I've been researching the possibility of owning a few fiber goats. I like the idea of a smaller goat like the Pygora goat. They are a cross between a Pygmy and an Angora. Wondering if anyone here raises them, your experiences you could share and the pros and cons of owning a fiber goat. Thank-you
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Traci, you bring up a very good point. I have never eaten a goat, but have eaten lamb. We have raised as mentioned in my previous post, beef and rabbit and of course chickens. At this point in time I cant bring myself to eat my own goats, when the other livestock is available. These little mini goats are pretty special to me, they are my "kids" too, and I spend time with them daily. I do get attached to them, hate to see the babies sell, but know I can not keep a large herd with our limited resources.
I do know from the farm standpoint, to make a living at raising livestock for meat, you do give them good feed and care, but you have to detach yourself somewhat emotionally from them. We have a lady that we know, her and her husband raise market lambs, several head every year. She said when they are born you have to have the mindset that they are going to market and they don't touch them much or cuddle them. Otherwise if they did, they would become too attached and it would be harder to let them go.
I'm a curious mind I guess, like to learn from others on how they do things, cook things, make things, etc. But can't bring myself to eat my own. Someone else's, goat, well I'm willing to try it.......lol.
And Ditto to Deborah on her above post, a destructive or nasty, down right mean animal, by all means to the butcher he goes! And I have heard the same response as Deb's on having too many bucks/wethers from a close goat friend of mine, she says the same, she would rather they have a good life in the short time they are with her and then be butchered than to go to a sale barn or be sold to someone that really doesn't care about them.
I totally understand that sentiment! I said that for about 7-8 years. Then I had a la mancha buck that was destroying my fences, and no one would buy him. (Who would want a buck that destroys fences?) And he taught his tricks to my two wethers that I'd had since our very first kidding season! Ugh! So, then I had three goats destroying fences, which allowed other goats to get out and possibly eaten by coyotes, which do eat goats and sheep here. We took them to a locker to have them done. So, that was step number one. Then I was blessed with 29 bucks last year. That was step number two. My husband butchered one. We still have nine yearling wethers, but no one wants yearlings as pets. They all want babies. Right now it's free to have them on pasture, and I have them priced at $50, rather than $75 for babies, but everyone seems to be willing to pay more for babies, so I'm thinking we'll be having a lot of goat meat come fall.
But honestly, after having goats for this long, I'd rather butcher them than take them to a sale barn because a lot of crazy and dumb people go to sale barns. I've had people call me who I refused to sell a goat to -- like the man who wanted two pets for his weekend place in the country, and no one is there during the week! I can't imagine that anyone reputable would sell their goats to someone like that, so he probably went to the sale barn, where anyone can buy whatever they want, no questions asked. :(
Traci Glover said:
Traci, I am sure that not everyone on here eats their goats. In fact, I have not only never eaten an ND, I have yet to eat a goat I have raised. But we have purchased meat goats and then eaten them. As I said earlier, we butchered two bucks about 4 months ago that were purchased along with a doe. (The 2 bucks were purchased for eating purposes.) We had one big doe as a pet at the time. We kept the bucks for two months until our big doe was pregnant and then we butchered them. She is due any time and her doe kids will be kept for breeding and her buck kids will be eaten. They are the beginning of our developing our own meat herd. The other little doe (boar mix-a meat breed) we purchased at that time has been staying with our ND bucks and appears to be pregnant also. The same will be done with her kids. We have 2 ND bucks and 9 ND doelings here and another Sr. ND doe bred to kid in June will be here soon (I hope Sat.). We do not really plan to eat NDs per say, but I am pretty sure we will have to add some of them into butchering if not sold. Although I do have a plan to try to increase my wether sales. All along I have planned to keep some of my wethers to train for pack and driving etc. I feel that if they are well trained and worked appropriately they will be great advertisement for my kid/milk product sales there by increasing my wether sales also. I hope if it works out well it will open up a market for trained cart and pack goats and give more of my wethers a chance at a happy productive life as little working goats and pets with loving families. I hope to use this as an awareness project to help "PROMOTE THE GOAT". We have a really nice little Christmas parade in our community and I hope to have them be seen there, among other places like our pecan festival and watermelon festival. Do you think it will be helpful?
You all eat your goats? Dang I have mine for a pet and I don't think I could ever slaughter them! But I guess to each there own.
I forgot, as far as what to do with them, until I can get more and have time to do bigger projects a few things that I think are neat to do with a hide is of course hang it on a wall, use it as a table covering(especially an antique or homemade table with pictures or lamps-maybe oil-, or small antique collectibles displayed on top, or as a seat and/or back cover for a chair-perhaps rocking chair. Just a few thoughts there.
Oh goodness, Deborah, I did forget one important thing about eating intact bucks! Obviously, We don't think it matters how old they are based on our most recent experience (as long as the butcher does it right and doesn't cut certain glands), but we did decide that they should NOT be slaughtered IF IN RUT! We are pretty sure that would be pushing it on having a bucky taste!
And Debbie, I haven't had any lamb yet, but have heard something similar about the greasiness issue. I hope to raise some a little later. As far as cooking goat goes, the only way we have ever eat it is grilled/smoked. We haven't had it very many times because we simply don't have it readily available here. But, we could eat it every week if it were available. One of the reasons we have decided to start a herd. There are some good tanning books out there and info available on line and through Mother Earth News. I don't know a lot, my boys do that stuff. I BUY THE SALT! It takes a good bit of salt to dry out the hides. I know nothing about the pig brain thing. That sounds really gross! But I can tell you it is not really hard. We did discover that stretching it over a chain link fence gate works pretty good because you have air flow through both sides instead of nailing it to wood or something solid like that. We put little holes right at the edges and zip tied it to the chain which made that part real quick and easy.
Thanks Margaret and Deborah. We are not new to butchering. We've raised a few head of beef off and on for the freezer. I have farming in my background on both sides of the family. My grandfather even had his own butcher shop years ago and raised Angus cattle, the original of the bred before they bred them to be taller. Hubby has deer hunted also and gutted and butchered his own. We raised meat rabbits when I was a kid and we have raised them here too, but got out of those just last year.
Curious to know how you two prefer to cook your lamb's, rams, and or goats? I have had lamb before, and it has been years. I distinctly remember that it is best eaten hot, because as it cools off there is this thin covering of liquid fat that seems to get solid again and makes it less palatable, leaves a grease coating in your mouth. May have been a particular bred at the time, I'm not sure.
What do you like to do with your pelts? I would be most interested in how to tan hides. I have heard tanning with I think they said, pig brains, is one of the best ways. This is a very interesting discussion......thanks!
That all sounds super interesting, simple, and tasty. I believe I really do want some sheep for sure after reading this and I guess I could even deal with the idea of having to butcher excess ND goats. NOT something I really want to do, but we do eat them, just never an ND. As far as eating intact buck goes I will tell you this. We just had 2 a few months back and I don't think anyone here could tell the difference. And they were not so young. I have babies coming any time now sired by that meat we have already consumed. It works. If the rams are as hard for me to deal with as the one who destroyed your shelter, heck I'll just do the same with them. Breed the ewes and then eat them bad old rams. We also have their pelts. Now, I will tell you this about that too, it should not matter because your meat locker folks have experience with intact animals I am sure. But, we do not use one as of yet. So far the only goats we have eaten my hubby cleaned just like they were deer and my sons scrape and salt the hides etc. That meat taste real good but my hides I can have to remind me of how sweet my little guys were and how well they did the job that they were intended for. They are a respectful reminder of a life given to provide for my children and I hope that when the babies come there will be a doe for me to keep that is as beautiful as daddy was. If that meat is not to your liking get you a deer hunter to clean you one Deb.
We have just decided this year to butcher an intact buckling. We didn't even bother disbudding him, which has also been interesting to see horns developing on a goat! Bucks don't seem to get stinky before about six months, so we'll see what we get! If it tastes terrible, it'll just be dog food, so it won't be wasted in any case. Last year, we wound up with 29 bucks, which didn't all sell, so in the fall, we butchered the biggest wether, which was 51 pounds live weight and 28 pounds hanging weight, but I also had wethers that were half his size.
In case my last post wasn't clear, I love the taste of the six month old ram lambs. It is delicious! We don't have to feed hay at all, and the lamb doesn't have to go through castration.
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