# What to look for?



## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

Soo.. We're looking into meat goats, mostly for personal use but also because there is becoming a fairly good market for them in our area.

I've only had dairy goats so I'm confused about what to look for in foundation/breeding stock.

All of the big expensive breeders I've seen have animals with very high rumps.. Whereas in the dairy world you don't want that. Since a level rump makes for easier kiddings, wouldn't it make sense to look for that in meat goats as well? Does no one care to improve on that?

There is this local herd;
http://www.goatfolks.com/
But all of their stock they sell for $300+.. Does that seem reasonable with their genetics? I pay more for my Nubians but I know very little about Boers.

We're hoping to purchase a decent buck and some does, test them, and pull their kids if needed, then probably eat any CAE infected animals. I've noticed not many in the meat world care about CAE and CL, I suppose because it would be too hard to eradicate it from their herds, but it would make sense to keep our herd clean of those things, at least, in my case, for the well-being of our dairy animals. I know for a fact that the herd listed above has many animals with abscesses/past abscesses because they rent a lot of them out for brush clearing along the roads.


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

I wouldn't purchase from an untested herd...of any breed.  I'd suggest you keep shopping. I don't know of a lot of Boer breeders that like to see a steep rump though...so it shouldn't be hard to find a level rear. I have noticed they tend to stack them out in a way that makes them look sway backed though? we don't do that with the myotonics so I don't know what the purpose is? In any breed a strong topline is important.  

Good Luck on your search!


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

Start with the best, so dont buy from anywhere that hasnt tested. my opinion. 

The standards all call for the same, level, strong topline. Though some of the older styled goats do have massive hind ends.


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

I don't know what the genetics are? If they are full blood then $300 for healthy breeding stock would seem to be an excellent price (and they go up, way up, from there). It also would be a good price for registered purebred/percentages if they are nice. If they are commercial, I personally wouldn't pay that much for one unless it was a young, outstanding doe that had triplets or a massive, proven buck that throws really fast growing kids. But the pricing may be higher there than here?
If I was going into it strictly from a meat aspect, I would probably start with even moderate quality does (any meat type such as spanish, boer cross, kiko, myotonic) and buy a large boer buck. Sometimes the crosses grow off quicker than the full boers, even if they don't mature to be as large in the long run. It doesn't matter because they will be eaten/sold for meat long before that.


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

If your planning on having 4-H kids then yes, $300 is a good price for a structrually sound, big boned, long doe. I know people in my area that sell does like the ones I just described for $150 to $300, the higher priced ones here are typically flashier and move better but thats not always the case. 

A decent buck is about $300 to $800 here... all depends on who you go to and what your using them for. If its personal use only then I wouldn't worry too much about getting the best of the best, look for something with growth, depth rib, arch and spring of rib and something with some length too. 

The high rump is something boer breeders are moving away from, like you said it causes kidding problems and just doesn't look good. Unfortunatley high rump is something boers struggle with.

Hope I helped at least a little bit


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

Perfect7 said:


> I don't know what the genetics are? If they are full blood then $300 for healthy breeding stock would seem to be an excellent price (and they go up, way up, from there). It also would be a good price for registered purebred/percentages if they are nice. If they are commercial, I personally wouldn't pay that much for one unless it was a young, outstanding doe that had triplets or a massive, proven buck that throws really fast growing kids. But the pricing may be higher there than here?
> If I was going into it strictly from a meat aspect, I would probably start with even moderate quality does (any meat type such as spanish, boer cross, kiko, myotonic) and buy a large boer buck. Sometimes the crosses grow off quicker than the full boers, even if they don't mature to be as large in the long run. It doesn't matter because they will be eaten/sold for meat long before that.


I can not speak for other breeds but I do know my Myotonics. You can breed a Myotonic, or Fainter, buck to a Boer or dairy doe all day long and you will be fine. But I can not stress this enough, do not...and I mean do not breed a large Boer buck or dairy buck to a Myotonic doe, here is why.

Boers have far too much head for most Myotonic does. You risk a huge birthing issue there. Also Boer kids, like Dairy goats are heavier milkers, thus, their kids consume huge amounts of milk in order to grow. Myotonics are NOT dairy influenced, nor are they heavy milkers. They have small "milk on demand" udders that provide smaller amounts of milk in comparison to dairy, or Kiko and Boer........both of which had some dairy influence in their creation. Myotonics have a higher milk fat but not a higher volume. To ask a doe to raise a half dairy, boer kid is a recipe for disaster for both the doe and the kid(s). Keep in mind it's not a matter upsetting breeds or crossing them, you just have to do it right. If not right, it becomes a matter of doing what is best for that doe that might expect to birth and raise those kids for them. Too many folks never take into account what it is they are asking of their does in crossing them with other breeds, or they breed them too young and so on. Also keep in mind the faster growth in boer crosses. If you have bucklings, you could very well have a three month old Boer cross tare a Myotonic udder appart, fact is the aggression of a hungry LARGE kid not getting enough can do damage to a doe. Just my thoughts, hope it helps.


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