~ Boer Goat~
Phylum:,Chordata.
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla.
Family: Bovidae
Genus; Capra.
Species: Capra hircus
Physical characteristics:
They are typically white in colour with red head, blaze and pigmented skin, drooping ear, long leg and good conformation. Average wither height is reported to be 78 cm.
Origin and distribution:
The Boer goat is also known as Afrikaner, South African common goat and Boerbok goat. Boer goats evolved in South Africa from the indigenous African and the introduced European stock (Epstein 1971; Mason 1981; Campbell 1984). These include Bantu and Nubian, Saanen, Toggenburg and probably Angora. Out of South Africa, they are also found in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, Australia, USA, New Zealand, Germany, Israel, France and China (Malan 2000).
Breed status:
The Boer goat Breeders' Society was established in 1959, after which there followed selection guidelines and breed standards involving short legs, fleshiness, good thighs and hindquarters. The potential of Boer goats to produce cashmere hair has been recognized recently and is still being investigated (Couchman 1988). The estimated number of Boer goats is 2.12 million. According to J. Hendrik Hofmeyr, in DAD-IS 2004, the Boer goat population of South Africa in 2003 decreass.
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