This may be the year that I end up with too many wethers to sell. I was thinking that if they didnt all sell before 6 months of age that I would feed them and send them to the butcher. My dad loves goat meat and has not had any for many years. I know he would really enjoy it.
My questions are: At what age or weight would be a good time to butcher a Nigerian wether?
What does the meat taste like at different ages?
Should I separate them and fatten them up at the end with grain?
Should the butcher age the meat?
The last time I had goat meat I was just a kid and cant remember it too well. My dad butchered them young, about 3 months old, but they were a large breed of goat. Any experience that you have with raising goats for meat would be helpful. Hopefully wont come to this but just in case I want to plan ahead. Thanks!
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I think at least part of it, if not all of it, Margaret, *is* the care. Before the kill, family members never shot unless they had a good clean head shot so the animal wasn't running and stressed because it died instantly. First thing my grandfather and stepfather did was remove the glands so there would be no contamination of the meat. Back home, as they skinned, they were careful to not let the hair side fall back to touch the meat (not always easy). Then, after it hung, my grandmother did what may be a huge part of the difference. She removed literally all the fat that she could so there was no/little deer fat in the meat. When the meat was to be ground, it was prepared with beef tallow, never deer. I'm thinking that care was why it never had that "wild" taste to it, only the delicious tasted that surpassed the flavor of the very best beef. It seems logical that a butcher/slaughter house is not going to take that care even if the customer requests it.
I've heard in other contexts that fat "stores" flavor.
Oh yea, meant to tell you Glenna, I don't know what it is but there seems to be a big difference depending on who /how something about the slaughters. I can't figure it out but I seem to like anything that my hubby cleans. Not so much slaughter house stuff. Think it has a lot to do with how we do the meat too. Just sorta developed the method over the years. You can also take and put whole legs in a trash bag (unscented plain cheap ones of course)and pour in a bottle of marinade or Italian dressing or dales whatever is your favorite and wrap it up and put it in the ice after the first couple days of soaking . After it sits like that it is ready to grill. Oh and hardwood to cook over (charcoals are bad for you). Pecan wood is great down here! I think everyone lives where there is some kind of Oak!
That's cute! Keep dreaming and if it does happen then I want to buy a brother to your buck! I won't be able to buy one from you if you don't have one born but I would want to get a brother to see if I could get all does! LOL!
Goatskin gloves are the very best for working around the yard. It is the only kind I buy because I never need to worry about thorns of any kind. My oldest son asked me what I was going to do with the boys when I had bucklings. I told him he could have them for meat but he had to give me back the skins. Vests, purses, gloves, etc., can all be made with goat skin. First, though, I will have to get past it/they are from my former kids. I've never knowingly eaten goat meat so don't know if I would like it; I love properly prepared (during the hunting/butchering) deer and elk meat (which my family had butchered) but have had some horrid deer and elk from people who took theirs to the butcher. The lamb I have had, twice now, I have not liked at all nor do I like rabbit, also had it twice. I had trouble eating one of my chickens (rooster) that I had someone else kill and dress, had to leave it in the freezer for a year and then cook it for soup, just could not cut it up. This is very odd since I grew up on a farm and helped dress chickens all the time and even killed/dressed some when I was first married. I guess it all changes when you live in town - and name them!
I have rabbit skins from my son's rabbits in the freezer right now awaiting finding someone to tan them for me. I think I could make some vests from goat hides, at least if the sweet little guy had started to get a bit onery. But maybe there will only be does born here in this all girl home (cat, hens, does, and me) and I'll never need to address it. (One can dream, can't one?)
That is VERY generous of you Rachel. Be sure to get some ideas about things to with them and share them with us. So far my ideas are limited to wall hanging, throw over wood table (can't you envision one on an antique table with a kerosene lamp and pewter picture frames, maybe a milkglass vase w/ a single rose!) and I would love to do some stool seat covers or other upholstery work with them. Oh, Rocking Chairs!
I think feathers would be pretty mixed with my squirrel tails (maybe peacock).
Thanks for mentioning the kid gloves, I had forgotten about that!
Rachel, I meant to tell you, I read somewhere VERY recently(I THINK it was in that Natural Goat Care book) about some people culling and cleaning the little ones(as you said"like rabbits" when they are born). Yuk! Sorry, I an just always so busy trying to save them, you know? I'll check out the site link.
I put up the pics, BTW! HA HA! I love my sac! :( He was so sweet!
I have a friend with a taxidermist hubby, and I'll be giving him all my hides.
Here's a site with recipes... thought I'd share...
http://www.jackmauldin.com/goat_recipes.htm
Well I never thought about saving the hide, we will have to start a discussion about how to do this! Thanks.
Well, Margaret I thought I saved everything whenever we butcher an animal, but I never thought about saving THAT! But I am glad you found a use for it. I have a collection of cattle hides building up and am trying to decide what to do with them. Although we haven't saved any goat hides, I want to do so in the future because it is supposed to be very soft leather. If you've ever heard of "kid gloves," that's what it refers to -- the softest gloves were made of baby goat skin.
We are trying it this year. I had a mini mancha buck that was born with erect ears, so figured he would probably be the last wether anyone would want as a pet, and he would certainly not be sold as a buck, so we didn't bother to disbud or castrate. It has also been interesting watching his horns grow. I should have been taking pictures of the horns at various ages! Oh well, if this works out, maybe we'll do it again.
Patty Meyer said:
OOPS,SOOORRY! If you laugh at me it will be worth it! LOL!
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