# I just butchered my first goats(2)



## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, it was time for the BBQ Boys...two nigie wethers. My DH pulled the trigger and I did the rest. They turned out really nice looking.. My son is coming over tonite to cut them up.(he's a chef, and wants the practice). Then we'll cook some up and I'll have my first taste of goat!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Now what do you all do with the pelts?


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## chigarden (Feb 26, 2011)

Good job !


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

milk and honey said:


> Now what do you all do with the pelts?


I'm looking for a local taxidermy guy to send them out to tan with the hair on for me.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Good job! I have never kept the pelts since I don't want to deal with it but I bet tanning it would be nice.


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## Killer_goat (Jul 11, 2013)

Hmmm...I bet there would be a market for the leather, if not there should be. Not sure but im guessing goat skin leather might be like lamb skin leather. Maybe you could have a nice jacket made..haha


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

I am going to keep my next boer hides from the ones I butcher. I was going to with the last ones but cut through in a few too many places


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

i like goat bbq but i guess it depends on the fat content on the meat. i'm not a heavy meat eater anyway. but do know what i like. i cook it like venison and it's delicious.


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## fiberchick04 (Mar 8, 2010)

Whenever we butcher our goats we get their pelts tanned. Granted we have cashmeres so we usually butcher when they are full in fleece. We can then sell their pelts for a couple hundred dollars.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Fiberchick, do you mail them to someone? Or have someone local? I'm looking at Yost tanning to mail mine to...


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Alright, good for you Heidi! Do let us know how you like it.
If you happen to find someone local I'd sure like to know. There used to be a place in Marysville I think.


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## fiberchick04 (Mar 8, 2010)

milk and honey said:


> Fiberchick, do you mail them to someone? Or have someone local? I'm looking at Yost tanning to mail mine to...


We took ours to a local taxidermist who then sends it off to be tanned. They are stunning when they come back. Where are you located?

Also how are you storing the hides?

Make sure the hair is on the outside, so it's folded flesh on flesh and freeze it. Don't put salt on it as it makes it more difficult to clean the hide to get ready to tan it.


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## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

milk and honey said:


> Now what do you all do with the pelts?


I flesh all meat and fat off the hide, then salt dry it and send to a tannery to get them tanned hair-on. Costs about $45 per hide for me as a taxidermist, may be a bit more for the public. Definitely worth the cost though as its a much better result than anything you can do at home.
I usually send my flat hides to Wildlife Gallery in Michigan. Another good one is East Coast Outdoors in PA. There is also Yost in Wisconsin. I've used all three and they are all good. Wildlife gallery skins come back smelling great and the hair is really shiny.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I'm so glad to hear the recommendations! My pelts were salted, scraped, salt dried and are in the box to go to Yost fur dressing in WI. I just followed their instructions for preparation...
I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Also, I made Asada goat tacos and goat jerky. Both were really good! (I had to wait a few days before I could tuck into the meat:/).


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I'm so glad to hear if the recommendations... My pelts have been salted, scraped, salt dried and packaged to be mailed to Yost in WI. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out! I just followed their instructions.
I also made goat Asada tacos and jerky! Both were really good ( although I had to wait a couple days before tucking into the meat...:/ )


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Oops...


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## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

I just got my first goat hide back from the tannery. They did a really nice job. It was only a half hide.


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## wildegoats0426 (Aug 30, 2013)

I tried goat ribs a couple weeks ago, which was also the first time I ever tried goat. LOVED it


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## Pats_Perfect_Boer_Goats (Oct 24, 2013)

fiberchick04 said:


> We took ours to a local taxidermist who then sends it off to be tanned. They are stunning when they come back. Where are you located?
> 
> Also how are you storing the hides?
> 
> Make sure the hair is on the outside, so it's folded flesh on flesh and freeze it. Don't put salt on it as it makes it more difficult to clean the hide to get ready to tan it.


It depends on how long you are storing the hides. If it is only for a few weeks then yes you don't want to salt them, but if you are storing them for months-years you should salt them. 

Also, how much meat did you get off both of them?

Patrick


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## fiberchick04 (Mar 8, 2010)

What I mean is they shouldn't be salted if they have not been completely fleshed. Otherwise it's tough for the taxidermist to remove the excess meat or fat on the hide if there is any.


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Thank you for this thread. I have Nigis myself and am sure that there will be extra boys that aren't stellar breeding material, and how many pet wethers can you sell? Just gotta figure how to slaughter them humanely, as I don't personally own a gun...plenty of hunters around here, though. Hmmm. :thinking:


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

The meat has been really great! The butchering was not hard either...and if you know hunters, well it's pretty much the same as a deer to process.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Does anyone have links to the places that will tan the pelts? I would love to have it done, its just so expensive up here (150.00 +)


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I just googled pelt and tanning ... and came up with Yost fur dressing. I sent off the salted pelts, and have not received them back yet... but I'll surely post how they turned out!!! I had 2 small pelts and I've paid a 75.00 deposit (which I believe is the total cost..) again, I'll post what happens.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

My alpine wether just escaped freezer camp! He was going to be our first candidate, but a lady that I sold 2 other wethers to, wanted 
another boy- he doesn't know how lucky he was! I'll just wait till next year!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I have to admit , that finished pelt is very pretty ! 
Ha , who would have thought ! 
Goat hide , the new mink , lolol

Im not sure how I would feel about seeing the goat "come back" here not quite the same as before , lol. But nice job on the pelt !

Im far from slaughtering , in fact I could never do it . But I am interested in trying goat meat . At least I would "know" I am trying goat meat :roll eyes:

Good for you ! That is a big step to take ! Glad you enjoyed the meat and the tacos sound soooo good


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## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

Cool thread. 

How did you prepare those goat ribs?

Also, no one has mentioned this yet, but many traditional drums including the djembe use goat skins. I wonder if drum makers would pay well for them.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I did see that you could make drums from the goat skins... But I did not. I have several pieces of goat in the freezer, and I can't remember what specifically we did with the ribs... They were small since they were Young Nigies.


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## 7blessings (Jun 30, 2013)

This is a very interesting thread! So, how much meat from 2 wethers do you get? Obviously from a Boer, there would be a higher yield, correct? Is it more of a gamey taste, or does it depend on how you prepare it? Is there a specific breed that tastes better, is juicier, softer, etc than others?


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Baphomet said:


> Cool thread.
> 
> How did you prepare those goat ribs?
> 
> Also, no one has mentioned this yet, but many traditional drums including the djembe use goat skins. I wonder if drum makers would pay well for them.


You know , thats not a bad idea. Im wondering if it would be the same texture.
It might have more of a Maaaaa sound to it probably


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## FreedomHunter (Oct 31, 2013)

milk and honey said:


> Now what do you all do with the pelts?


I don't have any goats, but from what I've read about trapping animals I'd like to share some of the knowledge I've learned talking to other people on trapping forums about what they do with their pelts.

There are several ways to prepare a pelt. Some have mentioned that the people that they sell to prefer you to just wrap it up with the flesh still on it fur side out, others have mentioned salting it down and fleshing it. As far as preparation is concerned, it depends on what you want to do with the hide. If you plan to sell it then do some research on markets in your area. There are usually "Fur Auctions" that take place around the country and trapping forums and such can usually point you in the right direction for fur buyers. Some buyers prefer to handle the fleshing/tanning process themselves and prefer you give the hide to them raw, others will actually pay you more for the hide if you flesh and tan the hide yourself. If you just want to keep the hide or experiment with the leather to make home made goods, I suggest just doing it on the cheap like this: 



 . The Survival HT channel has a lot of good videos on processing fur and a lot of their methods come from knowledge that's been passed down and not read on the internet. They use alum to tan their hides and if you picked up salt, alum, and a 5 gallon bucket you could tan your own hides for under 10 dollars. To summarize, depending on what you want to do with your hide you either want to find and talk to sellers before you decide what to do with your hide or I recommend tanning on the cheap route by doing it yourself. There are many guides on the internet that will teach you how to tan by using brain tanning, the old indian smoke the pelt method, or using a solution like the one I posted with alum (or another solution you can buy commercially).

The methods that Survival HT uses for preparing hides would make a lot of experienced older trappers cringe. Many of the old timers I've heard like to use stretch racks (it's like a board shaped like a "V") to stretch their hides properly instead of just pinning them up. You will get better quality by sending it off to a professional, but the one keep sake squirrel pelt I have from hunting (so far) turned out fine when I processed it and I don't really think there will be an amazing difference between a hide tanned at home and one tanned professionally. I think the big differences with professional or experienced tanners is that 1) the leather will be softer and more durable, 2) the fur will be more uniformly trimmed and probably softer, and 3) they treat the fur to remove odors. If you were going to use the furs to make clothing it makes a big difference, but if you just want a keep-sake or decoration it won't make a difference.

I know some of this may seem pretentious because I don't own goats and I've only ever handled 1 hide in real life and I'm sorry if this info comes off that way, but most of what I've said above is just me relaying information from people sharing their personal experiences from tanning thousands of pelts (allegedly) over many trapping seasons.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Good info ! I was afraid to tan my own hides cause I figured it took chemicals and a lot of mess... But alum and salt don't sound that bad... I'm going to look into that!

As for the goat meat, I found it to be very mild in flavor and it seemed to need a long braising time to make it tender. It was very lean but if the goats had been a meat breed it would have made much more ... And probably fattier too. It's very good for something like pot roast or slow cooked for shredded taco meat!


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## NavaBoerFarm (Dec 15, 2012)

Very interesting thread! Don't know how butchering got into hide tanning lol but it's good to know if you normally just toss it in the trash. I'm a DIY guy myself so I'm going to try doing this myself next time I butcher a wether


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