What dress-out percentage can I expect from Nubians?

[Lada]

I've got at least three buckies going in the freezer this fall, possibly five. The local butcher shop charges $76.50 to process a goat. I've never home butchered a large animal before, we've only done chickens and rabbits, but I have asked around and should be able to get some help with it in exchange for meat. I'm just trying to figure out what my best route would be. I want to butcher October/November so I don't have to winter them, and at that point I don't think I'll have any trouble getting them to 80 pounds, minimum. I'm wondering if I'm better off to just get them processed rather than do it myself, but that would depend on how much meat I'll actually get...

[Eunice]

Around here I have paid $50 to have a goat or lamb butcher, cut, wrapped and frozen. Even at that cost, I have gone to doing it myself -well sort of . I get the friends to do the butchering and I do the cut and wrap. My friends like the liver, some ribs and hide for payment. Dressing percentage is probably 55-60%.

[bluefish]

How funny! We just had a class on this for 4-H last night. Anyway, dress out for dairy was 40%-46%. Nubians can sometimes be meatier than other dairy, hence the 46%. For a boer it was only about 50%.

[Bearfootfarm]

I think 40-45% is more realistic

[Whisperwindkat]

It doesn't take long to butcher a goat and I certainly don't think I would pay that much to have someone else do it. That would be some pretty expensive meat. Although I could see getting more professional cuts. One of the members has a post in the stickies and that is the best set of instructions I have found. We have used it many times. Now that we have our skil saw I am hoping we can get some better cuts, or something besides roast and ground. Anyway, I highly recommend doing it yourself. Blessings, Kat

[Lada]

I am not squeamish, but I would need someone to do the dispatching part. After that, I think I would be fine. I also have a friend (actually the husband of one of my friends) who is wanting to buy some kind of heavy-duty meat grinder for when he kills deer, but his wife "won't let him" He has said he would do the killing part if I would split the cost of the grinder with him, and then we would share it. That doesn't sound like a bad deal, I think he said the grinder is only $80 or so...