A friend of mine just adopted a goat. The previous owner died, and had three goats, and she got one of them. I went to visit this goat, and it's hoofs were badly overgrown. It is a boer goat, but likely a cross. It's a lot smaller than my Saanen and Alpine. It's a doe, and is hugely pregnant. She has four teats, though two are large and two are small ones just hanging there. She already has an enlarged udder, since she is going to deliver soon. The family wanted milk. Will this meat goat be okay to milk? I would say yes, since she has milk for her kids, but will the extra teats be a big problem? Should they try to milk the extra teats too? I just don't know enough about how udders are put together. What about the composition of the milk as opposed to dairy goat milk?

I would guess she's never been milked before and I don't know how old she is. Is there some way to tell?

My first suggestion to them would be to keep her until she kids, do what they can for her poor feet, then sell the whole lot and buy a nice dairy goat. They seem a bit attached to her though, she is their first goat. Advice appreciated.

-- Bobbi (the_bee_lady@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002

Answers

Doubt they will get rid of her, most folks have to really struggle with problems or change their focus before they are willing to sell their first goats. Likely the two immature looking teats don't have orifice's for the milk to come out anyway, they will have to just see, as it is she only has to halves to her udder anyway, so just pick two teats and milk them. It will be as easy or as hard as the doe makes it for them since she probably hasn't been milked before. I don't recommend the slow paring of the feet, just cut or grind them down. Pay someone experienced to just come and do it. Get her vaccinated and wormed before she kids, and keep some of the wormer for the day she kids. With her feet overgrown like that it is a good bet she has had little care. Slowly start her on grain, right now all the best hay they have, and put out a loose mineral for cattle, lots of clean water, and check her hair for lice. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002.

We have some 75% Boers and find their milk to be very good. We are changing our focus from dairy goats to meat goats as there is a good demand for meat goats in our area. (Woodland, WA). Since we are just establishing a Boer herd, and started by cross breeding, we have the does on the same yearly schedule as the dairy goats. This means that we are breeding just once per year, selling the kids when convenient, then continue to milk the does through the cycle. We have two milk customers who enjoy the milk also and the only goats milking at this time are Boers. I understand the Boers can produce kids 3 times in 2 years, and we will alter our breeding schedule accordingly; until recently we did not have a Boer buck. I expect the main difference we will see between dairy goats and Boer as far as the milk might be that the dairy goats have been selectively bred to give more milk, while the Boers have been bred for body bulk. I have not seen an analysis comparing Boer milk to other goats, but I suspect the fat content may be even higher than the Nubians. This is just a guess.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), January 03, 2002.

I have Boer/Togg cross does, I love the Boer temperment! Although I have not had the experience with more than 2 teats, my Boer breeder friend has. From what we see with her does (she doesn't milk them), only two teats will develop for milking. As for the milk, the butterfat content is definitely higher in the meat breeds. You likely won't get the quantity production as you would from a traditional dairy breed, but I find the milk to be much better in flavor.

My first goat was a 4-yr old Kiko (meat breed) doe who had never been milked. She was as wild as they come. It took A LOT of patients and determination, but she finally submitted to milking. Of course, grain bribes were a valuable tool. I could never get her up on a milk stand, but I could clip her to the fence. Like I always say: "It ain't over 'til I win!"

-- Danni in NV (IMDT@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002.

When my doe kidded, I had to milk her for the kid (long story) anyway, she took to milking fine (with her head locked that is) She has and extra teat also and never filled with milk. someone did tell me once that if the kid latches onto that empty teat, it could starve. Keep an eye on that.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), January 03, 2002.

We used to raise boer goats/meat goats several yrs ago, sold out because the market in VA was bad, then shortly after the producers got together and formed a coop for better prices. But getting back to the Boer. We had a doe who had 3 teats, the 3rd one was a spur teat up high so I didn't see it right away and she was from a breeder who didn't fuss with his goats much and therefore she was shy. So... when she kidded her twins died shortly after kidding because they were nursin on the top teat, from a distance it appeared they were nursing her. I happened to find it after we got her penned, and lo and behold, the problem!

I will say i ahve read about the boers having a lot of butter fat, now thats all well and good, but the boer breed produces less milk so the breeders like to cross with a dairy to get better milk. I have not tasted boer milk so I have no idea if it tastes the same or not, has anyone ever tried it?

You can tell the age on a goat by their teeth, I never looked personally myself because we raise registered stock. But I once saw on homedairygoats@yahoogroups.com a pic of the teeth and how to determine age.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 03, 2002.