Goat meat/diseases

[Lynnette]

Hi All,

We have never butchered goats before, but we are getting ready to now as we can no longer afford to maintain our entire herd, and we need meat in the freezer. The problem is that we have never had them tested for anything, is it still okay to butcher and use the meat without having any tests done. I would assume it is like any animal that is hunted for meat, if the organs look pink and healthy and the animal has no visible signs of disease it is alright, is this safe? There are no visible signs of illness in any of them, they are up to date on wormings, I am aware of the holding period after worming and we will adhere to that, anything else I should be concerned about?

Thanks

[TexCountryWoman]

I would not be worried if you have a healthy herd. We ate our goats for a long time preior to testing for diseases. Most people do not test their meat before slaughter on homesteads. If a goat has visible abcesses, you would want to avoid those.

[Lynnette]

Thanks, I coudln't really see it as a problem, but I needed someone to reassure me a little bit I guess. Does it make any difference if they never had any shots? The gentleman we got them from never gave them shots and I am not a big fan of vaccinating, I feel that it is tampering with the natural organic quality. I don't even like vaccinating my dogs, but I do because they go places other then our house and unlike our goats are in contact with other animals.

[gccrook]

If you have them done, they usually check the organs for you. If you do it yourself, just check for healthy organs. We do not vaccinate ours, nor have we had the meat goats tested, only our milk goats. We have eaten 4 so far, and no problem. We have them butchered, and theyare required to check the organs.

[ozark_jewels]

I raise and butcher my own. They are not tested for anything, are never wormed or vaccinated since they hit the freezer at about four months old. The meat is wonderful. If your animal looks healthy...go for it!!