Goat Behaviour at Meat-Breed Weight
A Boer goat brings a goat's full repertoire of climbing, leaning, rubbing, and testing to a fence, and brings it at the weight of a large, heavily muscled meat breed. That combination is what Boer fencing must be designed around. Wire and posts that hold dairy goats can be bowed, loosened, and eventually walked down by Boers standing on lower strands and leaning their full mass into the mesh, and every weakness created from inside is an invitation to the coyotes and dogs that target goats, kids above all, from outside.
Build therefore one grade stronger than feels necessary: woven wire with genuine strain on it, posts set deep and close enough to refuse that leaning weight, and corner assemblies braced as if for cattle, because in load terms that is roughly what a mob of Boers delivers.
Mesh Size and the Horn Problem
Many Boers carry substantial horns, and mesh choice must reckon with them. Openings large enough for a head to push through but too small for horns to withdraw are traps that hold a goat fastened in the fence for hours, exposed to weather, stress, and any predator passing, and a trapped goat is one of the commonest fencing disasters in horned herds. Choose openings either small enough that heads stay out entirely or a design your herd's horn shapes pass through and back safely, and check growing youngsters against that judgement as their horns develop.
Height still matters, since Boers jump respectably when motivated by feed or company on the other side, but for this breed the greater daily threat to a fence is horizontal force rather than aerial escape. Spend accordingly: strain, post strength, and an anti-lean electric strand protect a Boer fence more than extra inches on a flimsy one.
Electric Strands on Both Sides
An inside offset strand at leaning height teaches Boers to keep their weight off the mesh, which preserves tension across the whole line and is the cheapest fence maintenance you will ever buy. An outside strand low to the ground meets a coyote's or dog's nose at the point where it would otherwise begin digging or testing the bottom wire. Both strands need vegetation kept off them and regular charge checks, because a dead strand teaches the wrong lesson to animals on both sides within days.
Introduce new goats, especially bought-in animals from non-electric systems, to hot wire inside a strong training pen before turning them onto the main fencing. A heavy Boer that hits an unfamiliar electric fence at a run can go through it and damage both fence and confidence, while one trained calmly respects it for years.
Kids, Gates, and the Checking Rhythm
Boer kids are valuable, fast-growing, and the herd members predators most want, so kidding paddocks deserve the finest mesh, the tightest ground line, and placement near buildings where checks happen naturally through the day. Gates on Boer paddocks take leaning, rubbing, and gathering pressure, so hang them on braced posts with latches that cannot be lifted by horns or worked by lips, and close every gap at hinges and ground line that a kid could use.
Walk boundaries weekly and after storms, looking specifically for the Boer signatures: mesh bowed outward at rubbing height, strands standing loose where goats have stood on them, and soil scuffed at favourite leaning corners. Repair strain promptly, since a fence losing tension loses it progressively faster under this breed's attention.
On a family operation those findings need passing on reliably, and KinsLe Family Sharing keeps your Boer herd's profile, paddock plan, and fence notes in front of everyone who works with them, so a strained corner reported on Monday is common knowledge by Tuesday.