Standard & Red Boer Goats Photo Gallery

With Australia producing over 50% of world goat meat exports the number and quality of Boer goats in Australia continues to rise.

Australian Boer goats are a highly versatile breed and have been selected to thrive in a range of conditions and production systems

Some examples of typical Australian Boer and Red Boer Goats can be found in the images below.

We can supply purebred and crossbred Boer goats to meet your breeding and business objectives and budget. Follow the link below to get in touch and find out more.

Australian Boer Goat Breed Standards

The ideal Boer Goat

The ideal Boer Goat must comply with the Breed Standard and must be functional. This goat must have the physical anatomy to be able to walk, eat and produce most effectively. It must also be able to adapt to the environment in which it is being raised and it must reproduce in that environment. It must be hardy and robust.

• The goat must have a good temperament with a lively appearance.

• Short smooth glossy hair.

• Does must be angular, have strong feminine characteristics and be fertile.

• Does must also possess good mothering characteristics.

• Bucks must be masculine, robust and fertile.

• An ennobled appearance, especially with a strong head and rounded horns.

• Loose thick, supple, folds of skin (particularly in the Bucks).

The ideal Boer Goat must satisfy the needs of the market by producing high quality, consistent breeding stock, and healthy low cholesterol, protein-rich red meat that will meet the expectations and requirements of consumers within the broader population.

Explanation of the breed standards

In applying this standard there are many aspects which cannot be completely defined. In such cases the inspector or judge must use their discretion. Where an animal is highly exceptional in its functional traits and displays an aesthetic fault, its exceptional traits should always be recognised.

In spite of the breed standard being clear and to the point, it is nevertheless necessary to supply additional information to clarify some descriptions.

The major part of the body of the Standard Boer Goat is white to make it conspicuous and to facilitate the rounding up of goats in dense terrain. A pigmented skin on the hairless parts e.g. under the tail, round the eyelids and mouth etc, is essential, because it offers resistance to sunburn which may result in cancer.

A loose, supple skin is essential for adaptability to climatic conditions. In Australia, which is a warm and sunny country, an animal with loose skin and short hair is better adapted, noting however, the normal differences expected in areas of extreme cold and heat.

General appearance and type 

A Boer Goat is a goat with a strong head, round horns that show a gradual backward curve, a loose, supple skin with folds (especially in Bucks) and with body parts well-fleshed and in perfect balance.

The Doe must be feminine, wedging slightly to the front, which is a sign of fertility. The Buck is heavier in the head, neck and forequarters, but must also be well muscled in the hindquarters and masculine. The Boer Goat is an animal with beautiful symmetry, exhibiting a strong, vigorous appearance and fine quality. The Doe must be feminine and the Buck masculine.

Conformation

Size: The ideal Boer Goat is a medium sized heavy goat for maximum meat production. A desirable ratio between the length of leg and depth of body should be achieved at all ages. Kids tend to be longer in the leg, and body depth should increase as an animal matures.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Goats too large or too small (pony).

Head: A strong head with large soft brown eyes and without an untamed or wild look. The head should have a strong slightly curved nose, wide nostrils, strong well-formed mouth with well fitted jaws. A strong curved lower jaw rising to meet the upper jaw is ideal.

Up to 6 tooth in age must show a perfect bite. Eight tooth in age and older may show 6mm protrusion of the lower jaw. Permanent teeth must cut in the correct anatomical place and order.

The forehead must be prominently curved, linking up with the curve of nose and horns. Horns should be strong, of moderate length and placed moderately apart with a gradual backward curve.

Horns should be round, solid and dark in colour. Ears are to be broad, smooth and of medium length hanging downwards from the head. Ears that are too short are undesirable.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Concave forehead, horns too straight or too flat, or horns too close together, pointed jaw, ears folded (lengthwise), stiff protruding ears, ears too short, over- or undershot jaw and blue eyes.

Neck and Forequarters: A neck of moderate length in proportion to the length of the body and well-joined to the forequarter. In Does, the neck should come out deep from the chest blending smoothly with the shoulders, be wide in its attachment and rising gracefully to the throatlatch, which is a sign of refinement. In Bucks the neck should be thicker, well-muscled and show skin folds when mature as a sign of masculinity.

The breastbone should be broad with a deep, broad brisket. The shoulder should be in proportion to the body and be well-fitted to the withers. The withers should be broad and as well-fitted as possible whilst still allowing the animal the flexibility and agility to browse effectively (not sharp).

The front legs should be of medium length and in proportion to the depth of the body. The legs should be strong and well-placed, with strong pasterns and well-formed hoofs.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Too long, thin neck, too short neck, shoulders too loose.

Barrel: The ideal is a long, deep broad barrel. The ribs must be well sprung and fleshed, and the loins as well filled as possible. The goat should have a broad, fairly straight back and must not be pinched behind the shoulders.

Characteristic cull defects: Back too concave, too slab-sided, too cylindrical or pinched behind the shoulder.

Hindquaters: The Boer Goat should have a broad and long rump, not sloping too much, well fleshed buttocks which are not too flat, and have fully fleshed thighs. The tail must be straight where it grows out of the dock and then may swing to either side.

Characteristic Cull Defects: A rump that is too steep, or is too short, a long shank or flat buttocks, hips too narrow, pins too narrow, wry tail.

Legs: Emphasis should be placed on the legs which should be strong boned and well placed. Legs should be squarely placed with correct angulation and freedom of movement. The upper leg should be long in proportion to the cannon bone and should be well-muscled. Strong legs imply hardiness and a strong constitution, which are essential characteristics of the Boer Goat.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Knock knees, bandy legs, cow hocked, post legged or sickle hocked. Legs too thin, weak pasterns and hooves pointing outwards or inwards.

Skin: A loose supple skin, (with sufficient chest and neck skin folds in the case of Bucks), is desirable. Eyelids and hairless parts must be pigmented. The hairless skin under the tail should have 75% pigmentation as a minimum with 100% pigmentation desirable at 12 months. Short, glossy hair is desirable. A limited amount of Cashmere will be tolerated during winter months.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Hair covering too long and coarse or excessive cashmere through coat in summer.

Skin and hair covering: A loose supple skin, (with sufficient chest and neck skin folds in the case of Bucks), is desirable. Eyelids and hairless parts must be pigmented. The hairless skin under the tail should have 75% pigmentation as a minimum with 100% pigmentation desirable at 12 months of age. Short, glossy hair is desirable. A limited amount of Cashmere will be tolerated during winter months.

Characteristic Cull Defects: Hair covering too long and coarse or excessive cashmere through coat in summer.

Sexual Organs:

Does: Does must have a good shaped and well-attached udder with well-placed teats

Bucks: Bucks must have two reasonably large, well-formed, healthy and equal sized testes in one scrotum. A scrotum with a split no larger than 2.5cm is acceptable. The scrotum must be at least 25cm in circumference at 12 months of age. The teat requirement for Bucks is exactly the same as for the Does.

Characteristic Cull Defects: For does, pendulous udders and poor teat placement. For bucks, testes too small monorchid or cryptorchid, a scrotum with a more than 2.5cm split, twisted scrotum.

Colouring

The ideal Standard Boer Goat is a white goat with a red head and ears, with white facial markings and fully pigmented skin. A full red head is also acceptable.

Shadings between light red and dark red is acceptable. The minimum requirement for a Stud animal is a red patch of at least 10cm in diameter on both sides of the head at 2 tooth in age, ears excluded. Both ears should have at least 75% red colouring with 75% pigmentation.

The following is acceptable for stud Purposes:

Head, neck and forequarters: complete red colouring is acceptable up to but not further than the shoulder blade. The acceptable allowance of red colour on the body and limbs of a Stud animal should not exceed 5% of the body and must not give a mottled appearance. (The head, neck and shoulders are not to be counted when calculating the 5%).

Red hairs (Roan): Some red hairs are acceptable from the 2 years of age, however not desirable.

Pigmentation: Discriminate against too light pigmentation.

Red Boer Goats

Colouring: The ideal is a completely red goat with no white. The acceptable allowance of white colour on the body and limbs of a Stud Red Boer Goat should not exceed 5% of the body.

• A white marking on the head no larger than 10cm is acceptable.
• White on the front legs no higher than the knee is acceptable.
• White on the back legs no higher than the hock is acceptable.
• A single white marking on the body of the animal is acceptable, provided that the total amount of white on the Red Boer Goat does not exceed 5%.
• A Red Boer Goat should be consistent in colour type and coat pattern throughout the body, with expected allowances for various shadings of red, but a goat that has red and black markings is undesirable.
• It is highly desirable that a Red Boer Goat displays the same characteristics as the Standard Boer Goat regarding quality, functionality, consistency of type and ennoblement. Therefore, the reminder of the Breed Standard for Red Boer Goats is the same as for Standard Boer Goats.

Black Boer Goats

Colouring: The ideal is a completely black goat with no white.

• The acceptable allowance of white colour on the body and limbs of a Stud Black Boer Goat should not exceed 5% of the body.
• A white marking on the head no larger than 10cm is acceptable.
• White on the front legs no higher than the knee is acceptable.
• White on the back legs no higher than the hock is acceptable.
• A single white marking on the body of the animal is acceptable, provided that the total amount of white on the Black Boer Goat does not exceed 5%.
• A Black Boer Goat should be consistent in colour type and coat pattern throughout the body, with expected allowances for various shadings of black, but a goat that has red and black markings is undesirable.
• It is highly desirable that a Black Boer Goat displays the same characteristics as the Standard Boer Goat regarding quality, functionality, consistency of type and ennoblement. Therefore, the reminder of the Breed Standard for Black Boer Goats is the same as for Standard Boer Goats.