About Us
The families that have come together to form Seahmas Boer Goats are mostly of Irish decent, so in keeping with the heritage, we chose the name "Seamhas" for our farm.
Seamhas is pronounced "shay-mus", and means "Lucky" in the Gaelic language. Some pronounce it "Shaw-mus", either way is ok. We are located just outside of the small rural community of Walnut, IL.
Our Boer goat farm is a group of 5 owners who are all family:
- McKinley Rogers
- Gary & Robin Todd
- Jim & Dixie Donavan
We have been in the beef cattle business for some time, and have had sheep and hogs also. We are all family and were looking for something a little different to raise. Goats are a great companion livestock to cattle, since they can be put alongside cattle. Goats eat things the cattle don't eat, so there is no interference with each other in the same pasture. Actually this can be more economical. Goats also have a shorter gestation period, which makes them an even better option. Goats seemed to fit our needs perfectly.
Boer goats are a meat breed, originating in South Africa. The first of these arrived in the United States in the early nineties. They are hardy, meaty, and make a great investment.
We researched breeders and decided on a ranch in Texas that was willing to work with us. Working together, we assembled a starter herd consisting of:
- 1 -full blood Buck
- 1 -unregistered doe
- 1-50% doe
- 2 -75% does
- 1-88% doe
- 2-fullblood does
for a total of 8 goats. These goats are all registered through the ABGA (American Boer Goat Association) in San Angelo, TX.
We have since added to our herd, keeping records faithfully. At present we have a total of 23 does,
3 buck, and numerous babies. We are currently breeding more does and should be
kidding again in the fall of 06.
It is so entertaining to watch the babies playing and bouncing off their moms. I have one that loves to stand on top of her mom and hitch a ride. I can just watch them for hours upon hours and still see them do something new.
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