Naturally, weight and height can vary a lot between individuals and will be dependent on age and gender.
Male Boer goats can be quite a lot larger than females, and bucks have been the more popular choice for Boer goats as they grow not only to a very large size, but also at an incredibly fast rate.
Let’s look at how Boer does and bucks compare, and how Boers compare with other species.
How big do female Boer goats get?
When they’ve reached full maturity, a Boer doe will usually weigh on average somewhere between 190-230 pounds.
This might seem like quite a large range, but it’s actually much smaller than the range for Boer bucks.
How big do male Boer goats get?
Boer bucks are a force to be reckoned with, having been called ‘gentle giants.’
If you thought the does were large, Boer bucks can reach as large as 340 pounds in some cases, and weigh on average between 200-320 pounds.
It’s not surprising that this breed has been favored for its meat by farmers for many years.
The other point to note about Boer goats is that the bucks grow much, much faster than the does.
In livestock herds, bucks have been massively favored for this reason.
They grow so fast that they are incredibly profitable for a farm.
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How tall do Boer goats get?
There is less disparity between the heights of bucks and does, both of which stand on average between 20-25 inches tall (at the shoulder).
This average applies both to does and bucks.
Some particularly large individuals have been reported standing as tall as 30 inches, but the average falls somewhere below this.
How long does it take for a Boer goat to mature?
Boer goats tend to take a couple of years to reach their full size.
They’ll grow very rapidly at a young age, and will continue to grow more slowly after a certain point, but they will get very big very quickly.
They will reach sexual maturity in about five months; both does and bucks.
Boer goats will usually live for about 8-12 years, and usually reach full adulthood at somewhere from 2-3 years old.
In terms of maturity this is usually the same for does and bucks, but bucks will gain weight and mass a lot more quickly than does.
| Breed | Weight | Height |
| Boer | 190-300 lbs. | 20-25 in. |
| Alpine | 135-150 lbs. | 25-30 in. |
| Anglo-Nubian | 150-175 lbs | 30-35 in. |
How big are Boer goats compared to Alpine goats?
Alpine goats are another very popular breed of domestic goat, and it will give you a good idea to compare them to Boer goats of just how large Boers are.
Although Alpine goats do, on average, stand a bit taller than Boer goats, they are much slimmer and weigh a lot less.
Mature, Alpine does weigh around 135 pounds, and stand about 30 inches tall at the shoulder.
Height, of course, hasn’t really been a factor in breeding before goats were kept as pets and companions.
They would have been bred selectively for meat and milk, which the large bulk of the Boer goats is better at providing.
Alpine goats, of course, are not small, and are fantastic goats; but the Boer goat in weight is virtually unmatched.
How big are Boer goats compared to Anglo-Nubian goats?
Boer goats may be among the bulkiest of breeds, but the popular Anglo-Nubian breed is among the tallest.
With an average height of up to 35 inches, Anglo-Nubian goats are tall and very impressive animals.
Also, just like Boer goats, Anglo-Nubian bucks have been favored by farmers for their rapid growth.
In weight, however, they still cannot match up to Boer goats.
Even a mature buck will generally not weigh much more than 175 pounds, compared with the ceiling of the Boer weight sitting at around 340 pounds.
In some ways, terrain has been a factor in how these goats have evolved and differentiated themselves.
Goats living in the mountainous Alps would need to be more slender and agile to navigate the terrain.
Boer goats wandering plains don’t have a problem with their weight.
Boer goats are the Goliaths of the domestic goat world, then.
They’re larger than any other domestic breed and can grow to be as large as 340 pounds.
When compared with any other popularly domestic breed of goat,
it’s easy to see that they’re one of the largest.
So, if you’re thinking about raising Boer goats on your property, make sure you’ve got the space for it, because they’re going to need a lot of it!
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