Just followed you, hoping to learn more about goats. We are looking to add them to our homestead next year or the year after, i was thinking for clearing land not realy for meat production..... at what age would you recommend for butchering? We have a lot to learn, any information you can forward would be great!
RE: Goat roasts, it's what's for supper!
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Goat roasts, it's what's for supper!
Thanks for the follow!
Great question and I wish there was an easy answer to, "at what age would you recommend for butchering?". The quick answer is, it depends.
Let me explain. First, it's more of a weight instead of age. For instance, the ones pictured were an average of 61 lbs and 130 days old. For my family, we believe the best taste and texture of the meat comes with meat kids, between 60-65 lbs. Now, if you are selling to the market, it's important to know the market trends and what weight ranges the buyers are looking for at what time of the year. Some weights will bring the best prices depending on the season.
In my experience, those wanting goat kids for the Easter holiday, will prefer a 40-45lb kid so they may be roughly 65 to 70 days old. For our community that celebrates Cinco-de-Mayo, they are typically are looking for a 50-55lb kid, so at that point, closer to the 90 day old range. We have had a couple customers that have purchased from us that celebrate Eid al-Adha in the fall and they told me they prefer a 70-75 kid so that would put them at around 8 or 9 months old.
So really there is no right or wrong age to when to butcher. It really is just a preference. Hopefully this has helped answer your question though. One last thing to know, different goat breeds gain weight at different rates. We raise Kiko goats, so all the weight/age figures are based on weights that I'm familiar with off the farm.
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1st let me say Wow great response, most on Steemit will give a short response with out any detail. I have found that the Homesteading and Gardening groups are much better at providing detailed information, so thank you and keep up the good work!
You make a great point we use the same philosophy for our pigs, but age helps us plan, reserve butcher dates etc. Our goat sales would be primarily for the Spanish population around us. I was thinking I could use them for cleaning up overgrown areas of the farm, then finish them in the woods with some added feed. My wife was at a seminar and the gentleman stated that goats feed from the shoulder up, when they start eating off the ground is when you have health issues. I know I need to get some books and start reading before I get some, but any insight you could share would be great.
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Thank you for your kind words. I love to help folks the best I can.
To help with your planning to achieve the best weights for specific dates, google "sheep and goat ethnic calendar". There are several out there, I actually look at several and compare. The second thing to look for is trends at the sale barn you plan to take your butcher kids too. I'd recommend one that uses scales, sells per pound or CWT, and posts in the USDA market report. You can look at past reports to see what dates and weights typically bring the most return and back plan for birthing dates and conception dates.
Ok, back on track. Now that we can project when we want the kids to be born to achieve the best weight for the best prices. For instance, you would not have October born kids looking to sell at the Easter market, they would be way too big and any sales would actually bring you less per pound, sometimes significantly. I have found an early February kidding will hit the weights for most of the significant holidays and meet our freezer requirements as well.
Using them for over grown areas and woods would be good, be sure to look into what plants are poisonous to goats before releasing them into an area. Contrary to popular belief, they can't eat everything and some things can cause death. When doing your research, be sure to look into their digestive systems and understand how they work. They are little breweries, the rumen requires a very specific balance for the bacteria to operate correctly.
The gentleman your wife spoke to is partially correct. Goats like to forage more than they like to graze. Given the choice, they will eat shoulder height and work up by standing on their back legs and then down. In tall grasses, same thing, they will start at the shoulder. The health issues he was talking about in internal parasite load. As the goats walk around eating, they spread their pellets everywhere. Part of the life cycle of most worms, is they are shed from the host animal and then have to re-enter a host animal. By doing this, typically the larval stage of the worm can crawl up to 6-8 inches on blades of grass, more commonly when dew is present, and wait to be re-ingested to complete the life cycle. A worm overload can kill goats and some breeds are more susceptible to internal parasites than others. Boer goat cannot tolerate worms at all, whereas Kikos are known for their parasite resistance.
You are probably asking a this point, "Can't I buy a wormer and treat the goats?" Unfortunately, people over-used most brands and now worms are more resistant to what is on the market. A local county extension agent or small ruminant veterinarian can tell what wormers work in your area and which ones do not. There are also other bacteria problems from eating close to the ground, but internal parasites would be the #1 issue.
There are a ton of good books out there, there are also some that look like they might be good books but are targeting the pet community and would have bad info for meat type goats. Check out the authors and their credentials/qualifications before your purchase.
Sorry this has turned into a book. Hope you can glean something from it.
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Thanks for the response. As i was reading this I was thinking to myself you should write a book on the subject! I am going to print this out and keep it for reference & I am sure I will have more questions in the future....
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Anytime!
As I was reading through this, I was thinking it is a pretty interesting thread, although in the food section. I might just take our conversation and tweak it some so others may benefit as well.
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