# The best time to eat?



## christie (May 10, 2008)

I was wondering to those that would eat a goat...At what age is the best to slaughter. Where there size is worth the effort, =but also still good?

Also does anyone ever eat a buck?
I have a buckling that I was considering the freezer, and somone told me to wether him first. or the meat would be to strong

What about an older goat thats 6 yrs old will that meat be any good?
Can you still wether a 3/4 month old goat?
Okay I think thats all my questions.
Sorry to all the non- goat eatting people..


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## Briza (Aug 11, 2009)

We have used all ages for meat including a 5 year old mature buck. Some are more preferable than others but if you have the animal and don't want it....people think nothing of eating a full grown buck deer with huge antlers in fact they savor it.
One good trick a chef taught us for larger older animals was after the meat had been frozen (the formation of ice crystals ruptures cells and tenderizes) then store in the bottom of the refrigerator in a shallow dish lightly covered with paper towel after wiping the surface with vinegar for about a week. This will equal hanging in a cooler and the flavor and texture improve radically. It will become darker but this is not spoilage and you can wipe with vinegar or salt water or soy sauce to keep any bacteria at bay.
B~


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

christie said:


> I was wondering to those that would eat a goat...At what age is the best to slaughter. Where there size is worth the effort, =but also still good?
> 
> Also does anyone ever eat a buck?
> I have a buckling that I was considering the freezer, and somone told me to wether him first. or the meat would be to strong
> ...


Prime age to butcher - 6-8 months of age. Buckling does not ned to be castrated - you just want to butcher him before he goes into rut (before he starts peeing on himself).

Yes you can wether at 3 months IF you castrate with a blade - the longer you wait, the more traumatic it will be for the kid.

6 year old - I'd grind it all, perhaps put into sausage (makes great summer sausage.) I do believe an older goat is going to be a little stronger and certainly not as tender. 

Also, older does seem to be just fine - even into cuts - although we tend to keep the young stock for cuts and the older girls for ground (we use a lot of ground meat). There will be more fat on an older goat/doe - so more waste. Still, excellent eating!


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## christie (May 10, 2008)

Are they're certain parts that definitely have to be ground?

So you think older does still are good for eatting? I feel bad, but everyone that wants to buy her wants eat her, so we figured why not us. Its just hard after you name/ and have milked her.

How much meat should I expect from an 100lb dairy doe?
Is it worth bringing her to the butcher and have them process them? or not enough meat per cost?

How much does goat meat go for per lb


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

I raise NDs. Even those that mature quickly would not normally offer much meat at 6 months, especially the boys. Heck, I even have some that after a year wouldn't offer much meat. But of course that is because they are bred to be dairy and not meaty. We go by size & fill-out vs. age & strictly height/weight.

You can find out costs of processing & market prices for meat by calling your local processor and other goat owners. You'll probably find a big difference between what the processor will pay vs. what you can get in the open market. For instance, here it is about $0.80/lb live weight at the processor but the open market pays around $2.00/lb live weight. If you are in or near a big ag. district, there are even auctions/markets that track market price in your area. Try USDA.gov and also google.

I'm going through a difficult thing now in that I bought a market wether at the 4H livestock auction to support my friend's daughter. I paid $5.25/lb live weight (yes, way over market but for a good cause). The trouble is that he's clean-tested from a trusted herd so I could bring him home to process here instead of sending him to slaughter. I've known him since she picked him up at 1 day old to bottle feed from another clean-tested, trusted herd. I've watched him grow up this whole year. He's too darned sweet for me to eat now. *sigh* I will eventually have to do it, but oh dear, no more bidding on friends' bottle-baby project goats! Especially when the daughter only has one question when she finds out you're the winning bidder; "Are you gonna eat him?" :help:


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

christie said:


> Are they're certain parts that definitely have to be ground?
> 
> So you think older does still are good for eatting? I feel bad, but everyone that wants to buy her wants eat her, so we figured why not us. Its just hard after you name/ and have milked her.
> 
> ...


Oops! I was thinking in terms of Boer goats when answering your original question...

Yes, a dairy doe is still good eating (maybe some roasts and ground) but you won't get much meat (unless of course she isn't very dairy). Around here the butchers charge a flat $80.00/goat to kill, cut, and wrap - so you want a lot of meat to make it worth it.


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