# Live weight = what butcher weight?



## tmfinley (Feb 25, 2008)

We are reducing out herd to just a few dairy goats and I am trying to figure out the most economical way to this. I have 2 Nubian bucklings I am going to try to sell. Then I have a doe I am going to cull , a doeling with fish teats, and a wether. 

I want to take these goats to the processor for ground meat. It is too hot for us to do it ourselves now. The processor charges a $23 kill fee + .55 a pound. The live weight on these 3 animals is 197 pounds. Then I read somewhere to take away 70% for bones and offal. That makes 137.9 lbs. Take that times .55/lb equals $75.84. Now add the kill fee of $69. This equals $144.84. Which makes the meat $1.05/lb. Is this correct??

Does the 70% for bones and offal sound right? Anything I'm missing?


Thanks,
Tiffany


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

yes, the 70% going for bones and offal sounds correct, but your math is in error. You need to subtract the 70% (137.9 lbs) from the 197 pounds. I get about 59 pounds of flesh, not 137 pounds for the yield.


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## tmfinley (Feb 25, 2008)

Oh, duh... I knew it didn't sound right, that's why I posted it on here. Thanks for the correction!

Tiffany


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

It is my understanding that live weight is how much they weigh intact, not dressed out.

Once you take that meat out, you will not get much meat.

Other than meat goats, goats do not dress out in high ratio, especially if you look at the amount of meat boneless, which is what we do since we don't eat the bone.

Your price per pound of meat will be high going this route.

We do our own butchering, in the warm weather seasons, and we wont even bother with a dairy built goat as its just not worth it.

Example; an Alpine wether, 3 years old. He weighted 150. We got 17 pounds of 'boneless' meat. Not worth it even doing it for free yourself, to much work.
Heck I would rather sell a goat with that little meat.

Bone has a lot of weight to it. Look at the actually amount of meat on these dairy built animals and thats some expensive meat.


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

70% on a dairy animal sounds right.

Andrea


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## dbarjacres (Feb 2, 2004)

I just took in two wethers last week. They weighed 94 pounds together and we got 30.8 pounds of meat back. 

We were charged $35 each to kill, butcher and vacuum pack and grind. We were pleased!

Oh, one was 50% lamancha 50% nigerian and the other 25% nigerian 25% boer and 50% lamancha


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

dbarjminis said:


> I just took in two wethers last week. They weighed 94 pounds together and we got 30.8 pounds of meat back.
> 
> We were charged $35 each to kill, butcher and vacuum pack and grind. We were pleased!
> 
> Oh, one was 50% lamancha 50% nigerian and the other 25% nigerian 25% boer and 50% lamancha


Was that boneless and fat trimmed?
That seems like a lot of meat of a total of 94 pounds of animal.

A Boer dresses any where around 50% to 75% depending on age and growth.
But thats not boneless. 
Dress out isnt boneless weight.
And like I said we dont eat the bones. 
IMO, its only the meat that matters.

We shoot for 50% boneless weight, more is icing on the cake.


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## dbarjacres (Feb 2, 2004)

that was trimmed and very tiny Quarter size bones in the small steaks. 2/3 of the meat was ground. I'd doubt bones weighed over 1.5 lbs. together.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

dh and I do our own butchering and we feel it is worth it. The dairy wethers are usually 8 to 10 months old and dress out to 20# each. We up the meat poundage a bit by grinding the heart, liver and kidneys with the muscle meat. You can not tell the organ meats are mixed in the meat. We only cut meat off the limbs, the tenderloin and the flicker muscles over the ribs. If the kid is large, we keep the neck as a roast. We give the bones to friends for dog food.


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## barelahh (Apr 13, 2007)

tmfinley said:


> We are reducing out herd to just a few dairy goats and I am trying to figure out the most economical way to this. I have 2 Nubian bucklings I am going to try to sell. Then I have a doe I am going to cull , a doeling with fish teats, and a wether.
> 
> I want to take these goats to the processor for ground meat. It is too hot for us to do it ourselves now. The processor charges a $23 kill fee + .55 a pound. The live weight on these 3 animals is 197 pounds. Then I read somewhere to take away 70% for bones and offal. That makes 137.9 lbs. Take that times .55/lb equals $75.84. Now add the kill fee of $69. This equals $144.84. Which makes the meat $1.05/lb. Is this correct??
> 
> ...


IF you take away 70% for offal and bones, that would be 59.1 pounds of meat. Not 137.9 70% of 197 is 139.9 So you would subtract that from your total weight which would leave your net meat.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

The only butchering we do is of older stock, which is then all meat. Have you thought about having all the bones cut into pieces for raw meaty bones for your dogs? This would add to the processing fee but it certainly would take away at least half of their diet in kibble if you don't feed raw for a very long time. We even do heads, plus alot of what some deems offal you could use for dog food also.

Once you get adept at skinning there is no way it is too hot to butcher even in our heat, we just do it about 7pm run the hose on the meat while we skin and have it all in the house in the AC before dark.

I know it has been posted many times but I couldn't find it, there is a carcass picture of a 3 year old boer doe hanging and a 3 year old nubian doe hanging, the amount of meat on the nubian was obvious from her longer loin, her bigger brisket and her longer thighs...does anyone still have this photo..it originally was a set of 3 photos? Vicki


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

I have never used a processor. I never have know anyone that used one for their own meat.
I cant help but wonder what processors all put in the ground 'meat'.

People should really learn to do their own.
Why not do your own if your going to raise it and eat it?
You also learn real quick how much 'meat', AKA muscle, is really on an animal.


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## tmfinley (Feb 25, 2008)

Riverpines, you obviously have some strong opinions about this. We have butchered our own goat before. In this 100+ heat we're not sure we can do it fast enough with out it heating up, and the last time we butchered, in May, the flies were SO bad. We are doing chickens tomorrow but we know we can get them inside no time flat and are not concerned. I realize we could wait for cooler weather, but really don't want to keep feeding them. We are still thinking it over, but I think we have decided this is the direction we will go.


Tiffany


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians said:


> I know it has been posted many times but I couldn't find it, there is a carcass picture of a 3 year old boer doe hanging and a 3 year old nubian doe hanging, the amount of meat on the nubian was obvious from her longer loin, her bigger brisket and her longer thighs...does anyone still have this photo..it originally was a set of 3 photos? Vicki



Well, if you took a very NOT Dairy Nubian and compared to a Dairy looking Boer (we had one that was a "runner" - no meat on her, but gorgeous kids) then Maybe. If you took one of my regular Boer goats and compared to your meaty Nubian, there would be no comparison - way too much meat and thickness and muscling on the Boer. And with high milk components on my Boers (butterfat and quantity) the 8 -10 week Boer kid is far superior to the diary kid, even if it is fed unlimited milk in a lambar.

Plus, Boer goat tastes ever so much better than Dairy goat. Kind of like comparing venison to Elk - there is no comparison! 

Camille


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Camille, it was actually a purebred Nubian doe from a well known herd who got into Boers  and a fullblood boer doe, both were 3, and both were very good specimens we were shocked she butchered for the photos 

All I have found so far was me telling folks to email me for the photos! All I do know for sure was this was before 2006. So this forum won't help either. DG+ only has reference to it. 

But yep get what you mean, and yep although we do have E's in dairy character it is scewed for the breed no matter what anyone says  Vicki


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

Well you would know if they are skewing for dairy character for the Nubians...maybe it is on a comparison basis to other Nubians? 

I do have to say that we were given a black Nubian doe with horns (totally clean from Barbara Garyalde's purebred herd, and she was a skinny dairy doe (and not much milk past 4 months either). We put her in with the Boer herd and she was treated as one - basically here because my DH wanted to see if he could get a blackheaded Boer X.

Well, we got a black headed doe and salt and pepper buck/wether. 
The first year the Boer X Nubian doe looked very dairy - all the way through kidding etc. The next year - WOW what a great big thick gorgoeus doe she was/is. She looks all Boer, but taller and very long. Throws fantastic kids too - her kids are snapped up by the 4-H kids as show prospects.

So there is definitely some meat back there with those Nubians!

Camille
P.S. We still like Boer X Saanen too. My Saanens have such long wide loins that when you put some meat on the frame you get a heck of a meat goat. And there is so much milk for the porky little kids. Plus Saanens (at least mine) love to nurse kids and will take just about any kid. But I could NEVER claim any meat on a 3 year old Saanen doe - just lots of bones!


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

So there is definitely some meat back there with those Nubians!
...........

Yep especially when mature.

I am just about 20 minutes from Ruthann Brucato's old place, now them were some big Saanens! Vicki


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## Filas are Prima (May 4, 2007)

Goat newbie here. I have 2, 5 month wethers who have now eaten more in feed than the meat they will make will be worth. I've put them 4 sale around the town bullitin boards, no calls, as we're not a "cabritos" eating region. If/when I can find some extra energy, or time, to the freezer they'll go, boned out, with the rest all going to the Filas, who will munch it all down in an hour or less.
Let me add these are Alpine/Toggenberg crosses.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Yep, when you ask dairies how much they are making off their wethers they grow out and sell to Mr. C on his easter trips, they never will tell you, because they don't. If you were to add the amount of milk they also drank/nursed to the grain bill, there is no money in selling wethers. Only if your milk is free, and in boers they don't take into account the dams care like we do in dairy either.

It's why calves and kids are killed at birth in alot of commercial places.

With most of our bucks going for breeding stock we don't have this problem anymore, but barf is a viable outlet for extra bucks. Ground meat and raw meaty bones, it's astounding how much folks are paying per pound for this. But with milk sales our kids cost us more than feeding the Ridgebacks chicken. 

But yes your scenerio is pretty typical, most don't keep track of costs, and have no idea how much that dozen eggs, that gallon of milk or that meat is costing. Vicki


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