# What do you do with your male Dairy Goats?



## Swissy Baroo (Jun 6, 2013)

I had just started reading a book, The Backyard Goat, when the author brought something to my attention that i did not think of. What to do with all the extra male goats? With half being all male and not being of much use beside breeding, what do you do? She said most people kill them at or shortly after birth, which seems terrible to do (emotionally). Which i would rather not do. Do you have trouble getting rid of your bucklings?


Maybe the possibility of getting a dual purpose breed?


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

Most dairy bucklings end up going for meat, just as most dairy bull calves do.

I've usually sold most of mine on the bottle as pet wethers, but this year, I just don't want to deal with people for a $25-50 kid. I know it sounds mean, but I really don't have a lot of time.

What I plan to do is pretty simple. Whichever bucklings are not pre-ordered this year, or that I don't plan to keep myself, I will take to the first salebarn date after they are born. Around here, there are a lot of (cow) dairies, and the majority of employees are hispanic. They pick up bottle kids from the salebarn to raise on dump milk from the dairy and then butcher them for meat.

If you like goat meat, you could keep the buck kids to raise for meat-if you have plenty of milk. Goat is quite tasty! We raised one and butchered it for a bbq this year, and everybody loved it.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Mine go to various ethnic groups for barbecue. $40 to $50 each, depending on size.


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

There are a few wethers used for other things as well. Companions for goats or other animals, brush clearers, pack goats, and cart pullers are a few things you can do besides eat them. There still are only so many needed for that stuff as well.


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## Swissy Baroo (Jun 6, 2013)

Okay- from the book they said they would not get to slaughter weight. I'll probably try to go that route! Thank you, i guess i can always *try* goat meat. But heard lots of people are actually eating that meat anyways.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

We eat them. Love it ground like hamburger.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I sell dairy wethers for 25.00 each on the bottle, first come first serve. Some go for pets, some for for meat -I don't really care which.  

You can raise them out pretty cheaply for yourself - they make slaughter weight just slightly slower than my boer kids - and by slaughter weight I mean ideal auction weigh (40-60lbs live) Since I pull all the dairy kids on teh bottle, though, It's just easier for me to sell them so I have less work to do and less milk goes to the kids. Plus I have to vaccinate, deworm, do cocci prevention on a bunch of wethers I don't plan on keeping. It's a time and money saver if someone else does it.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I sell a few every year to folks that want a buck for their breeding program but the majority of them I raise for 3 months and then sell to folks who want meat in their freezer. I don't name them, don't get too involved with them.....it makes it easier for me to sell them.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

Saanen buck kids are often at slaughter weight by weaning or shortly thereafter.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

better to cut all bucklings not destined to become registered herd sires for you or someone else, or at the very least butchered at an early age if your not going to use them for breeding later or know someone reliable that will, 

young bucklings and weathers are great to fill the freezer regardless of breed, there are only so many Pack goats and Companion weathers and breeding bucks that can be accommodated by anyone keeping goats, better to put the rest in the freezer for your own comsumption, sell to a meat market, or use for RAW diet for your farm dogs, its a more fitting and humane end than what ends up happening to so many intact bucks at the sale barn when people are too "kind hearted" to do what needs doing,


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## punchiepal (Oct 11, 2008)

We put them in the freezer at a young age. We don't like to sell pets too often. Companions for bucks can be another story. Realistically, from what I have read and experiences so far, if the best of the best are selected for herd sires, not that many should be left intact. Best to have a plan before breeding. Births are not always 50/50. LOL For the last few years my doe % has been very high, this year we had something like 17-20 boys and only 5 girls. The "veal goats" as we call them are nearly gone and the freezer has room for fall culls.


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

"Veal goats" LOL, I like that! I raised a mini buckling this year for meat that was 60+ lbs at I think it was 4 months old. I put him on a first freshening doe to nurse. She milked nearly a gallon at peak, of 5% butterfat milk, so thinkin' that's why he grew so fast.


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## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

We eat them.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

Good, well handled goat meat tastes good, well handled venison. Something you may want to consider is that your emotional attachment to your stock is going to have to have limits or you may end up "goat poor". Give them a good life and then eat them. If you can't, then sell them for meat. Otherwise you'll end up over run with useless stock.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

I eat them, starting at 2 months old, and starting with bucklings that have sisters or are triplets.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

I want to know who kills them (I am ok with butchering and eating but we dont own guns, not sure what to do about killing, which emotionally is the hard part-- for me anyways)...
We are def meat eaters and with 300lbs of dog to feed and 3 cats, nothing will be going to waste (and I love young kid, it is just delicious)...


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too. 

Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method. 

I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Bret4207 said:


> Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too.
> 
> Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method.
> 
> I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.


I agree. However, It's very hard or near impossible to find a 22 for $50. I'll buy everyone I can get my hands on for that price. Cheap throw away foreign made pistols sell for $100 or more. Gun prices have gone through the roof.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Our whethers typically went to the local ethnic folks for meat. They were actually more valuable sold for cash than in the freezer (sheep herd whethers filled the freezer).

Come first frost anybody still hanging around went to the sale barn.

Occasionally if the buckling was an outstanding specimen, and I mean ohmyheavenshestoobeautifultoeat, I would market him as a breeding buck. But in 25 years of raising goats, I've only done that twice.

As for killing them, I always preferred to slit the throat and kept my goats well enough socialized that handling them to do so was no trouble.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Bret4207 said:


> Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too.
> 
> Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method.
> 
> I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.


To be honest I am scared of guns. We also have a 10 yr old who is into everything (she was trying to drive the other day). Not sure if we trust ourselves with one, and arent they expensive? Like several hundred dollars and the liscencing and permits? (We are in California, seems like everything is expensive here)....
Like the idea of finding a local person to butcher though... Or a knife... If I was hungry enough I could do it (I do fish, and killing them aint easy either but I do it)....

PS $50 really? Hmmmm...Still sorta nervous about the whole gun concept. If that bear does come around then we will see....


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

If you have guns, you absolutely must teach your children about gun safety. It is just part of it.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

Doug Hodges said:


> I agree. However, It's very hard or near impossible to find a 22 for $50. I'll buy everyone I can get my hands on for that price. Cheap throw away foreign made pistols sell for $100 or more. Gun prices have gone through the roof.


 I was thinking more along the lines of the ancient, rusty H+R single shot or Marlin 60 that you find at garage sales and flea markets. (Actually, come to think on it, you can't even buy one of those without a background check in my state anymore!!!) Not a pistol or revolver. Even at my local gun shop you can still get a serviceable 22 rifle for about that. It won't be pretty, much less new, but it'll shoot.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

CAjerseychick said:


> To be honest I am scared of guns. We also have a 10 yr old who is into everything (she was trying to drive the other day). Not sure if we trust ourselves with one, and arent they expensive? Like several hundred dollars and the liscencing and permits? (We are in California, seems like everything is expensive here)....
> Like the idea of finding a local person to butcher though... Or a knife... If I was hungry enough I could do it (I do fish, and killing them aint easy either but I do it)....
> 
> PS $50 really? Hmmmm...Still sorta nervous about the whole gun concept. If that bear does come around then we will see....


 You've said something like that before I think. I don't get it myself. It's a tool, no more, no less. No more or less dangerous than your car, your lawn mower or a bathtub full of water. To me, not having a mess of guns around would be abnormal. I'm a lot more concerned with my kids playing in the pool or messing with the horses or around the bucks and rams than I am of them around guns. But then, they've always know where and what they are and that The Mother of All Cans of Whoop you-know-what will be opened if they even touch a gun without permission, along with a whole lot of other stuff they know not to touch.

I have friends in Ca and while I understand things are even worse there than here in NY, I'm pretty certain a 22 rifle could be obtained and legally owned for not a whole big bunch of money. You don't need a $2K Cooper, a plain old run of the mill Marlin or Savage will do just fine. Gun safety courses seem to be available across the nation these days. If it's nothing you want to try fine, but living with an irrational fear of an inanimate object just wouldn't sit well with me. 

BTW- I gave first aid once to a guy that thought he would finish off a car struck deer with a knife. He didn't. Just sayin'...

ETA- If bears are a real concern then you need to go larger than a 22. My grandmother used a broom to **** them off the porch, so it depends on who you are and where I guess.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

Who kills them?? I do. When I kill them, I know for a fact that they haven't suffered and the level of fear they've suffered has been minimal, since they haven't had to travel. 

The trick is not to look at meat kids, not to play with them, not to pet them or make them tame. Let them nurse on their dams, don't bottle feed them, wether them or disbud them. When these wild, nearly worthless bucklings are competing with doelings you want to raise as replacement does, and are going to breed those doelings as soon as they hit puberty...it becomes easier to butcher them. 

I'm not going to say it's easy to shoot them. It's not, and killing shouldn't be easy or nonchalant. On the other hand, it goes quickly. You put down a pan of grain, let the buckling eat it, place the end of the barrel of the .22 at the back of his head between his ears, and pull the trigger. Then you use a razor sharp knife to cut the arteries and veins in the neck so he'll bleed out, cover his head with a plastic grocery bag so you don't have to look at his dead eyes and face, and take a minute to get over the fact that you just killed something, while he bleeds out. After that, it's fairly straightforward to dress them out, and you know that your meat lived and died well and that your buckling died here, easily, rather than living out some horrible life on a dog chain, wasting away in lonlieness, maybe starving on someone's junk lot. 

I'll never forget the time I took a bunch of kids to the auction, and had some teenagers exclaim happily over buying the doelings, which would have grown up to be decent family milkers, as practice animals for goat roping. They were going to be chased by a horse and rider, roped, slammed to the ground and tied, over and over and over again, by children....before succumbing to god knows what other kind of fate. :-( That was the end of my taking them to the auction or selling goats as pets.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

chamoisee said:


> Who kills them?? I do. When I kill them, I know for a fact that they haven't suffered and the level of fear they've suffered has been minimal, since they haven't had to travel.
> 
> The trick is not to look at meat kids, not to play with them, not to pet them or make them tame. Let them nurse on their dams, don't bottle feed them, wether them or disbud them. When these wild, nearly worthless bucklings are competing with doelings you want to raise as replacement does, and are going to breed those doelings as soon as they hit puberty...it becomes easier to butcher them.
> 
> ...


what you say really resonates. I hope when the time comes, I will able to offer them a good death (or maybe to the right person, a good life).


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

chamoisee said:


> I'll never forget the time I took a bunch of kids to the auction, and had some teenagers exclaim happily over buying the doelings, which would have grown up to be decent family milkers, as practice animals for goat roping. They were going to be chased by a horse and rider, roped, slammed to the ground and tied, over and over and over again, by children....before succumbing to god knows what other kind of fate. :-( That was the end of my taking them to the auction or selling goats as pets.


It's not goat roping, it's goat tying.
There is nary a rope in sight.
Most folks who rodeo see the animals as an investment and treat them well.
The goats also typically do double duty as pets or companion animals for the horses.
They are usually used one season and butchered just like all the other butcher goats mentioned above.
Just because it's not *your* desired use for a goat doesn't make it a less valid use.

I'm not saying you're not entitled to your opinion or that you have to cast your goats to the wind like so much chafe, but have your facts straight and don't disparage something just because it's not your way of doing things.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Well maybe there is hope for me... just found out that the neighbors who moved in across the street over the weekend.... used to Hunt (hubby still has a gun somewhere and wife wants him to get her a deer) maybe I can trade one butcher kid for him doing the deed for me on a set (this is future talk).... and he can even show me how to dress them(I looked at this Sticky already)....
I am def going to get creative on this and willing to do so....


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

I am a woose...I am a great caretaker/fixer. It broke my heart when a 5 week old kitten got its throat ripped out by a tom cat and it gasped its last breaths in my hands...
I will take any excess boys to my nearby processor when I actually have excess..and then I will have nicely packaged food. As far as the processor and how he disposes can't be to much harder then me trying to wrestle a wild goat so I can slit its throat, yaya I still haven't got a gun I know, so far for what I have needed my sling shot works well.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

cfuhrer said:


> It's not goat roping, it's goat tying.
> There is nary a rope in sight.
> Most folks who rodeo see the animals as an investment and treat them well.
> The goats also typically do double duty as pets or companion animals for the horses.
> ...


There is also goat roping, but you're right, the vision I had of goat tying certainly wasn't of a goat tied up already, helplessly. I thought that the goat actually got a chance to run away. :-( And goat ROPING was what these people called it, but whatever. If it's anything like this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BflBTnPbVZQ, there is no way I'd wish that on any goat of mine, over and over and over again, day in and day out, until the wanna be cowboy/girl learned their "sport". 

I didn't breed refined dairy goats using the best bloodlines in the country, including A.I., so that some yahoo's kid could slam them to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I'll eat them long before consigning any of them to that fate.


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Looks like the goats were winning


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

chamoisee said:


> I didn't breed refined dairy goats using the best bloodlines in the country, including A.I., so that some yahoo's kid could slam them to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I'll eat them long before consigning
> any of them to that fate.


I agree if you are putting that much time, energy and expense into a breeding program you are not breeding sport goats or packing goats or even pets.

Then why take them to the sale barn? When a seller turns an animal in at the reception gate the seller relenquishes all rights to decide the animals fate.

That's like selling a baseball card on ebay and then complaining because the buyer chose to pack it away in a cardboard box in the attic.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

There is goat roping that is like calf roping.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/jun/16/fans-gear-up-for-goat-roping/?print=1


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

CAjerseychick said:


> Well maybe there is hope for me... just found out that the neighbors who moved in across the street over the weekend.... used to Hunt (hubby still has a gun somewhere and wife wants him to get her a deer) maybe I can trade one butcher kid for him doing the deed for me on a set (this is future talk).... and he can even show me how to dress them(I looked at this Sticky already)....
> I am def going to get creative on this and willing to do so....


Good old fashioned bartering!
Always a solid idea.


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

Sorry this thread is wondering so much, but I really don't see much problem with this goat tieing thing. The goats don't seem terribly stressed really. I have knocked goats from their feet before for trying to be higher on the totem pole than me.  My mini alpine buck, Memphis, tries to bust through the gate ALL the time, sometimes about running me over. So, I just grab his opposite legs, knock him down, and sit on his neck. He is generally a little better after that.


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## crazytenn (Aug 25, 2013)

Goat meat tastes great. It is a cross in flavor between beef, venison, and mutton. When it is ground up like hamburger you will not likely know the difference by flavor alone. When you get a buckling born that you don't want or need to keep, castrate it by either banding or cutting the testicles off. Most people band, which is what I've seen my dad do and am the most comfortable with. When the castrated buckling (now called a whether) is about 6-8 months old he will be quite large and big enough to slaughter, which is quite easy to do at home. 

If you can kill and harvest a deer, a goat is exactly the same thing. The way I did it was to separate the animal the day before slaughter and withhold feed; water only. Tie the animal to a tree or post, hit it on the top of the head with a sledge hammer. This stuns the animal. Then slit its neck from under the jaw at the back and toward the throat, exposing the jugular vein and carotid artery. The animal bleeds out while unconscious. This method is as old as Adam and Eve, painless for the animal, and is safer and more humane than shooting them. This is the way that I kill everything except poultry. Poultry gets put in a cone and the neck is cut for the bleeding. 


Breed the best and eat the rest. 







Swissy Baroo said:


> I had just started reading a book, The Backyard Goat, when the author brought something to my attention that i did not think of. What to do with all the extra male goats? With half being all male and not being of much use beside breeding, what do you do? She said most people kill them at or shortly after birth, which seems terrible to do (emotionally). Which i would rather not do. Do you have trouble getting rid of your bucklings?
> 
> 
> Maybe the possibility of getting a dual purpose breed?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you butcher before they are mature, no need to wether them.


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## crazytenn (Aug 25, 2013)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> If you butcher before they are mature, no need to wether them.


Yeah bu that's like throwing meat away :trollface


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Of those who butcher, has anyone worked through the process of using the stomach to make rennet for cheesemaking?


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

cfuhrer said:


> Of those who butcher, has anyone worked through the process of using the stomach to make rennet for cheesemaking?


 Try this link: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Rennet/rennet_preparation.html


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

chamoisee said:


> Who kills them?? I do. When I kill them, I know for a fact that they haven't suffered and the level of fear they've suffered has been minimal, since they haven't had to travel.
> 
> The trick is not to look at meat kids, not to play with them, not to pet them or make them tame. Let them nurse on their dams, don't bottle feed them, wether them or disbud them. When these wild, nearly worthless bucklings are competing with doelings you want to raise as replacement does, and are going to breed those doelings as soon as they hit puberty...it becomes easier to butcher them.
> 
> ...


 What she said. Every bit, including placement of the muzzle. My kids are tame. I take them aside from the other goats, put a pan of grain on the ground, and while they're scarfing happily, shoot them in the right spot so that they instantly lose consciousness. Then I cut their throat. Then, sometimes, I go cry for a minute. Then come back and butcher them out. It's unpleasant, but if I'm going to eat an animal, I want it to live as well and die as well as I can possibly manage. This rules out a stressful ride to the processor, and whatever the processor sees fit to inflict. I figure the pain is part of my end of the deal with the animal - I give it a good, happy life and a stress-free end, and it gives me the time it might otherwise have had on earth.



chamoisee said:


> There is also goat roping, but you're right, the vision I had of goat tying certainly wasn't of a goat tied up already, helplessly. I thought that the goat actually got a chance to run away. :-( And goat ROPING was what these people called it, but whatever. If it's anything like this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BflBTnPbVZQ, there is no way I'd wish that on any goat of mine, over and over and over again, day in and day out, until the wanna be cowboy/girl learned their "sport".
> 
> I didn't breed refined dairy goats using the best bloodlines in the country, including A.I., so that some yahoo's kid could slam them to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I'll eat them long before consigning any of them to that fate.


 I took a buck to the auction once, and stayed to watch what happened. I told the auction folks that the buck would walk willingly on a lead, was from a clean herd with good bloodlines, etc., etc. They were mean to him, and I will NEVER take another animal to auction, EVER. If there's no other option, I will dig a hole in my yard first and put the animal in it. Also, no animal sold for meat will leave here alive. I want to make sure the killing goes well, so I will do it myself. Unpleasant, yes, but that's part of the cost for the pleasure of raising animals. It's my responsibility.


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## The Tin Mom (Dec 30, 2008)

Never heard of goat tying... But heard of goat roping YEARS ago... May depend on where you live...


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## gila_dog (Jun 17, 2011)

Here's what happened to the 3 bucklings that I bought from a dairy.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Lucky, lucky boys!


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

I'm with Laura. We had our first goat butchered on the premises last Spring. We hired a mobile butcher with whom I was very specific about how I wanted the dispatching to go - even though it wasn't their preferred method. They did a beautiful job though, and I was pleased with my decisions to skip a terrifying ride to the Halal butcher who would not have been able to dispatch with a pistol. 
The way it went for our boy was much as Laura described. Here one moment, lights out the next. It gave us confidence to move forward with our meat goat plans, even though we're not knowledgeable enough (yet) to do it on our own.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

LFRJ said:


> I'm with Laura. We had our first goat butchered on the premises last Spring. We hired a mobile butcher with whom I was very specific about how I wanted the dispatching to go - even though it wasn't their preferred method. They did a beautiful job though, and I was pleased with my decisions to skip a terrifying ride to the Halal butcher who would not have been able to dispatch with a pistol.
> The way it went for our boy was much as Laura described. Here one moment, lights out the next. It gave us confidence to move forward with our meat goat plans, even though we're not knowledgeable enough (yet) to do it on our own.


Just curious how much did they charge to come do your boy ( and what specifically did they do-- ie what cuts did they butcher into?
Just trying to get an idea of what we would be looking into , if next summer we end up with 4 or 5 bucklings....


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

crazytenn said:


> Yeah bu that's like throwing meat away :trollface


Why? It tastes fine, as long as you kill them before they're old enough to go into rut.


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## crazytenn (Aug 25, 2013)

chamoisee said:


> Why? It tastes fine, as long as you kill them before they're old enough to go into rut.


I say that because if I did it that way I would be slaghtering before they started to really put on some significant muscle weight. Castrating allows them to grow to full size before slaughter which will yield a larger amount of meat. Slaughtering them when they're still little negates the extra muscle growth which is in a way like preemptively throwing away good goat burger : )


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## dozedotz (Dec 12, 2012)

We either shoot them as per Emily's description and use the meat ourselves or for the dogs or we sell them as breeding bucks. Much prefer to do it ourselves than to send our babies off to the sale barn. We are a small herd homestead and do not show. Our goats are all tested and healthy from excellent backgrounds (both show and milk). Still, we personally do not have a "breeder's name" built from long years in the business or show wins. Most people buying bucks want one of the two or both! So, we advertise the really good looking boys for $100. w/papers and $75. without at about 3 months of age and they do sell (Missouri). Many people have said that we are selling them too cheaply to people who "you don't know what they might do." Thus far they have been proven wrong and our buyers of our "cheap" bucks have been faithfully letting us know how the boys are doing and are very proud to have the genetics in their herds. We are happy knowing that the boys have a chance to live and breed. The other bucklings that are not so fine are raised with love and caring and never mistreated...as Emily says, they are happy right up to the end and never see it coming. They did not have to travel and be frightened or suffer being "shown" at the sale barn.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

crazytenn said:


> I say that because if I did it that way I would be slaghtering before they started to really put on some significant muscle weight. Castrating allows them to grow to full size before slaughter which will yield a larger amount of meat. Slaughtering them when they're still little negates the extra muscle growth which is in a way like preemptively throwing away good goat burger : )


Oh. But then, they are competing with their sisters for milk, and I want their sisters to breed their first fall, to save on feed. Doelings need to grow, bucklings/wethers, sadly, are not only disposable but also a threat to future milkers


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

CAjerseychick said:


> Just curious how much did they charge to come do your boy ( and what specifically did they do-- ie what cuts did they butcher into?
> Just trying to get an idea of what we would be looking into , if next summer we end up with 4 or 5 bucklings....


Sorry, didn't catch your inquiry earlier. The mobile we selected charges $34 for slaughter and $40 to cut and wrap. (Ofal is up to the owner to dispose of). Our boy's hanging weight was 36lbs (I'm including the entrails here). Not sure if that's a terrific deal - but for the peace of mind and professional job (including the packaging) it was a deal for us. 

Dispatching instructions were to take the buckling out of immediate sight of the other goats and to dispatch with a gun before moving to the throat. The team moved so smoothly and quickly that this part of the process took maybe 15 seconds. (That we should go so quickly!) The buckling was able to get a couple of distress calls out, but nothing that disturbed the rest of the herd greatly.

We asked for whatever standard cuts they'd supply if for a say a lamb, so we got shoulder roats, ribs, leg roasts, and some ground. We also were provided the kidney, liver and heart on-site as well as the testicle. (still in the freeze).

A bit more detail at this post
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/goats/488131-well-easy.html


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

LFRJ said:


> Sorry, didn't catch your inquiry earlier. The mobile we selected charges $34 for slaughter and $40 to cut and wrap. (Ofal is up to the owner to dispose of). Our boy's hanging weight was 36lbs (I'm including the entrails here). Not sure if that's a terrific deal - but for the peace of mind and professional job (including the packaging) it was a deal for us.
> 
> Dispatching instructions were to take the buckling out of immediate sight of the other goats and to dispatch with a gun before moving to the throat. The team moved so smoothly and quickly that this part of the process took maybe 15 seconds. (That we should go so quickly!) The buckling was able to get a couple of distress calls out, but nothing that disturbed the rest of the herd greatly.
> 
> ...



Ok that seems reasonable about a dollar a pound, (still want to try the barter with the neighbor for slaughter) I do appreciate the reply though....


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

CAjerseychick said:


> Ok that seems reasonable about a dollar a pound, (still want to try the barter with the neighbor for slaughter) I do appreciate the reply though....


My math puts it closer to $2 per pound, with $74 to process 36lb hanging weight.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Laura Workman said:


> My math puts it closer to $2 per pound, with $74 to process 36lb hanging weight.


... and a bit more than that per lb if you were to calculate feed - which wasn't huge since he was just over a year and raised on browse supplemented with some hay. 

We bought him as a stud having no buck of our own at the time. He was something of a bargain in himself, given he wasn't the best of the lot - but despite his young age (I think he was 4 - 6 months during breeding season) - he got the job done, sired 8 offspring AND stocked the freezer a little.... so if you calculated all costs weighed against what it would have cost to have each doe boarded and serviced separately, I'd say we came out okay.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Oh, no, I was just talking about processing cost being $2 per pound hanging weight.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Laura Workman said:


> My math puts it closer to $2 per pound, with $74 to process 36lb hanging weight.


I was just wanting to have slaughter done, processing I do not mind figuring it out myself (we have 300 lbs of dogs to feed and a bunch of cats besides the meat loving humans, nothing is going to go to waste)...
Does make me think though, maybe some one wont want to come and just slaughter goats? I will make sure and be clear and ask in advance....


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Does 'hanging weight' usually include entrails?


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

I can clean and debone a deer and have it on ice in under 30 minutes. Or have one quartered and on ice in 15. However, I've been doing several every year for 35 years. The cleaning won't be hard for me. Killing the pet will be the hard part. 


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

aart said:


> Does 'hanging weight' usually include entrails?


This may differ by region or processor but in our neck of the woods hanging weight is measured between slaughtering and butchering, thus the animal is devoid of entrails, head, hooves and hide. Hanging weight is just meat, bone, fat and sinew.


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## dozedotz (Dec 12, 2012)

Doug, Our first bucklings (2) we had Emily help. It was very worrisome leading up to the event. Once the little guys were put down it was fine. It was quick and they did not suffer at all. I had to make myself stay to watch...wanted to just let Emily and Mac handle it...like a standard sissy! Anyway, I talked myself into it and am glad I did. Since then it is less stressing due to the fact that I now know that in addition to it being necessary and providing needed meat (no waste), it is also comfortable and calm and non threatening to them. They do not have to "go some where else" and be frightened before they die...and I do sincerely believe that the lead up is the worst part...for them and us. You being there and taking care of things is the best way.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Doug Hodges said:


> I can clean and debone a deer and have it on ice in under 30 minutes. Or have one quartered and on ice in 15. However, I've been doing several every year for 35 years. The cleaning won't be hard for me. Killing the pet will be the hard part.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


Wow! Can you take a video for us, PLEEEEEZE??? I'd really be interested in any tips I could get from it. I've done a few, but it takes me hours rather than minutes.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

CAjerseychick said:


> I was just wanting to have slaughter done, processing I do not mind figuring it out myself (we have 300 lbs of dogs to feed and a bunch of cats besides the meat loving humans, nothing is going to go to waste)...
> Does make me think though, maybe some one wont want to come and just slaughter goats? I will make sure and be clear and ask in advance....


What is it about the slaughter that worries you, apart from the grief? (I frequently kill, cut throat, go off and cry, then come back and skin, etc.) Perhaps we can help you out. Once you know how to do it, it's much better for the animal and much cheaper and more convenient for you.


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Laura Workman said:


> Wow! Can you take a video for us, PLEEEEEZE??? I'd really be interested in any tips I could get from it. I've done a few, but it takes me hours rather than minutes.



Usually I clean them after dark so I do it mostly by feel with a big light behind me. If I get a chance during the daytime, I'll get my son or daughter to film it. It's real easy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Laura Workman said:


> What is it about the slaughter that worries you, apart from the grief? (I frequently kill, cut throat, go off and cry, then come back and skin, etc.) Perhaps we can help you out. Once you know how to do it, it's much better for the animal and much cheaper and more convenient for you.


I had a discussion on another Forum, about a different Topic, and it made me realize that it was the way I was brought up, in the religious tradition I was raised, and you know even though I am not religious in that tradition anymore, I realize now that it really affected me -- when you are brought up that, essentially, killing is wrong, you have to do what you have to do to keep yourself alive.... but essentially killing is wrong.
My dad even gave up hunting (something he did his whole life on a cattle farm in South Dakota) when us kids were born....
(He lives in Florida, has really frail health, and comes out once a year so he is not really a viable resource for things like killing and shooting)...
So essentially it is a really difficult concept for me.

Also I would be doing it alone. No one in my family will help me....
(Totally ironic as none of us are vegetarian, and we go through ALOT of meat..)....

Its to the point where I am thinking about wethering the Buckling we are getting after one round of breeding next spring, if we cannot realistically cull any of our animals.....


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Oh, and I will definitely be crying.... I know its the cycle of life n all, and I have killed things before, but....
goats are so sentinent, and raising them from kids... its just going to be hard....


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## Sam Burton (Sep 17, 2013)

chamoisee said:


> Who kills them?? I do. When I kill them, I know for a fact that they haven't suffered and the level of fear they've suffered has been minimal, since they haven't had to travel.
> 
> The trick is not to look at meat kids, not to play with them, not to pet them or make them tame. Let them nurse on their dams, don't bottle feed them, wether them or disbud them. When these wild, nearly worthless bucklings are competing with doelings you want to raise as replacement does, and are going to breed those doelings as soon as they hit puberty...it becomes easier to butcher them.
> 
> ...


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Back to method, no gun. We have a sledgehammer but I would have to find somebody (we are new to the area, and our friendliest neighbor is in his 80's) to do the hammering.

Besides the killing thing.

And yes I would practically give away our bucklings to a good home (although we need the meat)-- that how we ended up with a free wether when we went to look at a dairy goat, the owner did a quick assessment and we ended up with 3 goats instead of 1 (she also threw in a doeling with 2 little extra wart teats that wont interfere with milking).....


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

aart said:


> Does 'hanging weight' usually include entrails?


No, I'm pretty sure hanging weight does not include this. (I included it to offer a sort of 'grand total' - sorry if I was confusing) 

To CA chick, our mobile butcher would come and slaughter only. THe wrap is an option. I would actually recommend that you have it done for you the first time if you're skittish. It took us a long time to get comfortable with slaughtering ourselves (though I'm not sure 'comfortable' is the right word'). 

Since neither of us hunter, or had anyone show us how to butcher we started with a book, and got the hang of it with chickens, moved on to rabbits, etc. We still haven't done our own goat, but we don't have ideal space for this either. 

Also, you should consider if you have enough cold space to hang/age the meat. Our butcher hangs for 5 - 7 days or so.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

LFRJ
thanks for the info and the suggestion (it might be good to have someone model it for us first time), also how cold does the hanging space have to be-- our concrete lined basement keeps in the 60's (prolly colder nowadays as its in the 50s at night outside ) all yr long.... colder than that? Its big enough for several animals....

Or do you just wait til it gets to be colder - late late Fall and then butcher knowing its going to stay cold outside to keep the animal while its hanging (and temp drops in the basement)....

I did forget about meat storage. I guess that is why it is best to learn the skill and butcher one goat at a time and keep it on the hoof as needed....


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

CAjerseychick said:


> LFRJ
> thanks for the info and the suggestion (it might be good to have someone model it for us first time), also how cold does the hanging space have to be-- our concrete lined basement keeps in the 60's (prolly colder nowadays as its in the 50s at night outside ) all yr long.... colder than that? Its big enough for several animals....
> 
> Or do you just wait til it gets to be colder - late late Fall and then butcher knowing its going to stay cold outside to keep the animal while its hanging (and temp drops in the basement)....
> ...


You want the meat to stay around 38 degrees while it's resting. Goats don't need to hang long - three days should do it. You can quarter it and put it in your fridge if you can work out the space in the fridge. I bought one of those little Redi-Whip commercial top-load fridges off Craigslist for $75. I only plug it in when I butcher. Nice metal interior, good stable temperature, and a plug so it's easy to wash out afterward. It easily hold quarters and organ meats from a 150 lb sheep. I imagine a small chest freezer could be adjusted to keep the right temperature as well, and they're pretty cheap used.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

xThere is a sticky at the top of this forum entitle Home butchering. It has pictures and might be a helpful primer. Another forum member also sent me a series of emails detailing the process. PM me and I'll share. 

Rant forward:









Butchering is not rocket science, but a goat is still a bit beyond my skill level at present. (I could get past the dispatching okay), but the process does require some good knives which I don't have the skill with quite yet, and a bone saw to cut through the bones. I also don't have the skill of knowing how to cut for certain roasts, rib racks, etc. Wrapping for the freezer to avoid freezer burn, is also a technique. I rely on my vacume packer for our chickens and rabbit meat, but that plastic is expensive! We try to re-use it as much as possible. 

None of the above is essential. If I were starving, or desperate I'm sure I could manage a goat, no problem. It's just that there are so many little tips and techniques that make it go much more smoothly. I lament that there is no technical college offering a class on this, no workshop being advertised on craig's list, the extension center offers nothing. It's becoming a bit of a lost art, sadly.

We started out like you - knowing nothing. I got a book and read up on how to butcher a chicken. My first rooster was done page by page. NOt sure if the book or the rooster fared worse, but I managed. Still, I was scared to death I'd done something wrong.

I called up and down the coast to find someone who would help teach us. The farmers in the area were too busy (or took to commercial processors). The processors didn't have time or license to teach, and wouldn't take our waterfowl. We're talking GEESE here, not goats!. After much harassing, one of the commercial chicken processors (two counties away), had an old man working for them as a driver who agreed to come to our house and show us how to butcher a goose. Sure enough, my water wasn't hot enough - (making it difficult to pluck & causing the carcass to hang longer than ideal). He also showed me tricks about getting around the crop. He only asked $10. We gave him $65. 

Much of what i learned was from the kind folks right here on this forum, but I do shake my head when I think about how hard it is to gain practical skill (like how to butcher a common farm animal) which only a generation ago was common knowledge. 

My father (in heaven now), lost his farm in the 50's. Along with that loss was the transfer of knowledge about how to butcher hogs, goats and chickens. (I grew up in the city and returned to farm life at middle age). I bet he laughed his head off up in the clouds, amused over watching me juggle a book, a knife, one angry kicking rooster and a pot of hot water :catfight:....but I managed. 

However you decide to go about it, You will too


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

LFRJ said:


> xThere is a sticky at the top of this forum entitle Home butchering. It has pictures and might be a helpful primer. Another forum member also sent me a series of emails detailing the process. PM me and I'll share.
> 
> Rant forward:
> 
> ...


Thanx for the encouragement....
I will look for a local person ...but..... I still work in SF 2 days aweek.... and there is new trend-- yes you guessed it, whole animal butchering and their is alittle boutique place a few blocks from my apartment in SF that does butchering workshops (yes only in SF, I think we have all been watching alot of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmnerman-sp?) including hog and sheep- which I am thinking has got to be similar to goat( maybe if I can supply the goat I could get a free class in? And have them do one for me to take home?)....
Hmmmm..
At any rate the Butcher book they produce looks pretty nice too: 
Whole Beast Butchery, the complete visual guide to Whole Pig, Lamb, and Beef. by Ryan Farr......


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

The internet is your friend! Here are some of the best webpages and videos I've found on processing goats at home. They are about deer, but the two are very similar, and the actual goat videos I've found have not been nearly so good.

http://www.vdpam.iastate.edu/HumaneEuthanasia/anat.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewCVFkkyQC4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZn3pjh4Ql4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tudPGNL9LK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j1rsP0VRfw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODKNpzBe1e4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJDTvxS-4-I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_OLfeEEMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STh5Hwb95b0

And for an extra bonus, here's a video that at about 2:00 in the film, shows in detail how real, live butchers tie a butcher's knot when doing a rolled roast. It's almost instantaneous!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a39xgF2G6U4[/ame]

As for wrapping, I like to use the large spool of plastic wrap from Costco. It's big enough to do most cuts. You just wrap up the meat, making sure all the air pockets are squeezed out and the plastic contacts the meat at all points. Then write the cut and the date on the package with a sharpie. Then wrap it again. Large pieces (a 10-pound ham, for example) will probably need another wrap or two to get them thoroughly sealed. I turn a baking sheet upside down over a stove unit turned on briefly to warm the sheet, and use the mild heat to seal the plastic wrap. 

The object is to be able to defrost the meat with NO leakage. That way, you know no air is getting in to cause freezerburn. I've used meat wrapped like this after it was in my deep freeze for over 2 years, and there's no appreciable deterioration in quality.


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

Also, you should have a gun on the place, for emergencies and slaughter. Nothing kills quicker or more cleanly. I use a small .38 revolver (Charter Arms) because it fits my hand, and it's simple and pretty much foolproof. .38 because it's big enough but not too big. Revolver because I'm touching, or nearly touching, the barrel to the animal's head, and the extra size of a rifle would really be awkward. I don't use an automatic because there are too many moving parts, and the very last thing I want at the critical moment is a jam. I know professional butchers use a rifle, but I've had very good results with my little revolver.


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