Ask lots of questions, and look each animal over carefully.
Questions:
How often do you trim hooves?
(If the answer seem pretty often, weigh that in as something you'll have to take care of, and look at all the hooves. Do they look funny? Are they trimmed?)
Have you tested for CL or CAE?
(Lots of meat goat producers do not test, and more than a few do not even know what they are... those will be the ones that will look at you funny. Check the animal for any strange lumps, boils, etc. Does the animal seem to limp, or does its joints appear to be stiff)
How do you worm them, when have you wormed them, what have you used in the past? Do you do fecals, or have them done?
(Look at the skin beneath the lower eye lid. Is it pink, is it white? Is the goat's fur shiny, smooth, soft, or is it dull, wire like, rough, and/or falling out?)
How old is this goat?
(Look at her teeth, count the number of adult teeth and compare to what the owner told you. While looking at the teeth, look at the lips. Do they appear scabby or scarred? If so, this goat probably has sore mouth, which is not a deal breaker, but something you want your entire herd to have dealt with long before kidding time.)
If the breeder's answers to the above questions match up with what you observed on your own, then you might be able to trust what this person tells you about their breeding plan.
Also, look at the goat's udder. How many teats are there? It is acceptable for boers to have more than two, but take a good look at them. Are they really small, really large? Are there two teats connected (looks like a fish tail?) You want decent sized (but perhaps not too large) teats that are all about the same size. Avoid goats with the fishtail teats. One of them may work, but if you are planning on breeding, why add that to the herd from the start? You want a udder that appears well attached to the main body.
These are just a few basic things to look at that will give you an idea of the health of the goat, and perhaps if the breeder is just breeding together whatever he can to make money, or is actually trying to improve things. These things are even more important when you go looking for a buck. Remember that your buck is really half your herd, as that one buck can control what all of the offspring of your entire herd will look like.
Also, consider the build of the goat. This is easier to learn with photos, so check out:
Langston University Goat program. Basically a whole meat goat producer class for free.
http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/qa.html
Here is the chapter on what to look for:
http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/train...ement.html#vis
But check out this page of that class:
http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/marketing.html While it is the chapter about marketing, it has good photos of different conditions of goats.
Boer question
