# Pygmy Goats for meat



## kaywould (Oct 29, 2018)

Was going to purchase 2 male pygmy goats locally that were born early July, so they are about 4 months old now.  I was going to castrate them because my ultimate plan is to eat them and want do everything to preserve the taste of the meat.  Plus I don't want smelly bucks around.

I have about 1.5 acres of fenced in property in the back (the fencing is critterfence.com it has a 2.5 foot chew barrier and 0.5 ft that comes out to prevent digging and the rest of the fence is 6 ft high - I'm not affiliated with them but if anyone is familiar with this fencing and can comment of successes/disasters with goats and this kind of fencing).  A lot of the fenced in area has a lot of brush.  I have water catchment from the barn roof.  Plus I live in coastal South Carolina so the winters are mild.  My plan is to have free food and water, I hope to not have to supplement a ton with food, and when they are adults to butcher and eat them.

-What age to butcher pygmy goats?
-With this plan does castration seem like something necessary to preserve meat taste?
-Is 1.5 acres of land with a lot of brush a pretty realistic area for 2 pygmy goats to be able to free range for their predominant food source till butcher age?


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## Latestarter (Oct 29, 2018)

Lots of variables there for sure. If you have experience doing castrations, you should proceed very soon as they are approaching the age where it would be better to have a vet involved. It's also right now the peak of the rut so I'm kinda surprised that they aren't already smelly bucks. Mine has been peeing in his beard for almost a month. If they have horns, that may cause some concern for them getting stuck/tangled in the fencing... I don't know as I've never used that type fencing. Pygmys are generally smaller goats than a full/standard sized goats... Depending on what exact plant species you have, the quantity & quality, that sized area should be more than adequate for 2 pygmy goats. You will find out and be amazed at just how much a couple of goats can consume in a very short period of time. I personally want more meat off my carcasses so would let them grow till full sized. That could be a year to 18 months. 

I have no idea what the "typical age" of a pygmy for butcher might be... @frustratedearthmother might be better able to interject. Some pictures of the "brush" you intend for them to survive on might be helpful as well.


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## MiniSilkys (Oct 29, 2018)

I have pygmy goats but I do not eat them. I have been told that it is best to castrate buck that will be butcher because it will take the buck taste out of the meat. You also have to keep your mature bucks away from milking doe's because the buck's smell will be in the milk. !.5 acre of land is a large area for only two pygmy goats but you may till need to supplement with a good quality hay to keep them in good condition. Especially if you live in an area where tere is a lot of rain. They will pretty much stay inside when it is raining because their fur does not block the moisture. Make sure your fence is stout and sturdy because goats love to rub and scratch against fences.


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## MiniSilkys (Oct 29, 2018)

My pygmy goat did not start peeing on himself until he was nearly a year old maybe even older. His first offspring was born before he started to smell. He was 14 months old at that time.


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## MiniSilkys (Oct 29, 2018)

Be sure there is not any pokeweed plants in your pasture. It will kill them overnight. Have you researched the plants in your area and cross checks with ones poisonous to goats. That is very important because if not you can find dead goats and never know when or what they might have eaten. Most of the time when they are in a pasture setting they will not eat enough of something to kill they but when everything else is gone they will eat it and it is best to find and remove anything poisonous. My first pygmy doe died from eating one early pokeweed plant.


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## kaywould (Oct 29, 2018)

Now I know what that plant is in my backyard. I’ve got a few of them so I’ll go pull them all out. They are pokeweed apparently. Never knew what they were till you said to make sure you don’t have any. 
Thanks


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## MiniSilkys (Nov 1, 2018)

You are very welcome. I had to learn the hard way. There is nothing like having something you are reponsible for die and then finding out you could have prevented it.


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## MiniGoatsRule (Jun 24, 2019)

I would not butcher pygmys. They are a pet breed. Go with boers


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## Goat Whisperer (Jun 24, 2019)

MiniGoatsRule said:


> I would not butcher pygmys. They are a pet breed. Go with boers


We sell our extra buck/wether Nigerian, Mini Mancha, and Lamanchas for meat. 
I’d personally never raise the boers. They just don’t thrive in our region. The kikos do wonderful here though, we had a Kiko herd but leased it so we could focus on the dairy goats.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jun 24, 2019)

Pygmy goats ARE definitely a meat breed.  Only because they are little and cute did they become pets.  I have raised them for nearly 30 years.  It took a long time before I butchered one - but a good pygmy goat will have a good meat/bone ratio and are quite tasty.


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## MiniGoatsRule (Jun 24, 2019)

I had no idea. But then again I am too soft to butcher a goat myself. I have looked up what goat breeds are better for what. I just think that they are so little, you would need to fatten them up like crazy. But I do know that that is easy, my pet pygmy is HUGE... Width, not anything else w( spirit and personalities)


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## MiniGoatsRule (Jun 24, 2019)

Dang you, Weed 'Em And Reap... I still like that website anyway


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## frustratedearthmother (Jun 24, 2019)

MiniGoatsRule said:


> you would need to fatten them up like crazy.


Actually you don't.  A good well-bred pygmy doesn't need fat.  They are a muscular breed by nature.  I eat muscle - not fat.   Here's an example of what I'm talking about.  (a lot of what are called "pygmy" these days - actually are not)

This is an example of a nice pygmy doe - well muscled.









Here is a really nicely muscled buck:






A good pygmy should be wide starting at the nose and going all the way through the back end.  Notice the rear on this guy and the dished facial profile:


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## Bayleaf Meadows (Jun 26, 2019)

Goat Whisperer said:


> We sell our extra buck/wether Nigerian, Mini Mancha, and Lamanchas for meat.
> I’d personally never raise the boers. They just don’t thrive in our region. The kikos do wonderful here though, we had a Kiko herd but leased it so we could focus on the dairy goats.


Goat Whisperer, what do you charge for an extra buck/wether being sold for meat?  Do you advertise, or how do you notify/hear from buyers?


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## Goat Whisperer (Jun 26, 2019)

Bayleaf Meadows said:


> Goat Whisperer, what do you charge for an extra buck/wether being sold for meat?  Do you advertise, or how do you notify/hear from buyers?


Because we are on a busy road we have a lot of folks just stop by. Which I hate. But hey, sold a lot of meat goats that way LOL
We have some folks we just will not sell to. But now we've been doing this long enough we have a few repeat customers that come a few times a year. We can't keep up with the demand. We charge $2 per lb, on the hoof. So we pull the goat up, weigh it on the livestock scale, get paid on the spot and the goat get slaughtered the same day.

If I had a load of extra bucks I'd probably just take them to the local auction. I don't really like doing it this way but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. We had a problem mini buck (horned, tearing down fences). Took him to the sale barn. Got a good payout, wouldn't hesitate to do it again if needed.


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 26, 2019)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Pygmy goats ARE definitely a meat breed.  Only because they are little and cute did they become pets.  I have raised them for nearly 30 years.  It took a long time before I butchered one - but a good pygmy goat will have a good meat/bone ratio and are quite tasty.



I heard they taste just like chicken ?


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## frustratedearthmother (Jun 26, 2019)

OneFineAcre said:


> I heard they taste just like chicken ?


Exactly!       (dark meat - my fav!)


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## MiniSilkys (Jul 13, 2019)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Exactly!       (dark meat - my fav!)


@frustratedearthmother, you're terrible!. I have never tasted goat.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 14, 2019)

MiniSilkys said:


> @frustratedearthmother, you're terrible!. I have never tasted goat


LOL -maybe terrible, but also practical.  I put a lot of my time, money and effort into my goats.  Why shouldn't they get the chance to pay me back?!?   Honestly, I'd rather eat a wether than to think he's been sold to be thrown out in a field to 'mow down the grass' until he either dies of parasite overload, neglect or starves. 

My goats live a really good life.  They leave this world in a fraction of a second with no stress or lingering pain, and I get wholesome, delicious meat in the freezer.  That's a much better ending than a lot of goats get.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jul 14, 2019)

frustratedearthmother said:


> LOL -maybe terrible, but also practical.  I put a lot of my time, money and effort into my goats.  Why shouldn't they get the chance to pay me back?!?   Honestly, I'd rather eat a wether than to think he's been sold to be thrown out in a field to 'mow down the grass' until he either dies of parasite overload, neglect or starves.
> 
> My goats live a really good life.  They leave this world in a fraction of a second with no stress or lingering pain, and I get wholesome, delicious meat in the freezer.  That's a much better ending than a lot of goats get.


The voice of reason ....I agree with you one hundred percent ...far too many get left behind to just eat brush and die of parasites or predators. ..


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## MiniSilkys (Jul 20, 2019)

frustratedearthmother said:


> LOL -maybe terrible, but also practical.  I put a lot of my time, money and effort into my goats.  Why shouldn't they get the chance to pay me back?!?   Honestly, I'd rather eat a wether than to think he's been sold to be thrown out in a field to 'mow down the grass' until he either dies of parasite overload, neglect or starves.
> 
> My goats live a really good life.  They leave this world in a fraction of a second with no stress or lingering pain, and I get wholesome, delicious meat in the freezer.  That's a much better ending than a lot of goats get.


Lol!  Do you do your own goats? I need a fresh flock of chickens next year, so this winter I am going to start thinning them out for the first time since 2011. I think I am going to the cones. I have never used them before.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 20, 2019)

I do all the actual butchering - but DH will oft times do "the deed."  I have done the shot - but if I don't have to - I don't.  And for the record - I'd rather do a goat or sheep than a chicken lol.  But, I'd rather do a chicken than a pig, lol.  Pigs are hard work!

A cone does make chicken butchering a bit easier and less messy. You can do it!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jul 26, 2019)

If ya don't have a cone...ya can use a feed bag....just cut 1 of the corners off and the head can poke out the bag, just like a cone....just think of the chore at hand and doing the job...be Safe and ya will do just fine....


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## MiniSilkys (Aug 20, 2019)

@frustratedearthmother, @CntryBoy777, so y'all do the neck slit and brain stick or just cut the head off?


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 21, 2019)

We've done both.  Honestly, I'd rather hang them and do the neck slit after so much drama from them losing their heads.  It seems to be 'gentler' if that makes sense?


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 21, 2019)

I made a cone out of double mylar, put the chicken in it, hold it under my arm while sitting , stick it's  brain, cut jugular  and pet it till its gone, sounds stupid but i raised them from chicks and a nice peaceful departure  is good for both the bird and I . Ask @CntryBoy777,   he was here, I think he heard me talking to some of them , lol....he was far enough away plucking  chickens with Joyce that I probably didn't  hear them laughing at me


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 21, 2019)

One of my favorite songs says it all...."Different Strokes for Different Folks" by Sly and the Family Stone.....I, personally, will use a bag and a machete to off the head and let them flounce in the bag avoiding the spew.....most of the time we tend to rely on the ways we are taught and I was taught when I was in the 4th grade....tho, the bag was not used, then....it was picked up later on in life...I'm in my 60s now....it may sound cold-hearted, but it is easier for me to make one swing and move on.....I have no problem with another doing it their way, the end result is the same....but, there again I'm a man and women tend to see it differently....


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## MiniSilkys (Aug 22, 2019)

I have 1 chicken that is 9 years old. I got her at 3 days old. She sits in my lap. No way could I get rid of her. The others I did not name this time. I have 3 white Chinese geese that are now 2 months old and 1 have taken wry neck. It is awful.


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## Tehwrd (Jan 10, 2021)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Actually you don't.  A good well-bred pygmy doesn't need fat.  They are a muscular breed by nature.  I eat muscle - not fat.   Here's an example of what I'm talking about.  (a lot of what are called "pygmy" these days - actually are not)
> 
> This is an example of a nice pygmy doe - well muscled.
> 
> ...


Thank you for this!  I had no idea that pygmy goats were more than pets.  We have limited space and funds and I would really like to have dairy goats for our family as well as raise meat goats.  We are going for self sufficiency.  About how many pounds of meat does a pygmy yield?  About how long from birth to processing?


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## frustratedearthmother (Jan 10, 2021)

Gosh - it's been a minute or two since I butchered a pygmy.   Unfortunately, I've never weighed the goats or the yield.  But, we did a smallish/young wether about 4 or 5 months old.  He weighed "about" 40ish lbs.  Meat yield was approximately only about 10 - 12 lbs, but through no fault of the goat.  He'd been attacked by a dog and we lost both front legs/shoulders and neck because of the dog attack.   If I were still raising pygmies I'd probably butcher around 9 - 12 months.


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## Tehwrd (Jan 10, 2021)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Gosh - it's been a minute or two since I butchered a pygmy.   Unfortunately, I've never weighed the goats or the yield.  But, we did a smallish/young wether about 4 or 5 months old.  He weighed "about" 40ish lbs.  Meat yield was approximately only about 10 - 12 lbs, but through no fault of the goat.  He'd been attacked by a dog and we lost both front legs/shoulders and neck because of the dog attack.   If I were still raising pygmies I'd probably butcher around 9 - 12 months.


Thank you for such a quick reply!  It does give me at least an idea.  It seems difficult to find information about goats, beyond Boer for meat.  We haven't eaten goat before, but we're looking for self sufficiency and planning to make some changes in our eating habits to accommodate that!


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