Traditional, paint, solid or dapple: find the closest appearance, with Boer names and the features to check.
Updated · How it works and sources
A white body with a red head and neck. Head shade varies; the appearance does not establish which white-body form the goat carries.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
A white body with a black head and neck. Head shade varies; the appearance does not establish which white-body form the goat carries.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
A white body with a cream head and neck. Head shade varies; the appearance does not establish which white-body form the goat carries.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
Large colored patches over white. Paint describes the appearance; the amount and placement of color are not predicted.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
Large colored patches over white. Paint describes the appearance; the amount and placement of color are not predicted.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
A red-brown coat across the whole goat. The exact shade is described without predicting a head color.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: Solid body 100%
A black coat across the whole goat. The exact shade is described without predicting a head color.
ABGA: free-text color
Bred to a black goat: Solid body 100%
Pale dapples on the named base. How dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet; its amount and placement are described without odds.
ABGA: free-text color
Is this my goat?Pattern and genetics
Bred to a black goat: may also give Solid body up to 100%, White-bodied (traditional or paint) up to 100% (100% in total)
Pale dapples on the named base. How dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet; its amount and placement are described without odds.
ABGA: free-text color
Is this my goat?Pattern and genetics
Bred to a black goat: may also give Solid body up to 100%, White-bodied (traditional or paint) up to 100% (100% in total)
Pale dapples on the named base. How dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet; its amount and placement are described without odds.
ABGA: free-text color
Is this my goat?Pattern and genetics
Bred to a black goat: White-bodied (traditional or paint) 50% to 100%; may also give Solid body up to 50% (up to 50% in total)
Illustrations of a typical Boer with each color, not photos of DNA-tested goats; the closest picture is not proof of a goat's color.
Color illustration shown with natural horns. Horn status is entered separately.
Traditional describes a white body and colored head. Solid means color across the whole body; paint describes large colored patches over white. These names do not tell you the number of white-body copies a goat has.
Dapple describes pale patches on a colored base, and how dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet. Head color has competing published explanations. Do not use the amount of paint or dapple, or a particular red shade, to infer copy number.
Body pattern only: solid versus white-bodied. Traditional and paint coats both count as white-bodied. Head color is described in words; white amount and dapple are not calculated.
| Buck ↓ · Doe → | Solid body | White body (traditional or paint) |
|---|---|---|
| Solid body |
|
May also give up to 50% in total
May also: H01; up to 50% total
|
| White body (traditional or paint) |
May also give up to 50% in total
May also: H01; up to 50% total
|
May also give up to 25% in total
May also: H02; up to 25% total
|
Print key. C names a color. H lists every hidden outcome; each range applies to each listed color, not their total. The total is in the cell.
https://creatures.com/species/goat/boer/colors
The white body has DNA evidence from Swiss and German Boers. Coat names do not settle whether a white-bodied goat carries the solid form, and the amount of paint is not predicted.
Not worked out yet: how dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet. Red and black dapples are shown as appearances, without inheritance odds.
The ABGA standard states that no preference is given to any hair color. Blue eyes disqualify in all classes. Naturally polled fullblood does and bucks are disqualified; percentage goats may be polled. Standard revised July 22, 2025.
Polled buck × polled doe. If the buck has one copy of polled, about 1 in 8 kids is expected to be an intersex goat: genetically female and infertile, and it can look like a doeling, a buckling or something in between. If he has two copies, about 1 in 4. If you don't know which he has, plan for 1 in 4. This assumes the polled doe is fertile (she has kidded, or a test shows one copy). Breeders usually pair a polled goat with a horned one: half the kids are polled (all of them if the polled buck has two copies), and none have polled intersex syndrome. A polled DNA test is offered in Europe (Giessen, Bern).
Polled and intersex syndrome Scrapie resistance (PRNP) Alpha-S1 casein
TorahRecorded as 'solid red'
Lehr1 Crimson QueenRecorded as 'solid red'
A traditional Boer has a white body and a red head. Black-headed, cream-headed, solid, paint and dapple coats are also described. The ABGA standard says no preference is given to any hair color.
How dapple is inherited isn't worked out yet. This guide shows dapple as a recorded appearance and gives no odds for its amount or placement. A dapple coat alone is not proof of a genotype.
Paint describes large colored areas over white, while dapple describes pale patches on a colored base. The words describe what you can see; they do not establish the number of gene copies a goat has.
