nightshade
Ridin' The Range
yea so it helps protect him from the kid that is trying to eat him 
My son just loves Fat Tony!
- Thread starter PattiXmas
- Start date
Sorry to throw this in, but thought it better than a new thread.
What is the difference between the taste of meat from a meat goat (Boer) and dairy goats (Nubian, Saanen)? Or is it just quantity that is different?
What is the difference between the taste of meat from a meat goat (Boer) and dairy goats (Nubian, Saanen)? Or is it just quantity that is different?
Wow.. I really thought for a second....
I know folks who would just as soon knock one in the head and eat it as to look at it.. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but that's just not how I roll.. I just don't think I've got it in me.. I can kill and dress a deer, or a rabbit, or a squirrel, or even a home-raised chicken...but a goat? I kinda doubt it.. Too hard on my heart.
Take my little urinary calculi case, for instance...I've spent probably a couple hundred bucks so far to save this goat, even though I'd be lucky to get $75 out of him if he were healthy.. Money-wise, this is definitely a losing proposition..
A couple of folks told me I should just put him in the freezer when he came down with it, because "nobody ever saved one" with UC -- well.....yeah.....that's because y'all keep knocking them in the head and putting them in the freezer instead of trying to learn how to save one!!!!! Duh!
Now...How much you guys wanna bet that when somebody's big fancy $_ _ , _ _ _ buck goes down with UC, my phone rings...at 3am...because I'm the only "idiot" around here who ever put the time in to help one instead of being "smart" and eating it.....
Maybe that's when I get my piddly few $$$ back. 
Wow...that turned into a rant. Sorry 'bout that.
I know folks who would just as soon knock one in the head and eat it as to look at it.. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but that's just not how I roll.. I just don't think I've got it in me.. I can kill and dress a deer, or a rabbit, or a squirrel, or even a home-raised chicken...but a goat? I kinda doubt it.. Too hard on my heart.
Take my little urinary calculi case, for instance...I've spent probably a couple hundred bucks so far to save this goat, even though I'd be lucky to get $75 out of him if he were healthy.. Money-wise, this is definitely a losing proposition..
A couple of folks told me I should just put him in the freezer when he came down with it, because "nobody ever saved one" with UC -- well.....yeah.....that's because y'all keep knocking them in the head and putting them in the freezer instead of trying to learn how to save one!!!!! Duh!
Now...How much you guys wanna bet that when somebody's big fancy $_ _ , _ _ _ buck goes down with UC, my phone rings...at 3am...because I'm the only "idiot" around here who ever put the time in to help one instead of being "smart" and eating it.....
Maybe that's when I get my piddly few $$$ back.
Wow...that turned into a rant. Sorry 'bout that.
I dunno...I'm with you on the value in homesteading and doing things yourself, but I don't think homesteading means that you necessarily have to do anything that causes you real anguish.. Look at the Nearings...they kept no animals because they didn't believe in it, but I don't think anybody would say that made them any less "homesteaderly."
For instance...I've shot deer, and I've shot a goat. The deer I've shot have caused me a bit of sadness, and I always stand over the animal and feel a guilty for ending a life just so I would have meat in the freezer. In that moment, I feel selfish. I think it's OK to feel that way, so I allow myself that feeling...it keeps me honest, and ensures that I make the best possible use of the meat.
The goat I shot...I was just sick over it. She went down in her hind end, heavy bred.. I was hoping against all hope that she'd stand back up once the kids came along, but she didn't. She wasn't even as far along as I thought she was, so I had to keep her up for about 2mos before she kidded -- which she did, with no assistance. Afterward, I took the kids, bottle fed them, and gave her a little more time to recover just to see if she'd stand.. She never did. So, I got her a big pan of grain, scratched her behind the ears, stood up, took aim, and shot her in the back of the head with a .22. She never knew what hit her.
It was absolutely horrific. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life.
I mean...anyone with a lick of sense would agree that I did her a favor, because she was suffering. I hadn't even had this goat very long, either! But, keeping her up while pregnant meant that I dealt with her twice a day. And she didn't even like me...fought me every chance she could, like if I'd try to move her or whatever..
Still, shooting her was truly awful...so, so very much more than about any deer I've ever killed.
Maybe that's hypocritical...and that's fine, too...all I know is that I feel what I feel, and I'm not going to push it down and give myself an ulcer over it. I'll just feel it. And if the pain and anguish outweigh the reward of doing a certain thing "because I should be able to," I say...to heck with what I should or shouldn't be able to do according to whomever.
I'm a homesteader. A big part of being a homesteader is doing whatever I daggone well please to do...if that means you keep pet goats and buy your meat at the store, so be it.
So, keep the wethers if you want. Tell the "real farmers" that they're pets and watch them roll their eyes. Who cares?
You're a homesteader...you're supposed to be weird.
For instance...I've shot deer, and I've shot a goat. The deer I've shot have caused me a bit of sadness, and I always stand over the animal and feel a guilty for ending a life just so I would have meat in the freezer. In that moment, I feel selfish. I think it's OK to feel that way, so I allow myself that feeling...it keeps me honest, and ensures that I make the best possible use of the meat.
The goat I shot...I was just sick over it. She went down in her hind end, heavy bred.. I was hoping against all hope that she'd stand back up once the kids came along, but she didn't. She wasn't even as far along as I thought she was, so I had to keep her up for about 2mos before she kidded -- which she did, with no assistance. Afterward, I took the kids, bottle fed them, and gave her a little more time to recover just to see if she'd stand.. She never did. So, I got her a big pan of grain, scratched her behind the ears, stood up, took aim, and shot her in the back of the head with a .22. She never knew what hit her.
It was absolutely horrific. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life.
I mean...anyone with a lick of sense would agree that I did her a favor, because she was suffering. I hadn't even had this goat very long, either! But, keeping her up while pregnant meant that I dealt with her twice a day. And she didn't even like me...fought me every chance she could, like if I'd try to move her or whatever..
Still, shooting her was truly awful...so, so very much more than about any deer I've ever killed.
Maybe that's hypocritical...and that's fine, too...all I know is that I feel what I feel, and I'm not going to push it down and give myself an ulcer over it. I'll just feel it. And if the pain and anguish outweigh the reward of doing a certain thing "because I should be able to," I say...to heck with what I should or shouldn't be able to do according to whomever.
I'm a homesteader. A big part of being a homesteader is doing whatever I daggone well please to do...if that means you keep pet goats and buy your meat at the store, so be it.
So, keep the wethers if you want. Tell the "real farmers" that they're pets and watch them roll their eyes. Who cares?
You're a homesteader...you're supposed to be weird.
Farmer Kitty
True BYH Addict
I think it's all in how you look at them. I processed chicken last year that were my layers and pets. They were no longer laying and this is a working farm. They had to go. It wasn't easy and some I cried over.
Then there's the ones that I specifically raised for meat. Those were easier to do. I respected their lives and gave thanks but, this was what they were raised for.
It's the same way when we butcher a cow for meat. Or have to put one down due to suffering. The one being butchered we go into knowing what it's purpose in life is. The one being put down for suffering is harder to deal with because it's not what you associate with her. I've cried many times when putting down one that's suffering. It never gets any easier either.
If you look at the animal as a pet, it will be hard to put them down, whether for meat or because they are suffering.
Then there's the ones that I specifically raised for meat. Those were easier to do. I respected their lives and gave thanks but, this was what they were raised for.
It's the same way when we butcher a cow for meat. Or have to put one down due to suffering. The one being butchered we go into knowing what it's purpose in life is. The one being put down for suffering is harder to deal with because it's not what you associate with her. I've cried many times when putting down one that's suffering. It never gets any easier either.
If you look at the animal as a pet, it will be hard to put them down, whether for meat or because they are suffering.
Gatorpupsmom
Chillin' with the herd
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When our newest Nubian was born, the kids and I were mulling over a name when my husband reminded us that it's easier to eat something you haven't named. Okay, the chances of us ever eating Buttercup are a big fat ZERO. But he does have a point.
However, that wild goat that I mentioned in another post IS named Barb....short for Barbecue. While I wouldn't find it particularly pleasant to butcher her, I could probably do it. Or I at least could stand back while my husband did. I have a completely different mindset about the 2 goats.
Kim
However, that wild goat that I mentioned in another post IS named Barb....short for Barbecue. While I wouldn't find it particularly pleasant to butcher her, I could probably do it. Or I at least could stand back while my husband did. I have a completely different mindset about the 2 goats.
Kim
nightshade
Ridin' The Range
yup that is why my hubby names creatures destine for the table things like "Bacon" or "Burger Boy" 
