Many times, in my show career I have asked myself questions. A substantial amount

when I was younger was ‘why some things about our breed are the way they are, and what makes

those things so important?’ A few examples of that would be the depth of body on an animal, or

the precise hooks and pin set on a doe, or even the breed’s characteristic roman nose?

Many of these answers can be dated back to before the Boer Goat was brought over to the

United States from South Africa in 1993. When looking for these answers we need to take a step

back from the show ring and look at the breed from a production standpoint. Our animals were

not always made for the show life. They were used to produce meat for slaughter purposes. The

main factor in that production was kidding out does to have more potential babies, or slaughter

opportunities. This is where the deep body cavity and hooks to pin set come into play. The

deeper flanked a doe is, the more desirable she will be because she has more maternal

capabilities. This means she will have more room to carry the babies comfortably to full term.

The hooks and pin set also play a vital role in the birth of baby goats. If you have a doe that is

too narrow in her rear end, there is a higher chance of babies getting stuck, which is a possibility

of lost life. When looking at herd production, you want to continue growing, instead of losing

vital members of your herd.

The next stage of life for a young kid is to grow to their full potential. When a kid was

born many years ago back in South Africa, many farmers looked at their body characteristics to

determine how much natural muscling the animals will carry when they are older. The roman

nose is believed to signify a strong, broad head which is associated with good meat production.

This is how farmers would cull their herds to only keep what they believed would be good meat

producers.

Next time when you are wondering why some of our breed characteristics are in place,

ask a fellow member in hopes of learning some of the history behind our association. It is very

important to know why our breed characteristics were instilled in the Boer goat all those years

ago in South Africa.

Jada Young

Junior Board of Directors

Area 4