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