Boer Goats Are a Wonderful Addition to Any Small Farm

Boer goats make a nice addition to any small farming operation. Goats also make good pets. They can produce meat, produce milk, eat trees and brush, pull a cart, and can even work as pack animals. They are even tempered, social and tame if you spend some time working with them. They are hardy and do well in the cold winters and hot summers.

We have two Boer goats on our small farm, Stuart and Annie. Stuart is a wether. Wethers are male goats that have been neutered. Annie is a nanny (female) goat. Goats are social animals and do not like to be alone. Often people will purchase a nanny goat and a wether to keep her company. This allows the nanny goat to have a companion without the complications of having kids (baby goats).

As you can see in the photo, Stuart and Annie both have their horns. When goat kids are born most people will remove the start of their horns. This is okay to do when the goat is small, but not okay to do later on in their life. The goat's horns are attached to their skull and are hollow. The horn is actually part of the goat's nasal passage and they pass air into them to help keep warm in the winter.

Removing the horns of a full-grown goat is an expensive, painful, and risky venture which is usually not recommended. Getting a goat that is dehorned as a kid is generally a good idea. Our goats came from someone who did not dehorn them as kids because they were bred for meat. No big deal for us, but goats can and do use their horns as weapons so it's advised not to make one with horns mad at you!

Many people are surprised to know that goats are related to deer more than sheep. Goats "graze up" and prefer diet of tree bark and brush over one of grasses. Sheep "graze down" and prefer to graze on grasses and plants growing closer to the ground. Goats will eat grasses, and love alfalfa, but they prefer trees and brush.

We feed out goats alfalfa and some grain. We also allow them out to graze on the local juniper trees and deer brush. Goats won't roam too far from home so we can, and do, safely let them out loose on the property to graze. When they are full they go back into their area of the property. If they don't want to go in, a bit of grain will usually convince them it's where they want to be.

Goats kept in soft soil or grassy pastures need to have their hooves trimmed every few months. This isn't hard to do if your goat is tame and used to having it done. They also need a shelter to get out of the wind and rain. Goats do not like to be wet.

We have been pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoy our goats. They are very smart animals with interesting personalities. I recommend them as both pets and working farm animals to anyone interested in sharing their lives with them.