to castrate or not to castrate?

[bettybohemian]

I have a very small herd, one Buck and 4 does. I want to have a spring and fall breeding. We plan on eating whatever offspring don't get traded or sold. I've been told not castrating them allows them to grow larger faster and I have small goats so that's important. I've also her that bucks meat tastes ' bucky' ( whatever that means). Is their really that big of a difference in taste?

 

[cstafford93514@yahoo.com]

Part of your decision hinges upon your meat market. Some ethnic circles prefer the animal to be intact. They want the horns and the testicles left alone. I believe the animal looks bigger with horns although they may not BE bigger. If you know how to properly slaughter the animal (I don't n don't wanna learn) I don't think the musk will affect the meat.
HTH,
Carol Stafford

 

[bettybohemian]

Its just for my family. We have very close friends from Mexico that are doing the butchering in exchange for meat.

 

[cstafford93514@yahoo.com]

Ask your Mexican friends about the slaughter process. When i sold meat goats to Mexicans they were VERY knowledgeable. That can tell you if you should castrate and or disbud. Take care, Carol

 

[bettybohemian]

Good idea!

 

[Ariel301]

I don't bother dehorning goats I'm going to eat. I only disbud kids being sold as bucks or does that will be used for show.

As for castration--how old are you going to let the animal get before eating? An older (1 year or more) buck has a strong unpleasant odor because he pees on himself to attract mates, and if the meat is not handled right, the meat can be contaminated, causing it to taste the way the animal smelled. If it is handled correctly, it tastes fine to me, about like eating deer. A touch gamey, stronger than beef, but not unpleasant. Castrated goats taste a little milder--but you will not notice a difference at all in kids butchered less than a year old. One thing to consider is that male kids can start mating as young as two months old, so if you do not castrate, you will have to have separate housing for them where they cannot breed any females unless you want them to--you don't want a buckling mating his sister at four months old! I raise dairy type goats, so meat goats may be different, but I don't notice that wethers and bucks grow much differently within the first few months, mine are the same size at six months old, which is about as old as I let them get before putting them in the freezer.

 

[20kidsonhill]

We castrate(band) everything at 4 to 6 weeks, We just don't have the room to seperate our bucklings from everything else. They seem to grow fine, .5 to .6 lbs gain pr day(meat goat).

You do need to make sure they are vaccinated before castrating.

I think the recommended age for castrating is 8 weeks, to help in the prevention of UC(urinary Calculi). whethers have a better chance of getting Uc. So if you are planning on keeping them around for a while they will need (AC)Ammonia Choride in their grain(if you feed grain) and feeds high in calcium like alfalfa aren't the best for them. A mixed grass hay and/or pasture are fine, and if you want to increase their growth rate possibly some grain.

 

[bettybohemian]

I have. Nigerians. I was planning on. Butchering at 6 months. I already feed burmuda to my Buck ( except during winter. He gets both). I do give a little grain to him but primarily just to get him to go where I want him to. I have the room to separate. I have a 16 x 16 Buck pen, 16 x 24 doe pen, 20 x20 duck garden . Thanks for all the info.