# 3 questions about Boys as meat goats



## tberggren (Jan 21, 2008)

Hi everyone, very much in the learning stage here.

I was wondering, if you have some boys for meat, do they really need to be wethered?
I mean do you end up keeping them long enough for that to be a problem?
I do intend to have a couple of milking goats also and don't want the milk spoiled.

Also what is your experience as far as the boys fleshing out when they are not wethered as opposed to when they are. Have you noticed a difference? A sheep farmer said with sheep that it slowed down their growth, wondering if it is the same with goats.

My third question is how old are they when it's time to process them? Or does it depend.

Thanks everyone,
Hope you don't mind all the questions. Smiley

Theresa


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## Shelly (Oct 5, 2007)

I know people who don't wether their meat animal. Yes intact males grow faster. Even leaving them intact for a month makes a difference in growth. I would not leave them in the same pen with does. Intact males can start breeding is early is 5 months. When to process is up to you 8 to 9 month is the average around here. Shelly


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

I have heard that if you leave a male intact when butchered that the meet will taste bad...I have never eaten goat so I am not sure if that is true...i would wether them though


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## getchagoat (Julie) (Oct 5, 2007)

Intact males won't taste bad as opposed to a wether. Other things can cause it, but not that.
We don't wether ours in case a 4-H kid decides at the last minute they want one - which happened this year. And why risk infection if they are going for meat?
The length of time you keep them depends on your local market. Around here, 60 - 80 pounds sell for the best price per pound. But if you take them in September versus August, you'll get a lot less per pound so the extra pounds they gained in the month, don't get anymore money.


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for clearing that up Julie!


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

> I was wondering, if you have some boys for meat, do they really need to be wethered?


Depending upon when you butcher them yes, they do need to be wethered. We ate some bucks that were 6-9 months old and they all tasted bucky. The meat wasn't tough but I couldn't get past the taste, even when it was sausage.



> I mean do you end up keeping them long enough for that to be a problem?


Bucks become sexually mature at 2 months of age, and to prevent any accidents, we wether the boys at that age. We do not have enough space to separate all the boys so we wether them. We usually butcher at anywhere from 7-12 months, depending upon how big of a goat we want.



> Also what is your experience as far as the boys fleshing out when they are not wethered as opposed to when they are. Have you noticed a difference?


I honestly have never noticed a difference, our wethers grow just as fast as our bucks. We raise boers.



> My third question is how old are they when it's time to process them? Or does it depend.


It really depends upon the size you want them, we butcher at 7 months and over to get the most meat.


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## getchagoat (Julie) (Oct 5, 2007)

Hmmm...we had always heard that the bucky thing was just a myth. I'll have to wether one this year and taste it.  I've not eaten from our farm before.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

I don't know who said it was a myth but its true  and that was not fun having to eat buck meat for 3 months


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## getchagoat (Julie) (Oct 5, 2007)

LOL. Well we ate some buck this last year and it was good. I've not eaten wether, just the buck.


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## Shelly (Oct 5, 2007)

A lot of the taste has to do with keeping the skin away form the meat at butcher time. It's the same with lamb. Lamb taste bad when the skin which has lanolin was not removed carefully. Also watch that the bladder doesn't get open when removing. Shelly


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

someone also mentioned in another thread to keep the urithra line away from the meat when processing.


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

All mine have been butchered at 4 1/2 though 6 months- all Boers. I do not wether or disbudd either. They all tasted fine but the ones still nursing tasted better - the meat was lighter and less fat-but no bucky taste at all ever in any. 
The point at which they were able to breed the does varied from three months on depending on the individual.


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## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

I don't really know if it make a difference but wethers sell fast and bring more money selling to individuals around here. If I sell to a processing plant it doesnt matter.


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## prairiewolf (Oct 17, 2007)

As far as selling goes we have done it both ways. I do think the uncastrated bucks grew a little faster, and of course no risk of infection from banding; but we also had the pain of keeping them seperate where the wethered kids could grow and live right along with the does in the big pasture. If you are selling for meat alot of people want to buy one that is 80lbs since processing is ususally done by the head with goats, but a lot of people don't want to buy a buckling that big for meat especially if he is starting to act mature or showing any signs of being in rut. This is selling off the farm that I am talking about. I have no idea if it affects the taste of the meat or not, I have been told yes and no, but enough people believe it does that it makes it more difficult in my experience to sell intact bucklings for meat.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

So far around here no one has cared if he was intact or not. Our boys go for meat as early as 3 mo.


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