# Which goats would you buy?



## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

Hi, I'm going to go look at some Boer goats tomorrow and hopefully bring some home. I've had NDs for years and would now like to add some meat goats since we have the space and have been getting a good price on our excess ND bucklings taken to butcher. I was hoping to get some optinions on which does have the better conformation as I'm still not great at figuring that out. Thanks in advance.









The first pic is of a Boer/savanna cross. She is 5 months old.









2) Fullblood Boer doe bred to a fullblood buck. 








3) info same as 2








4) 88% bred to fullblood Boer buck









5) 2 yo fullblood doe bred to full blood buck








6) 4yo fullblood bred to fullblood buck. 1x1 teats good mother.








7) 94% 1x1 correct teats. Good mother








8) 94% 2yo never exposed to buck
2x2 teats








9) 5 month 3/4 Boer 1/4 ND


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

And what do you think of this buck?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I really like the buck. 
He has good topline, strong pasterns, decent hip, round rump.

From all the doe's, I honestly like the mostly black doe and black and white one the best.
I do see mineral deficiencies and a fishtail there.
Those two look the healthiest and the best conformation. They may need to be wormed and treated for cocci but a fecal will tell you for sure. Check for lice too.

All the others have too drastic drop in the tailhead. Looks to possibly have worms or have cocci and skinny, with mineral deficiencies.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

Does the drop in tail head lead to kidding problems?


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

I like #1, maybe #6 and #9 could be worked with to get them where you need, and the buck looks fantastic.


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

The first doe looks extremely stunted and wormy. She unfortunately looks like she is 2 months rather than 5. If these are all from the same farm, I’d be cautious about bringing a lot of worms to your property. The nicest and healthiest ones look to be #2, #5, #6, #8, and the last buck you sent.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

1 & 9 are from the same farm. They are bottle raised.

7&8 are from the same farm.

2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 are from the same farm.

And the buck if from a different farm too. 

Goats for sale are never close to were I live so I like to check out several places when I travel before buying. The buck is actually the closest a good goat has ever been from me. Only 1 1/2 hours away.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That makes it tough.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Definitely don't even bother going to the farm that #1 and #9 are from. You don't want that stock. 

How old is the buckling in the photo?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

6 and 7 look the best to me. I think they need some weight but they look level and long to me.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

I think you should keep looking none of the does turn my crank.
Think of a brick that is what they should look like. long wide and deep.
i looked for months before i found real Boers


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

From those pictures, I like 7,8, and the Buck.

But you can only tell so much from a picture, especially a candid picture. Ask the owners how they are raised, and see if it matches what you want to be able to provide.

I don't like 1 and 9, except as rescues. You'll be putting some money into them... Not really what you want to do.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

LadySecret said:


> Does the drop in tail head lead to kidding problems?


It can. Also indicates weak rear udder attachments. Strong udder attachments are still important in meat goats, because of longevity issues. The least expensive goats are the ones you already own. So if they are productive for a long time, the cheaper that production is for you.

That's how I see it, anyway.


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

mariarose said:


> It can. Also indicates weak rear udder attachments. Strong udder attachments are still important in meat goats, because of longevity issues. The least expensive goats are the ones you already own. So if they are productive for a long time, the cheaper that production is for you.
> 
> That's how I see it, anyway.


It doesn't always, or even most of the time, indicate weak rear udder attachments. I have several steep rumped does that have fantastic udder attachments, and have seen a whole lot more.

I also have never had much faith in the "steep rump = kidding problems" argument. If it did, why does the rump get extremely steep when the does are in labor? It must, on the contrary, serve a useful function.


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

Ranger1 said:


> I also have never had much faith in the "steep rump = kidding problems" argument. If it did, why does the rump get extremely steep when the does are in labor? It must, on the contrary, serve a useful function.


Yes, I have heard over the years that too straight and too steep of a rump are both causes for kidding issues. You want a perfect balance.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Then we have different experiences with udder attachments, @Ranger1


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is not good conformation.
If it can be avoided, it is best to do.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies. I haven't made a decision on any of the does yet but I did decide to buy the buck. He was bred by Cedar Hawk Ranch in California. The picture of him is when he was 3 months old. He will be one year old in a few days. He will be delivered Tuesday afternoon and I'll post some updates pics of him then. The nice man who bought him from his Breeder & had him shipped out here to Oklahoma gave him 20 does to breed and is planning on keeping most of his daughters. So he's moving him on to someone else before winter. I don't mind feeding him through the winter! Lol! I think he will be with me for quite a few winters. Really excited about it. But my family is teasing me for buying a buck when I don't have any does yet. I had to remind them that I have 3 grade dairy does to cross him with even if I don't buy any Boer does.

Oh and here is an updated picture of doe #1. I don't think she was 5 months old when the first photo was taken. Do you guys still think she looks stunted? (That's a Nubian doe in the background of the photo if that helps with sizing).


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I'm still underwhelmed.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

LadySecret said:


> I have 3 grade dairy does to cross him with


Are those 3 grade dairy goats your NDs? I can't recommend crossing NDs with a Boer buck.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

mariarose said:


> Are those 3 grade dairy goats your NDs? I can't recommend crossing NDs with a Boer buck.


No they are alpine Nubian mix. They were the first kids born on my farm and I could never part with them even though the rest on my herd are registered NDs. Two are five years old and one is four. They are good milkers and one of them will even let any kid nurse.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

LadySecret said:


> No they are alpine Nubian mix.


Oh, that would make a really nice mix for someone, if the does are any quality at all. 
Can't wait for current buck pictures!
Well, I CAN wait, because I MUST wait, but you know what I mean...
:waiting:


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## Robinsonfarm (Jul 17, 2015)

Personally none of them really catch my eye, they are fairly small framed and not what I would look for in my breeding program. If you are just buying some to raise some meet for yourself they might do ok, but wouldnt not sell as good as some better built does. 
The more recent picture of the white doe you posted still makes her look stunted. Most of our Boer kids are 70-100 pounds at 6 months.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Can't wait to see, your new buck pics.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

Robinsonfarm said:


> Most of our Boer kids are 70-100 pounds at 6 months.


what you feeding? I think mine are 50 lbs at 6 months. i think i might have to weigh my kids they may be heaver than i thought.


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## Robinsonfarm (Jul 17, 2015)

fivemoremiles said:


> what you feeding? I think mine are 50 lbs at 6 months. i think i might have to weigh my kids they may be heaver than i thought.


We feed Mooremans Amino Gains, or Purina Honor Show chow (either goat or lamb depending on the animal) the goat show chow is higher in fat and if we have one getting too fat we'll mix it with the lamb chow. A lot of growth has to do with genetics as well, I try and breed for fast growing kids.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

Ok sorry it took so long for me to post back. This has been a very busy week for me at work. Here are some quick pics of my new buck. He's been on pasture all summer. Loose minerals but no grain.























































Please forgive the tall weeds my quarantine pen hasn't had any animals in it all summer.










Here is one with Spot who had to come check him out. Spot was a bottle baby who was raised on my back porch with the dogs. She thinks she is a dog and still lives on my back porch. She is 1/16 Alpine 2/16 Nubian & 13/16 ND. Even with all that ND blood she still towers over the full blood NDs. I'm kind of amazed how hard it is to breed out the height of full sized goats.

And here is one with Chunky Monkey. Spot's twin sister. Spot and Chunky are granddaughters of my grade does I was talking about up thread.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

LadySecret said:


> No they are alpine Nubian mix. They were the first kids born on my farm and I could never part with them even though the rest on my herd are registered NDs. Two are five years old and one is four. They are good milkers and one of them will even let any kid nurse.


Ok I checked my records on my grade does. Bella and Rosie (grade doe 1&2) are twin sisters who are 1/2 Nubian 1/4 Alpine 1/4 ND. I forgot their sire was a first gen mini Nubian. They grew up to be the same size as their mom who was the 1/2 Alpine 1/2 Nubian. Wild Thing(grade doe #3) is Bella's daughter and is 1/8 Alpine 2/8 Nubian 5/8 ND. She grew to be only one inch shorter than her mom. Chunky and Spot are Wild Thing's daughters. I didn't even include them in my herd because they hate other goats and love the dogs. They are very much pets and complete weirdos. When I call the dogs they come running to me right along with the dogs. My other goats don't run to me unless they see a bucket in my hand.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Cute goats!


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

Very cute!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Looking good. 

Doesn't quarantine mean, keeping away from the other goats? 

While in quarantine. they shouldn't even touch noses.


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## RhinoWhite (Nov 17, 2013)

LadySecret said:


> And what do you think of this buck?


He looks like a cross between Xhosa Lobe and Boer goat


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

toth boer goats said:


> Looking good.
> 
> Doesn't quarantine mean, keeping away from the other goats?
> 
> While in quarantine. they shouldn't even touch noses.


Yes that would be ideal but he started trying to jump the fence when he was alone. I thought he might hurt himself. So I let the girls graze in the field next to his pen. It calmed him down a lot.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

(thumbup)


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

I found some more does I'd like your opinions on.

They are 1 1/2 years old and have never been bred. They have been used as show goats so very tame and easy to handle. The red doe is 100% and traditional is 50%.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

They look good. 

Love the red doe.


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## Robinsonfarm (Jul 17, 2015)

I agree, love the red doe. The traditional is decent, but prefer the red doe. They look much nicer than the other ones you posted. 
They are a little fat, if you get one or both and plan to breed them soon I would try and thin them down some before putting them in with the buck.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

@LadySecret - you don't want those in your herd, just go ahead and ship them to me :goatrun::rungoat:

They look fabulous, I hope the price is right. Is the Traditional a true 50% or just that one parent was not registered? They are a bit overweight...

Check their teat structures carefully as you don't want to begin your Boer journey with a mess of teats that makes raising kids difficult.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I agree that they are better than the other does... I also agree with @SalteyLove (yet again!) to check the teat structure.

What is the second one mixed with? I mean, Boer and what else?

The second one... well really both of them but especially the second one... needs selenium and maybe copper, too. If you get her I'd start giving her a loading dose of Replamin.


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## RhinoWhite (Nov 17, 2013)

Robinsonfarm said:


> I agree, love the red doe. *The traditional is decent, but prefer the red doe*. They look much nicer than the other ones you posted.
> They are a little fat, if you get one or both and plan to breed them soon I would try and thin them down some before putting them in with the buck.


The red doe looks like a Kalahari Red goat. Some people bred them that way, since they believed it provided better camouflage against predators.


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

I love those two does so much more!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I think you will be much more pleased with these girls. I don’t think they are too over weight myself especially just before winter comes. But that’s my opinion. The only thing that might hold me back on buying them is the show goat part. If you expect them to graze ask them if they they have been out on pasture. I have purchased nice (and expensive) goats in the past not knowing they would be quite so hard headed and brain washed that they would melt pretty quite a lot before they figured out food isn’t always in the feeder. Now I ask if they are dry lotted before buying. But you may dry lot yourself and it won’t be a big deal either way


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

@Jessica84 is right. Ask how they've been raised to see how closely it matches how you keep goats, and keep that in mind as you make decisions.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

lOOK AT THOSE WALKING BRICKS
now you are on to something.
But here is a tip, we need photos that show a view from the back, top and side.
having some thing to compare size like a yard stick or your hand that gives us some perspective. 
I do like these goats


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All good advice.


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