Boer

The Boer is the meat goat. It was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s from indigenous stock, the name is Dutch for farmer, and it reached the United States in 1993, where it changed goat production entirely.

They are large, white with a red head, and they grow faster and heavier than any other goat breed. A Boer buck used on dairy or brush does raises the growth rate of the kid crop immediately, which is why most American meat goats now carry Boer blood.

Does are fertile, breed close to year round, and often twin.

The trade is hardiness. Boers were selected hard for growth, and in the process they became more susceptible to internal parasites and less thrifty than the landrace breeds. In wet climates with heavy worm burdens they need real parasite management, and a Kiko may outlast them.