# Best breed to cross with Boer.



## DAGills

I am a 17 year old breeder out of central Va, I currently have a meat goat herd of twenty does and 6 registered boer does(3ibga/3usbga). Right now I have two boer bucks, one Ibga and one usbga. I am finally getting into the groove of registered goats, but meat goats are easier at the moment so I am not going to increase my registered herd too much. Everyone I have spoken to has told me that the best mix for meat is kiko/boer, and that the babies can be registered as Bokis. But I just love the look of boers, that's why I was thinking purchasing savanna does, registered or not, since they look so similar. Has anyone tried this mix with success? Also is it possible to register their kids? I found a lot of registered savanna does in my area for a really unbeatable price, and just needed to know if this would be a good investment.
- Thanks for your time.


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## toth boer goats

Welcome... :wave: 

Not sure... on those breeds.... I never had them...but... I do have the FB registered boers...
When I first started out in goats.. I had the nubian/ boer crosses... they were a very nice cross... and grew fast.... :wink:


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## Tenacross

I don't quite get it. You say you prefer not to increase your registered herd, but you might cross with Kikos because they can be registered?
Are you having trouble with your Boers? If not, why switch? You don't have to register any of them if you don't want to. Anyway.. 

From observing and listening to others, the most popular breed to cross with Boers is Nubians. 
I bred my Saanen milk does to a boer and the kids look very similar to Kikos. Ha. 
A poster on this forum called Sideplaner swears by Savanahs for his commercial meat herd. 
If I was going to start a big commerical herd somewhere, I would consider adding Spanish goats, if I could find some nice healthy ones. Where I live Kiko people think thier goats are worth a lot, and like I said, I feel I could make a goat just as good crossing a Saanen and a Boer.


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## EandEBoersWV

I raise commercial boers and would live to have some nice savannah does. I found one breeder in WV and she only has Spanish/savannah crosses. I can't find any breeders close to me other than that, that will have any for sale any time soon.


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## DAGills

Tenacross- I meant registered boer, I am not havin trouble, they just aren't as hardy and they are very expensive. The reason I would get registered savannas is because they were cheap


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## Guest

I will PM you since we have had this discussion here before.


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## keren

I have always really liked saanen x boer. They are hardy and milk like buggery. The does I had were only small does but they would raise twins and at weaning time the kids were pretty much as big as the mum


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## Boergoat1234

I prefer the Nubian Boer cross. They grow fast, have lots of milk to feed their babies and they
are just beautiful animals.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers

We have a savannah/boer cross doe who we just adore! She has awesome confirmation and bone structure, and she has the most loving personality out of any goat in out herd of 20+. She really is a doll, and we are SO excited to see the September/October kids out of her and our fullblood buck.


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## Texas.girl

Commercial meat goat ranching is big business in my area. Some folks cross Boers with Spanish. I am not aware of anyone here who crosses Boers with the other breeds mentioned. In fact except for a few dairy goats for personal needs, I am not aware of any of the breeds mentioned here even existing in my area.


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## Jessica84

I honestly dont think much of the kikos. But thats on the way of looks. I just got some high % kikos and kiko boer cross and they just dont seem that stocky to me. Now there are a few things that I like about them, they seem to be very good moms, and the best thing I like about them is the way their horns grow since they kinda go up and out that keeps their heads from getting stuck in the fence. But since I am into raising goats for the meat I will most likely sell most of the kikos and keep just a few. I have not had a savanna but would love to try them out breeding them to my boer, but good luck finding savannas in Ca.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers

Jessica84 said:


> I honestly dont think much of the kikos. But thats on the way of looks. I just got some high % kikos and kiko boer cross and they just dont seem that stocky to me. Now there are a few things that I like about them, they seem to be very good moms, and the best thing I like about them is the way their horns grow since they kinda go up and out that keeps their heads from getting stuck in the fence. But since I am into raising goats for the meat I will most likely sell most of the kikos and keep just a few. I have not had a savanna but would love to try them out breeding them to my boer, but good luck finding savannas in Ca.


I'm not a fan of the kiko's either. I dont like the way they cross with boers. Savannas are the way to go in my opinion. We got our Savanna/Boer doe at an auction, and that was one of the best moves we've made on our farm.


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## HoosierShadow

Kikos aren't as stocky as boers, but I still love the cross. They are fast growers, don't have to put a lot into them. We have 5 young does in a pen together, 2 fullbloods, 2 75% boer <their granddam is nubian/boer, their dam is by a fullblood boer>, then we have the kiko/boer. The kiko/boer doe eats a lot less grain compared to the others and she's growing well IMO. She'll be 5 months old 8/1 and last week she weighed in at the fair at 83lbs. She's not stocky, but she's long bodied, and has potential.

My husband doesn't like the looks of the kiko, in fact he's never wanted to keep any of this does kids because they look kiko. But I like the kikos. This doe has had some fast growing kids, easy keepers too. 
My goal with her now is to have 'market' goats for the kids for 4-H. Her doe kid this year wasn't exercised or prepped as a market goat, but after she started losing her baby milk fat, she started getting a little more muscle instead of 'flab', and she's been placing better than I could have ever imagined in the market classes. I expect her to be at the back of the line, and she's placed 1st and 2nd a few times


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## chelsboers

We had a Savanna buck and a Boer buck and have bred them both to Nubian, Boer, and Savanna does. 
We had nice big babies with both the Savanna and Boer mixed with Nubian (the mom has a lot of milk) and the kids were bigger than the registered Boer and Savanna kids. The think I like about mixing Savanna's with Nubian and Boers is the kids (and adult Savannas) are really low maintenance. They never need de-wormed like the Boers and their hooves grow really slow, so we only had to trim once a year. Even then it was just a little off the top. I think if you can find some nice Savanna does or even a Savanna buck and mix them with Boers, Kikos, or even Nubians you won't be sorry. 
BTW you can register Kiko and Savanna crosses through Pedigree International if they are registered.


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## Jessica84

Yeah I heard great things about the savannas, basically all that you have said lol. The only thing I dislike about the spanish is that the crosses I have are crazy. BUT I love that the min. they are born they are up and moving. I have never seen little guys hit the ground running like they did. I have 3 boerXspanish and I would say they look good, not the best looking ones I have but not the worse, but the fact that those kids had some much life to them when they were born I will keep the does, they are hard to handle but in the end they have nice healthy kids to sell.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers

Jessica84 said:


> Yeah I heard great things about the savannas, basically all that you have said lol. The only thing I dislike about the spanish is that the crosses I have are crazy. BUT I love that the min. they are born they are up and moving. I have never seen little guys hit the ground running like they did. I have 3 boerXspanish and I would say they look good, not the best looking ones I have but not the worse, but the fact that those kids had some much life to them when they were born I will keep the does, they are hard to handle but in the end they have nice healthy kids to sell.


We used to have a spanishxboer doe, who was solid red and ALWAYS had multiples, and big kids. She had four one year, and being half boer, wasnt a very good mother. But she did manage to handle two of the does that she'd had. She was always very crazy. never personable like our boers. It must be a spanish thing.


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## Jessica84

Its gotta be a spanish thing almost everyone i talk to that delt with spanish said they are not very lovey but the one i have actually fought off a coyote from her kid so i cant say i 100% dislike them


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## HamiltonAcresBoers

So to me, its kind of a win lose. Good mothers, but not friendly.


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## HoosierShadow

For what we breed for...friendly is a must  Our kiko doe is much loved. All I have to do is say 'come here meannie' and stand there and she'll give me hugs n kisses  But of course our lil herd are also our pets, we don't do this for commercial or professional reasons, they are for the kids and enjoyment. But, selling some kids a few times a year helps pay their way.


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## HamiltonAcresBoers

We prefer our does to be friendly, but it isnt a must. We just bought a texmaster, which is a myo-boer cross, and i have to say, shes a very cool doe!


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## myfainters

Myotonic. They are hardy, parasite resistant, excellent mothers (usually kidding with multiples which they raise themselves without help) and when used in meat goat studies have come out on top of Boers, Kiko and Spanish goats in the meat to bone ratio. I personally wouldn't want to cross them as purebred is best but I understand that most people want to see a bigger animal for their meat goats so the myotonic/Boer cross is common with a good meat yield.


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