Boer goats, then, live on average quite a bit longer than most breeds.
However, an age of 20 is about the upper ceiling on any goat lifespan, and they will need every possible leg up in life to reach this ripe old age.
Lifespan is on the one hand determined by breed, but more importantly by lifestyle and how they live.
Do Boer goats make good pets?
The first thing to think about with a pet goat is if a particular breed is more commonly favored as a pet or as livestock.
Most breeds are generally good for both purposes if you have enough space for the larger goats as pets.
Goats, in general, have friendly temperaments and are good with children, making virtually all goat breeds good pets.
Boer goats are much more commonly raised for meat production than for companionships or pets.
Nonetheless, they do indeed make fantastic pets.
They’re often referred to as gentle giants—they’re quite large as goats go, but very docile and laid back.
They’ll get on well with virtually anything.
Boer goats definitely make great pets, then, so if you’re worried about committing to a long friendship with an unfriendly goat you’ve got nothing to worry about.
If you’ve got the space and the commitment to take proper care of it, you and your Boer goat will get on very well.
How long do male Boer goats live?
There is quite a considerable disparity between the lifespan of a doe and the lifespan of a buck.
The average lifespan of goats in general is somewhere between 10-15 years, for a good lifespan.
Typically, male Boer goats live between 8 and 12 years.
So, they are actually somewhat short lived, but the same is almost always true of male goats.
Does live longer for a number of reasons which I will get into shortly.
So, male Boer goats live longer on average than most male goats, though not much longer.
It is the does who really demonstrate how hardy Boer goats are.
How long do female Boer goats live?
Doe Boer goats are the ones who exemplify Boer goat resistance.
As I said, they can live up to twenty years if given the correct diet and environment.
As I also mentioned, the same is true of many goat breeds, that females live longer.
This is often the case in many ruminant species, such as deer.
There are a few reasons this is the case.
A longer lifespan in the female members of your species gives them a higher chance of successfully reproducing and raising offspring to adulthood.
Bucks only need to impregnate the female; they do not also need to raise the offspring.
This is, of course, all in the wild.
Your goats living with you won’t have to worry about successfully raising kids as they will be able to do in comfort without fear of predators.
Nonetheless, their health is now up to you, so in order to get it to its full age, you must feed it properly.
What should Boer goats eat?
Goats need a reasonably balanced diet in order to get all their necessary nutrition.
The main staple of their diet will be hay which you should provide to them.
Grass hay is best and easiest to find, although alfalfa hay will also work.
Also vital to a goat’s health is having a pasture to forage.
Again, because goats are ruminants and browsers they like to explore and sample a wide range of foods.
So, your goats should have a large pasture, and ideally, they should rotate pastures.
This will give them the opportunity to find different foods which interest them.
Some amount of fresh fruit and vegetables is also very good for goat’s health, though it should only make up a small part of their diet.
If you have a compost bin in your kitchen, this is a good way to get this fresh food to them- just be careful as certain fruits like avocado are toxic to goats.
Grain and pellets can also support the higher protein needs of a larger goat like a Boer goat.
Again, though, this should make up a relatively small part of the diet, and the vast majority should be hay of one sort or another.
If you keep all these conditions in mind, your Boer goat will live a long and happy life.
Boer goats, then, have been most popularly bred as meat animals since they were first bred by Dutch farmers in the early 20th Century.
But keeping goats as pets is becoming even more popular nowadays, and this breed are no exception.
That is, I’m sure, in part because of their longevity; people like to have their animal companions around for as long as they can.
If you’re interested in watching a goat grow very old, a Boer goat could be for you.
More in Boer
- Are Boer Goats Seasonal Breeders?
- How Big Do Boer Goats Get?
- How Much Does A Boer Goat Cost?
- How Long Do Boer Goats Live?