Traditional/Correct-colored boers are those with a red head and white body.
This coloration is called "correct" or "traditional" because
in Africa (where the original boer goat was developed) the most sought-after
goats had reddish heads and white bodies. However, these goats were not the
most popular because of milk or meat production, nor hide quality, nor
mothering capabilities, but because they were easier to see in the dense
brush in South Africa where they browsed. So the myth that traditional boers
have the highest quality carcass of all boers because of their coloring ins untrue. In fact,
the original boer goats were not traditionally colored (they were most
commonly roan/solid red). The white color gene
was brought in to cover up the red so that the boers would be more visible
to the goat herders. The breeders left a red head on the goats because
if the goats were to be completely white, they would be considered sacred.
The people would not be able to eat the sacred goats or use there hide, etc.
Another advantage in preserving the red head was to retain the dark skin
pigmentation (white animals often have pink skin)
so the boers wouldn't get burned by the sun. Boers can have white hair over pigmented skin because the white color gene
is merely covering up the red
hair, and therefore the color gene is
still present. Non-traditional goats -- solid
red, paint
(large splotches of color on a white background), or black-headed boers
,
and even solid black boers -- are becoming quite popular today, especially
in the northwest where some high-quality animals are entering the show
arenas. These color variations can be quite beautiful, and create an
interesting niche for breeders.
For example, paints have genes to produce all of the different boer
colorations (with their personal shade of red or black), and it really only
matters which buck or doe that they are paired with. Of course, it is
possible for a traditional-colored doe to throw colored kids, or a
solid-colored doe to throw traditional kids, but it is much more likely for
a paint doe to throw all of the colors. Goats with a black head can
produce kids with black coloration, which is relatively new. It is
still
quite rare to see many black boers.
However,ih still some resistance in the
boer goat community to these "non-traditional" colors with some assuming a
connection of superior muscling and bone structure to the traditional color
genes. This is not supported in my research. However,
some say that
in a side-by-side visual evaluation of two equally muscled goats, with one
of traditional color, and the other solid, the traditional may have the
illusion of greater muscling due to its white coat. (Remember, dark
colors are slimming). This is why a judge should always make an effort to feel
the goats to decide which ones have the better muscling.
The roots of this muscling myth may be traced back to a
few irresponsible breeders who, once the solid-colored boers became rarer, bred their
goats for coloration, without regard to conformation. The effect was
an isolated group of colored boers with sub-par conformation and rate
of gain. This may have given the impression that "all colored boers
are of poor quality." Now-a-days most breeders of colored boers use traditional stock and
high-quality red stock and produce beautifully muscled animals. In
summary, we should not limit our view of the boer as a red-headed, white
bodied animal when it naturally supports many color varieties.
Interestingly, the Kalahari-Red-Goat, a breed of goat that is derived solely
from stock of the red-headed boer goats and "unimproved" boer goat stock
(the original boer goats in South Africa), consists of only red animals.
