So, we chose Boer goats

Well I finally got round to signing on here myself because so many of my google searches led me to this site. Six months ago we bought a very hilly 2 hectares (give or take a bit of a hectare) in the Waikato. We thought of sheep at first but we'd already kept them back in the UK and wanted a change. Beef cattle were too big. Alpacas? I just don't 'get' them! We didn't want goats again either -until we discovered Boer goats.
So, we now have Charlie the pure bred buck and his entourage of 8 middle-aged Boers and Boer crosses. Our aim is to develop a small registered herd by grading up eventually. At the moment we are getting used to our new family and learning along the way. I've found a few answers on here and look forward to sharing our journey.

You'll love goats - they become very good friends! Then you need more friends, then you get addicted!

Welcome, and yea! goats! Do keep an eye on their feet, as Boer's feet can be rather shocking if you don't select for good feet. You should probably be ok where you are, but I know of some herds in areas of Canterbury who have bad feet because the ground is too wet for any kind of goats to be living on.

We chose Boer goats, and it was very probably the worst thing we have done. They get terrible feet problems, even the so-called good ones. They die really easily from worms. They die really easily from mineral deficiencies. They catch every bug going. They get terrible dermataphilosis.
The Angoras were good, the wild goat we have is good, the Toggenbergs have good feet but get worms and dermatapilosis.
Goats are dangerous because of their horns. The neighbour had to have 15 stitches in his eyelid, so was lucky not to be blinded. They are dangerous because they get too fearless, so rush up and bash us when we feed out hay.
They take at least 18 months to get to a killable size, and then the freezing works pays you for ones that aren't yours. We got underpaid 25% last time we sent goats to the works.
They are not as able to be milked as other breeds of goats.
So, goats are on my "never again" list, and I've nearly been divorced because of them and the donkeys. If your partner gets to the stage of not wanting goats any longer, then get rid of the goats because you won't be able to care for them without his/her help.

Saw a country calendar programme where a farmer was doing a good trade in rounding up wild goats and selling them to the freezing works. The numbers coming out of the bush were amazing. What a pest problem we have but they looked to be in pretty good condition coming straight from the bush.

I love the look of Boers - we would definitely rather raise them for meat than any other animal (given we love goats!) but a neighbour here has also cautioned us regarding the foot problems. They are working on cross breeds to try and improve that.

The right goat(s) can be great to have around - unfortunately in NZ - it seems to us that the ferals are the best bet - but I'm guessing not a great meat rearing proposition, especially if you have to buy supplementary feed.

We're already dealing with feet but we were aware that dodgy feet run with Boers. I saw the programme about the guy rounding up feral goats too. I think we'll see how the boers do for the moment though!

So, how are you doing with the boer goats now Wirenz?