What do you do with your male Dairy Goats?

Swissy Baroo · #1 10/06/13, 03:48 PM

I had just started reading a book, The Backyard Goat, when the author brought something to my attention that i did not think of. What to do with all the extra male goats? With half being all male and not being of much use beside breeding, what do you do? She said most people kill them at or shortly after birth, which seems terrible to do (emotionally). Which i would rather not do. Do you have trouble getting rid of your bucklings?

Maybe the possibility of getting a dual purpose breed?

Frosted Mini's · #2 10/06/13, 04:16 PM

Most dairy bucklings end up going for meat, just as most dairy bull calves do.

I've usually sold most of mine on the bottle as pet wethers, but this year, I just don't want to deal with people for a $25-50 kid. I know it sounds mean, but I really don't have a lot of time.

What I plan to do is pretty simple. Whichever bucklings are not pre-ordered this year, or that I don't plan to keep myself, I will take to the first salebarn date after they are born. Around here, there are a lot of (cow) dairies, and the majority of employees are hispanic. They pick up bottle kids from the salebarn to raise on dump milk from the dairy and then butcher them for meat.

If you like goat meat, you could keep the buck kids to raise for meat-if you have plenty of milk. Goat is quite tasty! We raised one and butchered it for a bbq this year, and everybody loved it.

Alice In TX/MO · #3 10/06/13, 04:22 PM

Mine go to various ethnic groups for barbecue. $40 to $50 each, depending on size.

Frosted Mini's · #4 10/06/13, 04:29 PM

There are a few wethers used for other things as well. Companions for goats or other animals, brush clearers, pack goats, and cart pullers are a few things you can do besides eat them. There still are only so many needed for that stuff as well.

Swissy Baroo · #5 10/06/13, 05:59 PM

Okay- from the book they said they would not get to slaughter weight. I'll probably try to go that route! Thank you, i guess i can always *try* goat meat. But heard lots of people are actually eating that meat anyways.

backwoods · #6 10/06/13, 06:11 PM

We eat them. Love it ground like hamburger.

**mygoat** · #7 10/06/13, 06:17 PM

I sell dairy wethers for 25.00 each on the bottle, first come first serve. Some go for pets, some for for meat -I don't really care which.

You can raise them out pretty cheaply for yourself - they make slaughter weight just slightly slower than my boer kids - and by slaughter weight I mean ideal auction weigh (40-60lbs live) Since I pull all the dairy kids on teh bottle, though, It's just easier for me to sell them so I have less work to do and less milk goes to the kids. Plus I have to vaccinate, deworm, do cocci prevention on a bunch of wethers I don't plan on keeping. It's a time and money saver if someone else does it.

hiddensprings · #8 10/07/13, 07:52 AM

I sell a few every year to folks that want a buck for their breeding program but the majority of them I raise for 3 months and then sell to folks who want meat in their freezer. I don't name them, don't get too involved with them.....it makes it easier for me to sell them.

saanengirl · #9 10/07/13, 10:31 AM

Saanen buck kids are often at slaughter weight by weaning or shortly thereafter.

KSALguy · #10 10/07/13, 02:23 PM

better to cut all bucklings not destined to become registered herd sires for you or someone else, or at the very least butchered at an early age if your not going to use them for breeding later or know someone reliable that will,

young bucklings and weathers are great to fill the freezer regardless of breed, there are only so many Pack goats and Companion weathers and breeding bucks that can be accommodated by anyone keeping goats, better to put the rest in the freezer for your own comsumption, sell to a meat market, or use for RAW diet for your farm dogs, its a more fitting and humane end than what ends up happening to so many intact bucks at the sale barn when people are too "kind hearted" to do what needs doing,

punchiepal · #11 10/07/13, 06:16 PM

We put them in the freezer at a young age. We don't like to sell pets too often. Companions for bucks can be another story. Realistically, from what I have read and experiences so far, if the best of the best are selected for herd sires, not that many should be left intact. Best to have a plan before breeding. Births are not always 50/50. LOL For the last few years my doe % has been very high, this year we had something like 17-20 boys and only 5 girls. The "veal goats" as we call them are nearly gone and the freezer has room for fall culls.

Frosted Mini's · #12 10/07/13, 08:58 PM

"Veal goats" LOL, I like that! I raised a mini buckling this year for meat that was 60+ lbs at I think it was 4 months old. I put him on a first freshening doe to nurse. She milked nearly a gallon at peak, of 5% butterfat milk, so thinkin' that's why he grew so fast.

Whisperwindkat · #13 10/08/13, 06:07 AM

We eat them.

Bret4207 · #14 10/08/13, 06:44 AM

Good, well handled goat meat tastes good, well handled venison. Something you may want to consider is that your emotional attachment to your stock is going to have to have limits or you may end up "goat poor". Give them a good life and then eat them. If you can't, then sell them for meat. Otherwise you'll end up over run with useless stock.

chamoisee · #15 10/08/13, 08:19 PM

I eat them, starting at 2 months old, and starting with bucklings that have sisters or are triplets.

CAjerseychick · #16 10/09/13, 12:16 AM

I want to know who kills them (I am ok with butchering and eating but we dont own guns, not sure what to do about killing, which emotionally is the hard part-- for me anyways)...
We are def meat eaters and with 300lbs of dog to feed and 3 cats, nothing will be going to waste (and I love young kid, it is just delicious)...

Bret4207 · #17 10/09/13, 06:37 AM

Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too.

Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method.

I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.

Doug Hodges · #18 10/09/13, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bret4207

Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too.

Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method.

I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.

I agree. However, It's very hard or near impossible to find a 22 for $50. I'll buy everyone I can get my hands on for that price. Cheap throw away foreign made pistols sell for $100 or more. Gun prices have gone through the roof.

cfuhrer · #19 10/09/13, 08:19 AM

Our whethers typically went to the local ethnic folks for meat. They were actually more valuable sold for cash than in the freezer (sheep herd whethers filled the freezer).

Come first frost anybody still hanging around went to the sale barn.

Occasionally if the buckling was an outstanding specimen, and I mean ohmyheavenshestoobeautifultoeat, I would market him as a breeding buck. But in 25 years of raising goats, I've only done that twice.

As for killing them, I always preferred to slit the throat and kept my goats well enough socialized that handling them to do so was no trouble.

CAjerseychick · #20 10/09/13, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bret4207

Jersey, ask around for local butchers or meat cutters. Most areas have an older guy that will do custom processing. Ask for the local deer cutter, he might do it too.

Killing is the easy. A hammer and knife works as well as a gun and knife. For that matter a really sharp knife in the right spot is almost less violent than the gun or hammer. No it's not pleasant no matter the method.

I understand some people just don't like guns, but on a farm or homestead they are a necessary tool. Which is better, having an animal go down with a busted leg or in pain from colic and calling a vet to come out when he gets a chance and paying him $100-300.00 to show up and put the animal down or spending $50.00 on a used 22 and a box of shells? That's to say nothing of predators. Seems simple to me. Just think about it.

To be honest I am scared of guns. We also have a 10 yr old who is into everything (she was trying to drive the other day). Not sure if we trust ourselves with one, and arent they expensive? Like several hundred dollars and the liscencing and permits? (We are in California, seems like everything is expensive here)....
Like the idea of finding a local person to butcher though... Or a knife... If I was hungry enough I could do it (I do fish, and killing them aint easy either but I do it)....

PS $50 really? Hmmmm...Still sorta nervous about the whole gun concept. If that bear does come around then we will see....