# Goat meat



## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

If you were to raise goats for meat purposes would their be certain breeds better for this purpose or would most goats taste the same and provide quality meat?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I think how they taste depends on what they have been eating.

There are definitely "meat" breeds and "dairy" breeds. Around here, "dairy" goats sell for 2-3 times as much (or more) as meat goats.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

http://home.comcast.net/~edelweissacres/ewacres4.htm

Did you know....

...The proper name for a group of goats is a trip.
...Baby goats are kids. 
...males are called bucks.
...females are called does.
...A domestic male is sometimes called a billy; a female, a nanny.
...Goats are great swimmers.
...If bottled raised, goats will become bonded to their caregivers.
...Goats were domesticated around 7000 B.C.
...Domestic goats are found worldwide.
...Pygmy goats are a goat species, not a breed.
...There are six recognized dairy goat breeds in the United States: Alpine, La Mancha, Oberhasli, Nubian, Saanen, Toggenburg.
...Each breed of dairy goat gives a different tasting milk. Oberhasli goats give milk that tastes closest to cow's milk. 
...Anything you make with cow's milk, you can make with goat's milk.
...Goat's discovered coffee beans.
...Goat milk has a higher butterfat content than cow's milk.
...Hearty seafarers, goats were kept by sailors for milk.
...Ancient Greeks used goat skins to make vellum and parchment.
...Goats are depicted in Paleolithic art.
...True wild goats are found throughout southern Asia.
...The Ibex (another wild goat species) populates Europe, Asia and Africa.
...Matriarchal herds of goats consist of 5 to 20 individuals.
...Goats are browsers, not grazers.
...Goats are extremely picky about what they eat.
...Goats DO NOT eat tin cans.
...Goats have only bottom front and side teeth, the top jaw does have a large back molar for crushing things.
...Goats have rectangular eyes - this allows them to see very well in the dark.
...Goats contribute to desertification in Africa.
...The Rocky Mountain "goat" is not a true goat; it is closer to a sheep.
...Wild goats don't sleep.
...Goats use straw to scratch their backs.
...Cashmere comes from the undercoat of the Asian Kashmiri goat, with the average annual yield per animal being less than one pound.
...Mohair comes from the Turkish Angora goat.
...Most mohair now comes from Angora fleece raised in the U.S., with the average annual yield per animal being four pounds.
...Goats catch colds and can succumb to pneumonia.
...The fat molecules in goat milk are five times smaller than the fat molecules in cow milk. Goat milk is broken down in the stomach in twenty minutes; it takes an hour for the stomach to break down cow's milk.
...Goats are great as stock animals. Goats are easier on the trail than other pack/stock animals. Properly conditioned, a goat can carry up to 25%-30% of its body weight.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

http://www.famu.edu/cesta/main/asse...mall ruminant/goat pubs/Facts About Goats.pdf

20. Goats do not eat tin cans, clothing or
garbage, but are selective eaters when
provided with a well-balanced diet.

29. Goats are bovines and are closely related to cows and antelopes.

37. Goats do no like to get wet and prefer to seek shelter when it is
raining.

52. Depending on the breed, adult female goats can weigh between 22
to 300 pounds and adult males between 27 to 350 pounds of body
weight.

61. Before coins were used for money, goats were
traded for silver because they were so valuable.

67. Goat's milk is higher in calcium, vitamin A and niacin than cow's
milk.

68. Goat meat is lower in fat and cholesterol compared to beef, pork,
mutton and poultry.

98. Boer goats are considered the leading meat breed in the U.S.
today. Mature males can weigh between 260 to 380 pounds and
the females may weigh between 210- 300 pounds.

106. According to Roman history, on February 15th, young men would
run around wearing only the skins of goats they sacrificed
earlier and hit women with strips of goat skin, known as februa,
to promote fertility. It is from these purification instruments
that the month of February gets its name.


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

If it were me, I would opt for pygmy's. Their milk is high in butterfat. They are small. They can be used for meat. They don't produce much milk but my family is small and wouldn't consume as much. We had a Lamancha and it was way to much milk for us 3. That is my personal choice even many people may not agree with me.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

LT thank you I really enjoyed that. As a child my father raise dairy goats because I was unable to drink cows milk for some reason, but was able to tolerate goats milk. I think that next spring I'm going to start raising goats.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

I have a huge sticker problem on my land and several people suggested getting a couple goats to take care of it. Will they really eat stickers?


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

millertimedoneright said:


> If you were to raise goats for meat purposes would their be certain breeds better for this purpose or would most goats taste the same and provide quality meat?


Generally speaking, get the cheapest young buck goat you can. Wether it and feed it well. You will have the best Chevon. Goats are pretty easy to raise for meat. It's much easier than keeping a herd of does year round.

There are differences between the type of goat. milk breeds, meat breeds, mixes of the two all have their benefits and issues. Milk breeds grow real fast, but are generally light for their size. If the size and weight are the same the butchered dairy goat will have less meat than a meat breed. With meat breeds young males are generally higher priced because they will have more meat at slaughter. For Dairy breeds young males the cheapest of all goats, some times they can be had for little to nothing. Feeding dairy breed wethers is cheap and they will likely thrive on just hay. A meat goat will need grains or high energy foods to get to a worth while size for the efforts and costs. The meat breed goat will be finished in 9 months max. The dairy breed will take 12-18 months to get in good flesh.

In the end, They both will make good tasting meat. You have to decide what you want to spend and the effort you want to put in. Both will give you high quality cuts. Meat breeds at a slightly higher cost but faster.


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

valannb22 said:


> I have a huge sticker problem on my land and several people suggested getting a couple goats to take care of it. Will they really eat stickers?


They won't eat the actual thorns. But they will eat all the leaves and tender shoots.


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## Quills (Jun 14, 2011)

I do raise goats for meat  We raise Boers, which are a meat breed, and very, VERY easy to manage. For the most part, they're as friendly as dogs, and while they do have a propensity for getting their head stuck in things, they're quick to get to market weight (about six months), and they'll clean up a pasture VERY quickly -- they love browse, so bushy stuff is their favourite, but they're happy with mixed pasturage, with a little bit of grain to supplement occasionally. I also give mine the occasional mineral supplement, but it's not entirely necessary, depending on what your pasture contains.

They don't require a whole lot of interference, but the buck should be kept separate, and only let out with the ladies when you want them bred. The buck is happier if he has a couple of wethers (castrated males) to keep him company when he's not allowed with the ladies.

They require good fencing, or they WILL escape. They're very curious, and personable, and they want to know what is OVER THERE. Doesn't matter where they are... they want to be OVER THERE.

The meat is hard to describe. I often tell people it's like a cross between lamb and venison. They are a much leaner animal than a steer or a pig. The meat is delicious. We eat a lot of it in curries and stews, but it's wonderful roasted, and the tenderloins are fantastic done as shish-kabobs. It also makes really, really good summer sausage.

We slaughter two for our own use each fall, and the meat, along with the other meats we raise, generally keeps us going until mid-summer or better. We are a family of four.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

I asked cuz in highschool we butchered and BBQ a boer goat...it was amazing...me and my wife are looking to start raising some for meat so I figured I would ask which was the best for that purpose


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

millertimedoneright said:


> I asked cuz in highschool we butchered and BBQ a boer goat...it was amazing...me and my wife are looking to start raising some for meat so I figured I would ask which was the best for that purpose


The best to raise for Boer goat BBQ? Boer IMHO would make very good boer BBQ well I'm sure.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

I've eaten a pretty fair amount of Pronghorn Antelope meat and it is mighty fine(they are in the goat family).


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

Chad brought home an antelope once, I did not like that meat at all.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Goats have a definite size advantage when you need to take them somewhere (vet, or to be bred, for example) in that they can ride in the back of a pickup truck or in a van, with the dogs. No bovine can do that, least not a full grown one!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

The only antelope I have eaten was from eastern Montana - - not much grows out there but a lot of sage brush. The meat was very distinctive tasting, very "sage-brushy". Edible, but not great.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

LincTex said:


> The only antelope I have eaten was from eastern Montana - - not much grows out there but a lot of sage brush. The meat was very distinctive tasting, very "sage-brushy". Edible, but not great.


One of the guys in my ward shot a sagebrush deer a couple years ago. They almost tossed it, but for the heck of it, they decided to try canning it. Took all of the sagebrush flavor away.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

hiwall said:


> I've eaten a pretty fair amount of Pronghorn Antelope meat and it is mighty fine(they are in the goat family).


We call those SPEED GOATS!

Goat meat is nothing like you would expect it to taste like. Just the plain meat like a steak and such I really could care less but put it in a chili and now you have a whole other thing. I find it bland tasting and adding it to other stuff still gets you the protein but it also adds some kick. Why do you think the Mexican people have it in a lot of their food?


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Goats are great.
Read Read Read.
Then buy ONE nanny bottle baby.
She will be your best friend and future herd boss.
When she is ONE year old buy another.
Then start breeding and she will do most of your goat training for you.
Or you can buy ten this year and hate goats next year.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

I can't raise them, I can cook them:

Pressure cook 3 Lb of goat haunch until its flaking off the bone,
Stir fry with a tablespoon each of lemon grass and ginger root,when nearly brown, add
a light dusting of rice flour and completely brown, serve with rice and steamed veggies.


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## Kattscrowd (May 28, 2013)

I want to chime in on the dairy goat part of this thread.. imho you can *never* have too much goat's milk!!!! Cheeses (delish!), soaps (though you don't actually use that much milk with that unless you are a soap-a-holic like I am) you can raise up a bottle calf on goat's milk.. the list goes on and on  I have a mixed dairy herd and the hubster is wanting a meat herd. atm we have an alpine doe who was bred to a huge boer goat.. we have two babies off of her (she kidded mid-summer, she was an auction goat and didn't look pregnant, then one day poof babies on the ground  not the way to kid out!) And I also have her son who bred all of my milk goats this year  The buck pen went the way that everyone has described fencing.. An older man once told me that a fence in water, that fence would hold a goat:surrender: And all of my boys got out with all my girls and had a party oops: I was not impressed.
As far as which goat to raise for meat.. once again, depends.. around here boers are high dollar, but they also require the most care. We are looking at a boer/kiko/Spanish mix for our herd. As in dairy, we've found (we used to have a meat herd, but I wanted to focus on dairy and didn't want the two to mix...  better luck next year for me.. But back to what I was saying.. our mixed herd really thrived well out here. We have 90 acres of scrub and rocks. Never had to grain them, ran them with a couple of LGD's, vetted them once a year and they were great.
Imho goat tastes closer to venison.. lean meat..


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Valannb22, the wild deer,donkey & Goats eat wild blackberry plants, as well as my tame ones.
But they eat the tender new growth, think young asparagus spear, the young, new growth on a wild blackberry vine/cane can be eaten by you.I do not know what it taste like, but the young thorns are tender.
That is what people see the animals eating, not last year harden thorns,IMO.


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