Butchering Wethers

[lscheopner]

What size or age do you butcher your meat goats? We have 2 wethers we want to butcher but not sure when.

Laina

[KSALguy]

how old are they? what breed? what are you feeding? lots of variables

[Freeholder]

I would say it depends on what you want them for, and how much freezer space you have, and how much free feed you have to keep feeding them.

If you want to roast a whole kid, you'd want them pretty small, maybe thirty or forty pounds live weight. If you want roasts and such you'd want to keep them until they were quite a bit bigger, nearly full grown in size. If you only have a little freezer above your frig you might want to butcher them small (or plan on canning most of the meat). If you have a big freezer, you could wait and let them get some size on them. If you are buying all your feed, you should probably butcher them now, because purchased feed makes for expensive meat. But if you have good pasture, and only need to supply them with water and minerals, you might as well let them grow some more, because that's practically free food.

Does that help? :baby04:

Kathleen

[chas]

I only butcher grassfed anything,so I time the event for fall after that cool period when we here in Pa. get that last flush of lush green pasture.Plus they are bigger by then and the cooler weather is a plus.
They get absolutely NO grain.Trouble is I usually don't have any left by that time.
Gotta increase herd size
Chas

[TexCountryWoman]

Any size from real little to real big. I have butchered 9 month olds that i fed for way too long and were not cost effective, and 3 months old milkfed kids...better tasting. Now I have a couple of 9 week olds, that if i don't sell in the next couple of days i am gonna butcher and BBQ this weekend.

[lscheopner]

I think we will keep them a while longer then. They are 4 months and I have been feeding them goat grower and alfalfa. We are fencing off some of the pasture so that should cut some of the feed costs. I would like roasts and such. Thanks

Laina

[westbrook]

butchering at 6 - 7 months is most desired. This doesn't mean you can't butcher at 5 months or even 3 years! The older the meat the tougher but more flavorful it is. I have eaten 2-3 month old kids and they are in my opinion without much flavor but oh so tender. I am one of those that doesn't like to put BBQ sauce or Marinade on my meat, I will for some recipes but just like the flavor of meat with a little salt. I have a meat saw so I am able to cut the legs into steaks. I also was given one of those Rotisserie and I love it for roasts.

[TexCountryWoman]

Our favorite has been 3 month old, but really big, milkfed Boer kids. On the smoker pit with a swabbing sauce, or "sop". Keeps it so moist and juicy on an already moist and juicy cabrito...finger licking good!