The present day Boer breed was developed in the early 1900's when African ranchers began breeding goats for the specific purpose of meat production. Today there are approximately 5 million Boer goats in Africa, of which only 1.6 million are of the improved type. The Boer goat has a good conformation with high growth and fertility rates. Since 1970, the Boer goat (other names include the Africander and South African Common Goat) has been incorporated into the National Mutton Sheep and Goat Performance Testing Scheme, which makes it the only known goat breed routinely involved in a performance test for meat production. In the late 1980's, Boer goats were imported into Australia and New Zealand. In 1993, the breed was imported into the United States from Australia and New Zealand.

"Ruby"
Full South African Boer

The Boer goat doe is a low maintenance animal that has sufficient milk to raise a kid that is early maturing. A mature buck weighs between 240 and 300 pounds and a mature doe weighs between 200 and 225 pounds. Performance records indicate that some goats are capable of average daily gains of over 0.44 pounds per day in feedlot conditions, with average performance between 0.3 and 0.4 pounds per day. The breed is prolific, with kidding rates of 200 percent common. The Boer goat has an extended breeding season making three kiddings every two years possible (Oklahoma State University 1996, Gipson 1999, Luginbuhl 1998).

"Garnet" Full South African Boer

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