Carla D-Great new adventures and an Amazing Life

[Mike CHS]

We don't butcher until they are in the 120-150 pound range so we just do one at a time and the freezer shelf is labeled with which one it was. They have a good life up until their last day.

 

[Carla D]

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!!! I am that terrible person that labels the bag with the name of that animal..... A friend's truck got hit by a Kama-Kazie deer, I labeled those bags ROAD KILL. If i have a special chicken, I put their name on the bag. Pigs, well, I know that ALL the pork came from a certain pig, but my DD said not to tell her who she was eating. Lamb, pretty much the same, I know who is in my freezer! LOL

So if you don't want to know who donated that shoulder roast to the "cause"...….'cause you are feeding your family, then yes, take 2-3 at one time so you can mix them up.

Road Kill! Oh my.

 

[Carla D]

We don't butcher until they are in the 120-150 pound range so we just do one at a time and the freezer shelf is labeled with which one it was. They have a good life up until their last day.

An added bonus is they had a good life all the way up to the last brief moment.

 

[Carla D]

We don't butcher until they are in the 120-150 pound range so we just do one at a time and the freezer shelf is labeled with which one it was. They have a good life up until their last day.

Do you have any particular reasons why you butcher at that size? Like to determine what size has the best flavor and is most cost effective to have butchered. Do you process your own or do you have someone else process them?

 

[Carla D]

I'll put this out there....why not raise these boys until they hit 60-70 pounds and take them all to slaughter. Get them properly castrated or do it yourself, it is not that hard to do. Don't worry about disbudding or dehorning, as I understand it, you seem to have missed the "window" of opportunity and now it is a bit bigger problem. Love them, enjoy them, treat them well, this is a learning experience for you. If you can raise pigs, pet them, love them and still eat them, you can do this.

Start over in the spring with TWO disbudded goats, get them castrated and keep them for pets. Or you might decide that you like goat meat and buy another round of $5 goats to raise for stocking the freezer. In the meantime you get to hug, spoil and love them all you want.

You will figure this out and make the decision that is best for you.

Do you have any particular reasons why you butcher at that size? Like to determine what size has the best flavor and is most cost effective to have butchered. Do you process your own or do you have someone else process them?

 

[Baymule]

We take ours to slaughter. I want specific cuts that are beyond my area of expertise. If I had to, I could butcher myself, but it is easier to just take them and have done. Slaughter weight doesn't make much difference in taste, I have taken a nearly 3 year old ram to slaughter and he tasted just fine. But that is not the case with a lot of "intact" male animals. If it is breeding season, the meat can be gamy because the hormones are raging.

Usual rule of thumb is to slaughter before or at 1 year of age, sooner if you can get them to the weight desired or just want them off the feed bill.

 

[Mike CHS]

Carla - @Baymule hit the reasons we butcher when we do. Most of our sheep that will get butchered are right around 90 pounds at 90 days and will slow down a bit after that since we pull them off of the creep feeders. They are just about at their ideal weight for what we want at a little under a year old and we want them out of the fields so we can get back to our rotation.

 

[Southern by choice]

Carla - @Baymule hit the reasons we butcher when we do. Most of our sheep that will get butchered are right around 90 pounds at 90 days and will slow down a bit after that since we pull them off of the creep feeders. They are just about at their ideal weight for what we want at a little under a year old and we want them out of the fields so we can get back to our rotation.

how do you get your sheep to 90# at 90 days?

 

[Mike CHS]

All of our lambs get a pound of feed a day starting at about 30 days. A pound of gain a day is common for Katahdins in our size range.

 

[Carla D]

I have eight little bucks at the vet being dehorned surgically, and banded. I hadn’t planned on them getting banded until their sweet little heads have healed. But, the vet offered to do it since they are there and getting the benefit of anesthesia. The two vets will also be looking at a couple of different skin issues, and I have 2-3 that are coughing/sneezing. I’m really hoping that all of my health concerns for them be assessed. I’m really hoping if I can get them all healthy, no parasites that I can prevent ang keep all eight them from getting sick.