when to butcher boer goats.

[herdsman]

Hello I am thinking on getting into boer goats for meat to sell. I raise 100 head of holstein beef and alot of broilers haha. Well I was wondering when you guys butcher your boer goats at how many months? And how much do they weigh? and besides there browsing on the pasture how much grain per head per day do you feed them?
THANKS

 

[Roll farms]

When to butcher can depend on your market - some ethnicities want milk fed, some want them around 70-80#, and some even prefer big stinky mature bucks.

Giving grain depends on A) how fast you want them to grow vs. how much profit you want to make and B) your stock. Some lines grow better than others...

Honestly, if you're raising them to butcher, 'pure' boers may not be the most profitable answer. Yes, they're generally meatier than other breeds (generally speaking) but it takes more 'input' to get them there....you spend more on feed to get an 80# wether. Kikos are generally hearty (again, depending on the lines) and grow well on less input.

I prefer cross-bred boer goats if I'm going for fast growth and hardiness. Boer muscling w/ hybrid vigor.... Boer x kiko, boer x spanish, or boer x dairy. There are also savannahs, myotonics, etc....

I dunno where you're at but in wet areas, boers can be very parasite-prone. They do better in dryer, arid conditions that mimic their original location (Africa).

Not trying to be discouraging (I raise boers and a couple dairy breeds), but want you to look deeper into your goals and what works best in your area before you settle on the breed.

 

[Southern by choice]

Well said Rolls!

 

[herdsman]

I am not set on a breed just looking for a good one. But thanks a bunch I will check into the boer crosses sounds more economical.
THANKS

 

[Roll farms]

You could buy a hearty boer or Kiko buck (ASK about his parents - how do they perform?) and use him on crossbred does. Keep accurate records of who performs best - which does raise all kids to a good weaning weight, repeatedly, which ones kid easy, which ones have enough milk to feed trips or quads.
Keep those goats, sell the poor performers for meat.
Don't be sentimental about it....your favorite goat may be your poorest producer.
If you have to deworm it more than 2x in 6 mos., CULL IT.
Find out what your best market is, when to kid so that you have meat available for any specific ethnic holidays, etc.
Those are some of the hardest lessons.

 

[herdsman]

Thanks a lot I might try that

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I completely agree Rolls.

If you want to do them solely for meat then imo crosses are always best. Being a Kiko person I will say all the time that Kikos are the best meat breed and most Boer people will say the same about Boers. We are all going to say this to make our animals sound better and hopefully get people on board and sell some goats. But in reality, both Boers and Kikos are great meat goats and one may be better for this climate and same with the other breed. There are lots of factors to why you would choose one over the other. But I, just as Rolls said, think that crosses are best. The hybrid vigor means that these crossed goats will be larger and better for meat, in most cases. A decent Boer or Kiko can reach slaughter weight (between 60-80 pounds) easily in 8 to 9 months. That is the most common slaughter weight and time but some cultures prefer or will only eat one thing. Some cultures will only eat intact bucks, some like the really old nasty goats, some like them larger, some like them pretty small, etc. So you must know your market and know what the people there like and buy and what they will pay top dollar for. Also, know the ethnic holidays, and when they buy most and prices are at their highest. Center your breeding program around this. I know that mid to late Oct is HUGE here and that prices are very high during that time. You should do the same in your area. So in the end it boils down to many things, not just one or two things.

Again, the crosses are best in most cases and I like the straight Boer and straight Kiko crosses. Most call the either BoKis or GeneMasters. As I said before, Kikos and Boers can reach the normal slaughter weight in 8 or 9 months. Sometimes 7 but really most of the time it is around 8 months. These BoKis have been known to reach that same weight in just 6 months and 7 being rather common. Of course this is selecting the best goats and the ones that will work best for you and how you want to do things but that does show that these crosses work best.

The Kiko will add the quick growth will little input but the Boer will add the overall size and weight. The Kiko will bring the aggressive breeding and the ability to cover many does. The Boer will add that thick muscling and if you do provide a fair amount of feed, they will do alot of growing quick. Good Boers and Kikos will also mean that you don't have to worm as much which cuts cost and also means you have healthier goats. And if you do have to do a decent amount of worming due to bad stock, that may also hinder you come sale time because of the withdraw time.

You must learn and know as much about the stock you want to buy as the owner of it. That's what I say. Ask tons of questions and if they are good and knowledgeable goat ranchers they should have good records of many things including, Birth Weights, Weaning Weights, ADG during weaning, ADG post-wean, how they are fed, how much, etc.
You want the largest and meatiest goats with the least amount of input, but most importantly you want goats that pass those traits on. Always be quick to cull and keep only the best and worthy animals.

And again, I am not trying to push one breed or a cross of two breeds on you. Those are more common and are easier to find that say Savannas or Myotonics. Savannas are very much like Boers but here in the states the seem to have much less parasite issues than most Boers here. They look the same except these are all white or tan. They both come from South Africa too. Good Myotonics can be hard to find and are slower growing but they too are a great choice. Myotonics actually have a 4:1 ratio or meat to bone. No other goat exceeds 3:1 and most are lower than that. So they too may be worth looking at.

So in the end there are lots of choices to make and things to consider. I say think a little bit and find what will work best for you and your area and your situation. Best of luck on it and you have to keep us updated on your journey to the meat goat world.

 

[20kidsonhill]

to give you an idea on feeding grain. When the kids are feeding out their show wethers they are feeding between 3% to 4% goat's weight a day in grain. These show wethers are getting very little hay/pasture and mostly grain. So this is the upper end of grain consumption. So a 50lb kid is getting 1.5 to 2 lbs a grain a day dividing into 2 or 3 feedings. Our feed is right at 3 cups per lb. We are expecting. above a .4 daily gain, hopefully above a .5 lbs per day daily gain. A few reaching near .6lbs per day.

With out feeding grain you are probably looking at closer to a .2 maybe .3 lbs per day gain, on pasture only if all is going well. Not saying that is a bad thing, just showing a comparison. There may be more of a market in your area for pasture animals, more lean body types. Or you may have lots and lots of acreage and time to pasture them.
A gentlemen down the road from us is doing crosses, they appear to be boer/spanish/kiko crosses. He is sendng 300 to 400 kids to market a year. He appears to be doing mostly pasture, since I don't see much out for feeders, but haven't actually been to his farm so maybe the feeders are in the barn.

Coccidiosis is extremely important to monitor in your herd. If not feeding a medicated feed, some are feeding a medicated protein block with Rumensin in it. Even if feeding a medicated feed or block, you may still need to treat in the water as a prevention for coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is the number one problem in your youngest kids. This will vary depending on your location, our area is terrible, mild warm wet, not real hard freezes in the winter, but wet lush summers.


Growth rate is also genetic, so make sure you are buying stock that has good overall growth rate.

hoof trimming is very very time consuming, so stock that doesn't need a lot of hoof trimming is helpful. Your land and having rocks for them to climb on will also help with this.

I will have to say our Boer/dairy cross kids grow like crazy, but the does need the most hoof trimming out of all our stock.

Just some things to think about.

 

[herdsman]

Thanks everyone I am not getting any until this spring but I think I will go with boer x kiko or boer x spanish.

 

[Mamaboid]

If you are looking for meat goats, I would definitely recommend that you check into Fainters or Myotonics before you make a final choice.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/05/fainting-goats-explained

http://www.goatspots.com/rfaintingfarm.html