How to Breed Boer Goats

Boer goats are raised primarily for meat. A female Boer goat can first breed at four to seven months, or whenever she reaches 80 pounds, which is close to her mature weight. Boer goats breed readily and frequently without significant coercion, effort or aid from the keeper.

Things You'll Need

  • Private pasture
  • Male goat (stud)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine when your female goat is most fertile, or in heat. Once she is in heat, she will remain fertile for about three weeks. Most female Boer goats come into heat in the fall. You can recognize a goat in heat because she will stand as near to the pen of a buck as she can. She will wag her tail and bleat loudly. Some female Boer goats may display vaginal discharge, and may become aggressive, butting and mounting or being mounted by other goats.

    • 2

      Confirm that your female Boer goat is in heat by pressing down on her rear end just above the tail. This is the signal of a male goat mounting. If the female stands still and wags her tail, she is in heat. If she runs away or moves her hips to escape, she is not currently fertile. Do not attempt to breed a female goat that is not in heat, as struggling may cause her to become injured by the male.

    • 3

      Acquire a male goat or a stud. Make sure he has been seen by a veterinarian and has been approved as a breeder. Breeding an unhealthy stud with your female goat may result in sickly offspring. Also take female goats to the veterinarian for approval before breeding.

    • 4

      Place the female Boer goat in a private pasture with a male. Allow the goats to spend several weeks in the pasture together. Check on them several times daily to make sure that neither has become injured in the mild struggles that often accompany breeding. If you see the male mounting the female, your goats have successfully mated.

    • 5

      Remove the female goat and monitor her health and weight. If she gains weight rapidly she is likely pregnant. Take her to a veterinarian to confirm pregnancy. If you are breeding multiple female goats, you may need to find a different stud, since often a male expends his energy with one female and will not breed successfully with a second.