It would be great if they would get along and I could raise them in the same pen rather than build two pens and hold on to a wether from each breed to keep them company; however I am terrified they will fight and the boer will kill my Nigerian dwarf! We don't have any boers yet but we were planning to get a young one if that makes any difference...

Any friendly advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

For the most part it is better to keep them apart. You can try it and see if the Boers will beat up on the Nigerians but you would need to be prepared to separate.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Didn't work well for us. The Boers push most of the Nigerians away from the hay. They're just too big.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I keep my LaManchas and Nigerians together with no problems.. My buck is young, so we will see how it works as he gets older.. I have a friend who kept her boer buck in with her Nigerian bucks.. I guess it just depends on the goats


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## justafarmgirl (May 28, 2014)

Thanks for the replies! This is such a great forum! I am not yet sure what I will do; looks like they will be better separated...

Also does anyone know how tall a boer is usually; Are they as tall as Nubians? I have tried to look up how big they are and am only getting their weight. Most places say a 4 foot fence is sufficient, but I wanted to make sure-for all our bucks though we do 6 foot fencing-I am thinking for the females.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Boers are generally shorter than nubians, because their legs are shorter and thicker. 

Good fences for your boys are a must; a dwarf buck in with the does won't be a huge deal, but if a boer buck got in with the dwarf does...not good!!

Oh, and I'd go with the 6ft fence, most goats manage to get out of the 4 ft


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## FarmerJen (Oct 18, 2012)

A young ND buck I borrowed was able to jump my 4ft chain link like it was a jump rope. My ND does have never even hinted at trying to get out - but he jumped right over, then right back in... like it was a game. He was only about 18" tall! But it totally depends on the goat. The buck I used this year was VERY respectful of fences and 4' chain link held up by t-posts was more than sufficient for him. But yes... I'd say better safe than sorry for housing the bucks.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I keep my Nigerian bucks together with my Nubian buck and they get along wonderfully  They are very close and it would be hard to separate them at this point , lol. They're BFFs forever 

I kept a Nigerian doe with the rest of my herd and she was second in command next to her BFF Tricky. Tricky took a liking to her and since then the Nigerian can do whatever she pleases and get away with it 
She is now separate cause she has babies and she will now stay with the my other Nigerians since they all get along beautifully 
One of my girls is a Boer X LaMancha cross and she is a gentle soul.
I think it really depends on the individuals whether or not they will get along. You do need to be prepared to separate them if need be , so make sure you do have a extra pen just in case. Some times some goats just don't hit it off and will never get along. I have that with my two LaManchas , they don't get along with the big herd at all and will always be separate from them. They are a few other goats i can put with them , but not from the big herd. The size of a FB Boer is a tremendous difference from a Nigerian obviously and i would be very watchful when they are together. I had someone tell me that their junior LaManchas were sending their Nigerians airborne at one time.
So keep that in mind too  
Good luck with your plans !


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