# Butchering Doe Kids?



## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

Hello!
I thought I would put this out there and see what you more experienced goat people would say.
We keep a small herd of LaMancha dairy goats for milk, and have been doing so for 25 years. This spring, I had two sets of twins born. We have picked the ones we are keeping, but I have two doe kids that must go before winter, for space and budget reasons.
I am sure everyone everywhere is struggling with the rising price of feed, and it is hindering my ability to sell them!! We have never had this problem before.
I am asking $150 each. But people don’t have that, let alone the $300-500 it would take to feed EACH goat for a year. And that’s just the cost of hay in our area. We also do not have a local market or auction yard...not that I would prefer that option, anyways.
I just don’t feel peace giving them away for nothing....then who knows how they will be taken care of.
So, it looks like my last available option, if they are not gone by winter, will be to put them in the freezer. We did butcher two of our older wethers for the first time last fall, and are hunters, so we know how. But...these does are tiny!! The heaviest is 28 pounds, and they are currently twelve weeks old.
Is it worth it? And if so, how would I go about putting meat on them, without spending a fortune on feed? They are currently on grass hay, minerals, alfalfa pellets and any leftover whey from cheese making.
And what age is ideal? I would rather not house them through the winter.
Thank you so much for being willing to read this! We love our goats and want to do what’s best for them. I am afraid that this will be our new reality after we freshen our does each year. Too bad 😢
Praying that things turn around for our economy!

***picture is just for attention, and to cause smiles!


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## double j (Aug 16, 2021)

Lyns88 said:


> View attachment 234495
> 
> Hello!
> I thought I would put this out there and see what you more experienced goat people would say.
> ...


Where are you located? I know someone who's looking for LaManchas, if not to far away she may be interested.


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

I am in Kalispell, MT


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## Boadicea (9 mo ago)

Following. I have three mini Nubian bucklings that no one will buy (been up for sale for months). I’m in the same boat. We need to thin our buck numbers because that makes 6 with those boys!!! We’re looking at butchering them ourselves but they seem so small that I don’t know if it’s worth it. But like OP, I don’t want to just give them away... 

Best of luck!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is always a bad feeling when butchering does. 😮

Have you tried dropping price to get them sold? 

Where are you advertising?


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I have zero experience butchering goats but I read that the hanging weight will usually be about 45% of the live weight and the meat weight will be about 55% of the hanging weight, if that helps at all. If this is fairly accurate and my math is right, a 100 lb goat butchered would yield about 25 lbs of meat, a 50 lb goat a little over 12 lbs of meat. Hopefully those with experience can say if what I read sounds about right or not. 

It seems like everyone is selling and few are buying. If butchering is what it comes to, at least you know they were treated well at your place and will have a humane end. I hope the right buyer comes along and you don’t have to worry about it. That’s my hope for all of us.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Usually you want to wait until they are about 8 months. But if you are doing it yourself and need them gone by winter, does it really matter how much meat you get?


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

I thought I’d read 9 months was ideal- pretty close to @ksalvagno.
Let them graze and browse this summer (and maybe they’ll sell!) then once it’s cooling off and you have a hard freeze to kill the flies, it’ll be time to say goodbye.
We process ours ourselves and try to hang a couple days. Just because after butchering we aren’t ready to tackle cut and wrap too. 
so far we’ve done older wethers, so 2-3 years old. Really big with a ton of fat on them. 
This years goat will be our first doe. We have a 2yo who won’t get bred and can’t afford to keep them for no return.
And we will just take all the wethers to the auction. We still have a good meat market here, but we are planning on selling in Nov instead of keeping them for sale in February. They’ll be a little smaller than normal, but we won’t have to feed over winter.


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## Rancho Draco (Sep 29, 2021)

If I have any kids left over (doe or buckling) I let them graze for the summer and they get their normal small amount of grain and I butcher once we get a hard freeze and cool enough weather for the carcasses to hang for a day or two. I suspect you won't get very much off of a dairy kid but it's better than feeding them over winter.


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

toth boer goats said:


> It is always a bad feeling when butchering does. 😮
> 
> Have you tried dropping price to get them sold?
> 
> Where are you advertising?


I would feel bad. But at least they will be providing for my family either way.
I have dropped the price a bit, and am advertising in multiple Facebook groups, Craigslist and our local “weekly shopper” publication.


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

FizzyGoats said:


> I have zero experience butchering goats but I read that the hanging weight will usually be about 45% of the live weight and the meat weight will be about 55% of the hanging weight, if that helps at all. If this is fairly accurate and my math is right, a 100 lb goat butchered would yield about 25 lbs of meat, a 50 lb goat a little over 12 lbs of meat. Hopefully those with experience can say if what I read sounds about right or not.
> 
> It seems like everyone is selling and few are buying. If butchering is what it comes to, at least you know they were treated well at your place and will have a humane end. I hope the right buyer comes along and you don’t have to worry about it. That’s my hope for all of us.


I have not totally given up hope yet! I would rather they go to a good home. Those numbers sound about right, with what little experience we have. We got 26lbs of ground meat off of two small wethers last fall. They weighed 50 and 70 pounds.


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

ksalvagno said:


> Usually you want to wait until they are about 8 months. But if you are doing it yourself and need them gone by winter, does it really matter how much meat you get?


Thanks! This seems to be the popular opinion. And I’m not going to be a huge stickler about weight. If I can’t sell them though, it would be nice to get a decent return on them...then I won’t feel like any of our love and time spent was for nothing


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

Thank you for all of your input, everyone! I guess we will keep trying to sell, and prepare ourselves to say thank you and goodbye when the weather turns.
At least this way, I won’t be worried about wether or not they are being cared for and being appreciated.


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## Genesee H & L (10 mo ago)

Lyns88 said:


> View attachment 234495
> 
> Hello!
> I thought I would put this out there and see what you more experienced goat people would say.
> ...


I may have a slightly different perspective than other goat people on this topic. I wouldn't feel any worse having a doe butchered, than having a wether or buck butchered. That said, the big disadvantage I see here is that we always want to sell the does kids - even super cheap, if we have to - so they get that those "good home". How good are these good homes that can't or won't pay even a remotely reasonable price? Will there ever by any vet care at all? On top of which, we'll be seeing even more kids bred out of heaven-knows-what, and the market will be even more flooded than it is now. To top it off, they can sell for really really cheap since they got them for so little and make a little pocket change! Where I live, this happened to Nigerians. Every animal just had to go for breeding, no matter how cheap they got ... so now they're free on Craigslist.


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

Genesee H & L said:


> I may have a slightly different perspective than other goat people on this topic. I wouldn't feel any worse having a doe butchered, than having a wether or buck butchered. That said, the big disadvantage I see here is that we always want to sell the does kids - even super cheap, if we have to - so they get that those "good home". How good are these good homes that can't or won't pay even a remotely reasonable price? Will there ever by any vet care at all? On top of which, we'll be seeing even more kids bred out of heaven-knows-what, and the market will be even more flooded than it is now. To top it off, they can sell for really really cheap since they got them for so little and make a little pocket change! Where I live, this happened to Nigerians. Every animal just had to go for breeding, no matter how cheap they got ... so now they're free on Craigslist.


I COMPLETELY agree with you! That is kind of why I find myself in this predicament. I would rather know that these girls had a good home and now get to feed my family then go who knows where. If people can’t pay $150 for a goat, there is NO way I trust them to feed them....and hopefully they don’t allow them to have kids. We take such good care of our babies, that just concerns me. 
I was just looking for butchering input, since they are so tiny.


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## Genesee H & L (10 mo ago)

Lyns88 said:


> I COMPLETELY agree with you! That is kind of why I find myself in this predicament. I would rather know that these girls had a good home and now get to feed my family then go who knows where. If people can’t pay $150 for a goat, there is NO way I trust them to feed them....and hopefully they don’t allow them to have kids. We take such good care of our babies, that just concerns me.
> I was just looking for butchering input, since they are so tiny.


From what I've seen, they ALWAYS allow them to have kids. And the more, the better. If "pet" does could be spayed (and I don't mean at a ridiculous cost) before sale, the goat world might be in a better place for many breeds.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

This year is horrible for selling.
I have never had an issue before selling especially my doelings. 

High gas prices, grain, hay, meds etc. 
has killed the market. 

I have beautiful show doelings, which I have dropped their prices dramatically, yet here they are. Still here. I cannot butcher them. Just can’t. 😳😬


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## Genesee H & L (10 mo ago)

toth boer goats said:


> This year is horrible for selling.
> I have never had an issue before selling especially my doelings.
> 
> High gas prices, grain, hay, meds etc.
> ...


You have gorgeous (registered) animals and I completely understand. Try to get an "in" with a transporter/shipper, and I bet you could sell them in an instant at a decent price. I know I would be interested!


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## Genesee H & L (10 mo ago)

I think the goat market that has sustained the most damage is the mid-range market. You're not going to be getting people driving in from out-of-state or paying $500+ for shipping in the this market. It's also the market that is the most susceptible to permanent damage, imo. I would think high-end should still sell - if people can actually obtain them. Scammers and gas-prices have have really hurt the livestock transportation sector. But gas prices appear to be going down. If only I could say the same for scammers ...


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## Lyns88 (8 mo ago)

Yes....scammers. I’ve had some fishy people offering me to pay all transport, full asking price of the animals and have them shipped clear across the country. For a couple of unregistered animals, that you have never even seen or put you ur hands on? So frustrating!

I wish it was worth the effort of getting everyone registered and catering to a different t market, who know what they are doing. But, the people in my area just don’t care and are happy breeding backyard, who knows what. So, I’ll just keep my happy, unregistered babies and enjoy them. The goat world has definitely gone downhill since I was younger!


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## Rosiethebabygoat (Apr 27, 2021)

I hope you can find homes for them. There has to be someone that wants them as pets. In my area a lot of people use goats for brush control.


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## BrookviewFarm (Apr 8, 2021)

After reading this thread I can't believe the goats aren't selling I literally raised my prices of does and buckling this year because hay and grain went up. last year was $180-$200 for doe and $150-180 for bucks.
This year $200 for buck $300 for doe. They mostly sold in one - two days. I couldn't believe it because feed is so high I had two people buy multiples and they are definitely good homes.


I live in CT and I can say multiple buyers say that they look hard and can't find mini nubians around here. I only know of one other farm with mini nubians.

Most around here are Nigerian dwarf or standard nubians.
I saw ND's for sale for $400 while I had mine for sale.

Dave


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## Nigerians (Feb 4, 2021)

We have a herd of 20 Nigerians, with a few Nigerian/Pygmy crosses. I've been trying to sell 2 of the crosses, and 2 Nigerian wethers for months. I have another cross that is weaning a set of twins, and am advertising her as in milk. All on Craigslist. I've had a few inquiries about the last doe, and someone finally at least came to look at her on Saturday, but no takers (they didn't think she could produce enough for their needs). 
I have her listed for $250, the other 2 does for $200 (both have produced lovely sets of twins), and the wethers for $125 as pets.
We are in south/central KY.

I really don't want to do Facebook anymore, and have not found a community newspaper. This has already been a hard decision to make, so I don't want to drop the price further. There's no way we'd butcher them or take them to auction. We're pretty attached to our goats! 

I was wanting to breed some of the purebred does this spring to one of our homebred, gorgeous, little blue-eyed buck, but don't feel like I can without selling some first.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I know a lot of people do butcher does/doelings but I can't bring myself to do it. Wethers? No problem, but the girls? Nah. I have way too many right now with 3 or 4 that didn't sell. I am keeping them over until spring, or save them for fall, breed them, and sell them as bred. Most people wanted bred or milking does this year. I don't part with my milkers, so I had nothing that they wanted.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Same here. 🤗

This is an older thread, but I hear you.


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## Moon.Stars (Jan 11, 2022)

I would say it is worth it, rabbits and chickens are butchered for less. We butchered a severely anemic 6 month old doeling this summer, and even though we just took legs and back straps, it was still multiple meals.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ehhh if it’s a good doe No not worth butchering. But a wether is usually not up to par to pass his lines along. There are does that fit that bill as well and I think are better as being butchered then passing cull qualities along.
But fun fact I learned this year when we took our calf’s to the feed yard then sold direct. Most of our heifers graded well (which is how we get paid) and some didn’t grade well. I learned that depending on where the female is on her cycle will effect how they grade. Just thought that was interesting and I would share for those that are willing to butcher females


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

That is interesting! Gosh, I didn’t really think about hormones in the meat. Lol
When is the optimal time? A week after they’re done? Or 2 weeks out? How do we pin point it if they’re sneaky? 😅


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Quite frankly, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Prices for food, etc is just going to go higher. Better in the freezer than starving. Better in the freezer than you not being able to pay your bills.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Boer Mama said:


> That is interesting! Gosh, I didn’t really think about hormones in the meat. Lol
> When is the optimal time? A week after they’re done? Or 2 weeks out? How do we pin point it if they’re sneaky?


They had told us but I can not remember. I will have to see if my mom remembers what was said. I just had that lightbulb moment on why heifers don’t bring as much and I was wrong when I assumed it was because they went into heat and caused the others to not eat and act like fools instead


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