quickest butchering method?

ozark_jewels · #21 05/27/08, 02:54 PM

Slitting the throat quickly and efficiently is really the only other remotely humane method for killing a butcher goat.
Slitting a throat properly(humanely) requires a VERY sharp, large knife and much more strength than you'd think.....be prepared.
Personally, I won't do it.

Bfly Farmer · #22 05/27/08, 03:00 PM

I missed what was said prior to you deleting your posts, so if this is not the information you are looking for, sorry. You may wish to look up halal slaughtering practices. It is the slitting of the throat, but there are many resources with pictures and directions. There is example on the sheepgoatmarketing.info site.

Friends of ours sell specifically to the muslin market and all of their customers slaughter their goats on site. It really does go quite quick and with the proper knife, painless as possible. I was there to see our first two kids (wethers) ever, butchered by a customer and when all was said and done, I was pretty impressed.

Good luck!

Kittikity · #23 05/27/08, 04:38 PM

Thanks you.. I guess slitting the throat is the only choice I have..

To explain something, I asked about the possibility of using an ice pick because I know that some people whack a rabbit on the back of the head for the kill.. I know you can't do that with goats because they have much harder heads and stronger necks.. So I was thinking an ice pick or a stake.. It would be the same as a bullet going into the back of the head except it would be a long shaft instead of a moving projectile.. A hammer or mallet would be used to drive in the ice pick..

I have a year or more before I would have to actually butcher a goat anyway..

What would be the best position for slitting the throat? Standing over it's back with it's head held up? Or standing in front of it?

topside1 · #24 05/27/08, 04:50 PM

If you have a year to wait, then why not find a hunter, a gun lover, or other goat owners to kill the goat. They would probably teach you something about butchering techniques while they were there....Using a large sharp knife just gives me the chills.

topside1 · #25 05/27/08, 04:52 PM

As far as rabbits go, a pellet gun to the back of the head is what I use. Quick kill and no whacking involved.

ozark_jewels · #26 05/27/08, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kittikity

To explain something, I asked about the possibility of using an ice pick because I know that some people whack a rabbit on the back of the head for the kill.. I know you can't do that with goats because they have much harder heads and stronger necks.. So I was thinking an ice pick or a stake.. It would be the same as a bullet going into the back of the head except it would be a long shaft instead of a moving projectile.. A hammer or mallet would be used to drive in the ice pick..

I have a year or more before I would have to actually butcher a goat anyway..

What would be the best position for slitting the throat? Standing over it's back with it's head held up? Or standing in front of it?

The complications of getting the goat to stand quietly in just the right position for an ice pick or any other sharp object to be driven into the back of their head, the head would need to be supported on something sturdy and its highly doubtful that one whack would do it.....the complications are just about insurmountable for a successful killing that way. It would certainly not be quick and humane. If you haven't slaughtered before you may not be able to picture what I am saying, but take my word for it, you don't want to do it this way. A pick driven in by human strength would certainly not be like a bullet.

As John said, use that year to find someone who will shoot the goat for you. I certainly would and have for people before. It will be a lot better results. Or at least find someone who has slaughtered using the knife method before and knows how to do it properly.

If you absolutely have to do it by slitting the throat, straddling the goat, holding the head high and neck taught by a hand under the chin and a quick, hard complete cut with the knife would be the best I'd guess.

Again, I like John's suggestion.

goatsareus · #27 05/27/08, 06:07 PM

when dh and I were taught to butcher a goat, we were taught to slit its throat. It was a young goat. The goats' hind legs were tied to a gambrel, the goat hoisted up and one person held the neck against their side with one arm and the knife with the other. In this position, upside down, the goat did not struggle.

Zone · #28 05/27/08, 06:43 PM

I certainly would be careful stradling a goat. If it jerks quickly you are riding on top of a run away goat with a sharp knife in your hands. NOT a good scenario. I would hang the goat as was stated above by its back legs or stand beside the goat with the goat butted up against a fence/building on its other side.

Having a helper nearby in case you need help is always a good idea. Hope it goes well for you. Take care.

ozark_jewels · #29 05/27/08, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goatsareus

when dh and I were taught to butcher a goat, we were taught to slit its throat. It was a young goat. The goats' hind legs were tied to a gambrel, the goat hoisted up and one person held the neck against their side with one arm and the knife with the other. In this position, upside down, the goat did not struggle.

Again, this is fine, but I would never undertake it alone the first time. Find someone who has done it before.

ozark_jewels · #30 05/27/08, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zone

I certainly would be careful stradling a goat. If it jerks quickly you are riding on top of a run away goat with a sharp knife in your hands. NOT a good scenario. I would hang the goat as was stated above by its back legs or stand beside the goat with the goat butted up against a fence/building on its other side.

Having a helper nearby in case you need help is always a good idea. Hope it goes well for you. Take care.

When I say to straddle it, I am assuming it is a young goat(3 months to a year). Never straddle an adult goat to get into position to kill it, as stated above, that can be dangerous.

Zone · #31 05/27/08, 11:45 PM

:lol Sorry... I was imagining someone riding a goat with spurs on waving a knife around like a barnyard warrior or something. LOL LOL

Oh... I'm okay now. I could not help myself. Sorry. LOL

Feral Nature · #32 05/28/08, 05:41 PM

Basically, if it can't be a fairly large caliber gun, then it should be a good sharp knife, no ice picks or mallets, 'nuf said.

animalfarmer · #33 05/28/08, 09:41 PM

Hi Kittykity,I sent you a P.M. It may be of intrest. Best of luck.

Backfourty,MI. · #34 05/28/08, 09:54 PM

If I wasn't going to use a gun, then I'd take it to the guy that butchers our Deer & we buy our beef & pork from. That's what we did with the last goats we had butchered & he did a great job. You have a year to find someone, I personally would not want the job if I had to personally kill the animal without a gun.

kabri · #35 05/29/08, 03:47 PM

We have Muslim customers use a knife in their traditional way to kill the lambs we sell them. Seems very fast, but I know they also take particular care of their knives and they are experienced.

sgian · #36 05/29/08, 09:50 PM

I understand that some people have very legitimate reasons not to be able to use a gun and it isn't my place to judge, especially since I don't know the reason. But Kittykity, please understand from the other view that since a bullet is an instant kill in which the animal won't have time to feel the pain, to use anything less can seem to some people to be cruel. That could explain why so many people are recommending a gun, for the animal's sake. So please don't be offended by the responses since everyone means well.

Recently I had a situation where a really sweet goat was suffering but we had no gun readily available. Her name was Flossy, and she was a white Kiko goat who was friendly and liked attention. She came to me indirectly through a sale auction and had been skeletal, apparently she hadn't been fed well over the winter. She started to recover with us, but when we wormed our herd, she foamed at the mouth and collapsed. She was among our first goats, so we were (and still are) new to this. She recovered, but kept collapsing over the next couple days and we quarantined her. Finally, she could no longer get up any more and just lay on her side unresponsive except for an occasional scream. Her temperature dropped and she could no longer see (or maybe she couldn't react when we waved our hands over her eyes). Finally we decided to put her out of her misery, but all my guns were out of state and my brother in law didn't have a gun either.

We discussed various options. My sister was horrified by anything messy, like a knife, axe, powersaw, etc so that was out. We knew that a blow to the head would be unlikely to hurt a goat much, one could probably break a baseball bat over their heads without killing them. My BIL was a former paramedic, and said that a syringe full of air injected directly into the heart would kill the goat instantly. So we got a needle, found the heart by feel, and I injected the air. I don't remember the details, but I remember that she felt the pain and it didn't kill her. I figured that I had already started and hurt her, so I better finish the job. I kept trying, and my sister left crying. The needle must not have been long enough, I don't know.

That obviously wasn't working, so I tried to break her neck or at least strangle her. FYI, I had been in the army and had choked people multiple times in training, so I was adept at this on people and reasonably quick about it too. However, goats are not people and this goat instinctively got into a position where I couldn't do it, even though she was unable to get up on her own. Kikos are not small goats BTW.

We discussed trying to suffocate her, but I figured her horns would tear any plastic and we didn't have any plastic bags that we knew were airtight anyway. Finally my BIL called around and found a relative with an old .22 rifle. We placed her on the burn pile, moved her head into a position so that the bullet would exit into the pile and not fly off into the air, and under a grey sky and light drizzle I placed the rifle behind her head under the horns and aimed so it would exit through her mouth. The bullet cauterized the entrance hole as it went in, she jerked once (kind of a reflex motion like the doctor hitting your knee to see if it jerks), and she bled out some through the exit hole. Just like that the ordeal was over.

Since then we've had another baby goat fade away and a collapsed rabid skunk. We now have a cheap .22 rifle so we won't go through that mess again. I hope you have better luck than I did in ending a goat's life without a gun. If I had to do it again I think first of all I would keep my sister away, and then tie the goat's head down securely against a wood block or something and use a sawzall or axe on the neck. If you try the axe, please make sure that you have had enough practice so you are confident that you can end the goat's life quickly. Be prepared for the possibility of blood splattering on you too.