Goats are hardy, but if you thought you could just put them out in the veld and leave them until market day, you’d be wrong. It’s taken just under 10 years for farmer Pieter Fouche to fine-tune his Boer goat breeding programme. And it’s hard work!
Talk of the Town visited his Martindale farm last week. Green and lush, with full dams and plenty of shade – surely this must be the easiest farming operation in the Eastern Cape?
“Most people think goats are low-maintenance,” Fouche told TOTT. “Here there is plenty of food; but there are also plenty of ticks and parasites. That’s what you have to take care of.”
Then there are predators.
“Caracals and jackals are common here,. But she sorts them out,” Fouche said as bounding up to us in enthusiastic leaps, twists and turns cam one-year-old Anatolian shepherd dog Branka. The breed is popular among small stock owners who want to deal with predators in a way that doesn’t harm the environment. Anatolians used to guard sheep or goats live outdoors with the flock.
“We’ve seen brown hyena and leopard in this area,” Fouche said.
For that reason, the goats also come in from the veld at night to sleep close to the house where light and activity puts the larger predators off.
“The kids are at their most vulnerable from birth to 12 weeks. Their rumen (the first stomach of a ruminant that digests plant material) is only fully developed at 12 weeks and until then, they are completely dependent on their mothers.
“When I started off, I didn’t know much about goats,” Fouche said. “The mortality rate was about 30%. It took a while to get to know the different threats to these goats, especially the kids, but now the mortality rate is down to 5%.”
Ticks and wire-worm are among the threats to livestock.
“There are ways to manage those – but here, unlike in the Karoo, you do have to actively manage them.”
Goats do survive some things that would kill most other livestock – or at least make them very sick.
“I’ve seen these goats eat syringa berries, lantana, even inkberry, and be fine,” Fouche said.
Is it all worth it?
“Definitely,” said Fouche. “Prices for sheep and cattle have fluctuated a lot. But goat prices have stayed strong throughout.
“The traditional market is very strong and people will always need goats for traditional ceremonies.”
Fouche’s herd is registered with the South African Boer Goat Breeders Association. Along with other respected Boer goat farming operations across the province, he will be contributing to the small stock show and auction at the 2025 Bathurst Agricultural Show.
The main day for the small stock show is Friday April 4. The auction takes place at 11am at the showgrounds on Saturday April 5. On offer will be Boer goat rams and ewes and, for the first time at the show this year, Meatmaster rams and ewes.
“The animals on auction will be top notch,” said Fouche, who in addition to providing stock is also coordinating the small stock section.
“The SA Boer Breeders Association official will be there to ensure quality control of the animals that go on auction.”
Fouche said there would also be a short educational talk for members of the public to understand the intricacies of breeding and showing small livestock.
For enquiries about the small livestock section call Pieter Fouche at 072-828-9265 or Fanie Mostert at 082-877-2092.
The Bathurst Agricultural Show runs from 3-6 April.
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- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, March 13, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
Sue Maclennan
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