# New to Boer goats



## nonconformist (Nov 14, 2011)

I am new to Boer goats and new to this forum. Have been reading over many of the older posts but not all, too much to take in. Have been breeding dairy goats for a long time but am now hoping to transition to Boers having seen some in person. So now am trying to determine what is meant by enoblement, percentage, commercial and full blood. All but enoblement seem self explanatory.

So I am hoping to add a full blood Boer buck to my existing herd. Not interesting in colored Boers, just traditional white body with brown neck. Main interest is strong muscling and body length. At this time registered breeding buck is not what I am looking for but still full blood. I'm not sure if they are only sold with registration or not. My current herd is registered pure bred Nubians.

Are there any recommendations for breeders in Virginia that might have what I am looking for?


----------



## goatsnmore (Feb 22, 2011)

nonconformist said:


> So now am trying to determine what is meant by enoblement, percentage, commercial and full blood. All but enoblement seem self explanatory.


Enoblement: Awards given to Boer goats by the ABGA and IBGA, earned through awards won at shows.

Percentage: The ancestors of this goat include at least one animal that is not 100% Boer.

Fullblood: Ancestors of this goat are 100% Boer.

Commercial: Boers tradionally raised for meat production, meat market.

Hopefully someone on here will be able to point you in the direction of breeders in your area.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Welcome and welcome to the world of the boer goat.... :wave: :greengrin: 

Wish I knew breeders near you....  

goatsnmore is correct... :thumb: 

As for the buck...not all are registered ....but..I always recommend a FB 100% registered buck...think of it this way....if you have a FB registered boer buck you can register the babies from your Nubian herd ...I always love that combination... they grow fast for the meat production....and have good milk... the best of both worlds... :wink: they will start out at 50% and when the 50% does are bred.... their offspring will be 75% and so on.. until they reach purebred status...remember though... they will never be 100% registered "fullbloods"..... Also.. by having a registered buck...you can always invest in a couple of registered FB (100%) Does ..so ..you have a couple of options for the buyer....if a buyer wants FB , percentage or purebred registered you will have all options to sell a few that way ...whether it be percentage, purebred, to Full bloods.... So... if you like the registered idea...you can slowly convert to all registered stock.....if you choose to do so..... :greengrin: 

Sometimes ...we may get that boer kid... that is extraordinary and we feel it should be sold as a breeder instead of meat....This can happen with any percentage Doe... purebred doe ....purebred buckling to a FB buck kid .....Of course any buckling ...if you want to register him or sell him as registered.... should be purebred status or FB to register him.....

Just my thoughts ..as a buck is a huge investment and your buck should be as good of buck as you can afford for your Does...you always want to improve your herd and the buck has alot to do with it..... Try to get one that will put on the meat(bulk)...and fast growth rate.... If you find a buck...take pics and make a new post ... we will give you our honest opinions if asked...... again welcome.... :thumb:


----------



## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Another convert to the DARKSIDE! Woo.

click this
http://www.jackmauldin.com/states/virginia.htm


----------



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

If you really want to see some awesome Boers. Go to Pam's web site. Our first impression was seeing her goats when we typed in a google search for Boer goat and our love is now Boer goats. They are sturdy, good looking, floppy eared goats that make great pets and the ones that don't are very good meat to eat.


----------



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Even a small percentage of another breed is noticeable in our herd. We have a few that are Purebreds and One that is a Percentage Doe. 
So there are Registered purebreds and registered fullbloods. I think to be a 'purebred' it has to have a high percentage of Boer.. something like 93% and anything under that I think is in the 'percentage' category. The temperaments of the percentage does is quite different from that of our Full blood does. We have boers because we like the look of a stocky strong animal on our property that is easy to manage. ( And we do have some for eating)


----------



## nonconformist (Nov 14, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I did take a look at Pam's website and that is exactly what I am looking for. I have one Nubian doe that has a close body resemblance to some of your does on your website. Not as meaty but close. She is not a heavy milker (1/2 gallon per day as a 1st freshener) but I feel would be a great doe to cross with a FB Boer buck. Thanks for the link Tenacross.

Hopefully I will be able to find an unregistered FB buck kid from a breeder in VA by next Spring, but if not I will consider registered. Mainly I want to be sure I am happy with the buck. Not sure with meat goats but in dairy it seems that 95% of buck kids born are sold as breeding bucks. I never understood that one but if there are buyers... I am not interested in showing or selling breeding stock, registered or not. My goal with this is just the enjoyment of the Boer appearance (as well as my current Nubians) and for meat for our own home and friends. We would keep the few best doe kids out of the 50% cross and continue for 75% kids. We raw feed our dogs also. This would also allow us to continue to use our Nubians for home dairy and feeding our pigs while not having to worry about what to do with the Nubian kids that we did not want to keep as we can't keep them all. We really enjoy our goats and couldn't imagine our place without them or the fun of having kids each year.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> If you really want to see some awesome Boers. Go to Pam's web site. Our first impression was seeing her goats when we typed in a google search for Boer goat and our love is now Boer goats. They are sturdy, good looking, floppy eared goats that make great pets and the ones that don't are very good meat to eat.


 You are so sweet ..thank you... :hug: 



> Thanks everyone for your responses.
> 
> I did take a look at Pam's website and that is exactly what I am looking for.


 :wink: :thumb: Hope it all works out for you... :hug: ray:


----------

