butchering bucklings

[wildhorses]

Hi everyone,

I rarely post but I enjoy reading and learning from everyone. I need some opinions ... I have two 5 month old bucklings that I'm thinking of butchering.
My question is: Should I wether them first and wait another couple of months (I'm not in any hurry) or will it make the meat taste bad if I butcher them as bucklings? They don't smell but I do see them peeing on themselves.

Thanks,
Jodie
NE Texas

[backwoods]

I have tried them both ways and couldn't tell the difference,as long as they are young.Would't let them get over 6-8 months.The older they get the chewer the meat will be.Ever eat venison?I'll bet it wasn't wethered before it was butchered.Good luck and good eating.

[chamoisee]

I would butcher them now, before they go into rut, before they get any tougher. The meat won't taste bucky right now, but if you wait 2 months, it might. And there is no way on earth I would put them through the agony and stress of castrating them at this age, they will lose flesh, it's unnecessary, and will make no difference in the quality of the meat.

[MamaDee]

So you don't have to castrate them right away after birth if you know you'll butcher them in a few months?

Does castration affect meat taste or quality at all?

Dee

[goatkid]

If they are butchered young, it doesn't make any difference in the taste. If you wait until a buckling is older and in rut the meat will be stronger and tougher. Some ethnic groups actually prefer non wethered buck kids for special feasts. They want them young.

[ozark_jewels]

As long as you butcher them now, no problems. I never wether bucklings I intend to butcher between 3-6 months.

[Feral Nature]

Same here, if I am going to butcher them young, I don't wether them.

The bucklings in question though, I would go ahead and butcher now as bucklings. If you wait too much longer, they will go into rut this fall and be stinky. Just do it now, no need to wether them first.

[homebirtha]

Those of you who don't wether your bucklings... do you keep them on their mom's or do you bottlefeed? We wether ours so we don't have any oops pregnancies. Maybe I'm being overly cautious?

[goatsareus]

we wether ours at about five days of age, using the knife method. We need to wait for cool weather to butcher, usually October or November. With Feb and March kids, we need to wether all bucks. I keep a registered buck but my does are Togg/Nubian crosses. I do not want to have a buck that is not registerable.

I've had an 'opps' pregancy, I do not recommend them.

[Feral Nature]

Originally Posted by homebirtha

Those of you who don't wether your bucklings... do you keep them on their mom's or do you bottlefeed? We wether ours so we don't have any oops pregnancies. Maybe I'm being overly cautious?

I've raised them every which way. If they are bucklings still nursing moms, then butcher them as soon as they show any attention towards her or a sister or penmate. This is only if you have a small number of goats or are able to keep an eye on things.

I wether using the knife also at a young age if the buckling has a sister so i don't have to worry.

I have butchered bottle babies too....but that is a whole other thread

[dezeeuwgoats]

We just put four bucklings in the freezer a few weekends ago - at five months old. The meat is just fine. We left them on their dams until we saw them acting 'interested', but those momma's still fed them through the fence! I'd have preferred to butcher them sooner (while still only milk fed)- but we just didn't have the time.

I was really surprised at how much meat we got from those four nubian bucklings.

Niki

[chamoisee]

I let them nurse. I couldn't stand to butcher a bottle baby that considered me "mom". I just do them at 2-3 months before there is a risk of pregnancy. I have never had an accidental pregnancy from this practice (er, the doelings have never had an accidental pregnancy, I meant!!).

[Milk n' Honey]

You guys butcher them yourselves?

[goatsareus]

We do. It's a two person job, the way we do it. We butcher milk, pasture and hay fed wethers who are about 9 months old. We wait for cold weather because we hang them in the garage.

[dezeeuwgoats]

We had someone help us this time around - DH and friend did the slaughtering, and I did the meat cutting/wrapping. Now that we know what to do - we'll do it ourselves next time around.

Niki

[chamoisee]

I've done it all by myself, yeah. When they're only 2-3 months old, it's pretty easy.