Devonviolet Acres

[Devonviolet]

Well, after a lot of discussion and inner struggles. DH and I decided that it was time to take Woody & Linden to the butcher. We couldn't afford to keep them as pets, can't keep paying to feed them and no one, around here, wants to pay what we have in them. As dear Baymule told me, "Baby goats are just as cute as baby lambs. You just can't keep em all." And I said, "That's what we keep telling ourselves". Maybe, eventually, we will actually believe it.

So, today was the first available appointment, on the butcher's schedule. After we fed the animals and I cleaned up after milking, we loaded the kids in the back of the truck and drove to the butcher, 40 minutes away.

The butcher was standing there when I opened the back of the truck. He breathed in and smiled. "M-m-m-m, they smell clean! I can always tell how animals are cared for, by the way they smell. I can tell you have healthy animals." That made me feel really good!

We put the boys in an outside pen, next to some pigs that had just been dropped off, and went inside to arrange the details. It will cost $90, for processing, butchering, vacuum sealing and freezing. The meat will be ready in about two weeks. They will call us when it is ready.

When we left, the boys were calmly eating some cedar that was hanging through the wire fence. We took a cup of feed along, for them to put on the ground, so the boys would be happily eating, and calm, when the time came.

The pigs, that were in the larger pen, were very similar to the two, that @Baymule has. In fact they had the same, big, pretty, notched ears, and there was a white one, like Bay's female. I asked the butcher how much meat we might expect to get, from a pig that size, and he said about 150 - 175 pounds. When DH heard that, he started thinking it might be okay to get one of Bay's feeder pigs. He only concern is us being able to get a pen put together, to keep it in.

So, by now, the deed is done, and we can't change it. It's time to move ahead with caring for the remaining animals. We put Angelica with the girls yesterday, and after watching the dynamics, of the girls interacting, we are assured that they will be fine together. Angelica didn't even try to nurse off Ruby. DH did have to stand between Ruby and Angelica at mealtime, though, as Ruby wanted to eat her own food AND Angelica's food.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Is that $90 per animal or for both? I know it has to be bittersweet, but it is just like the chickens....you have provided for them, and now they will provide for you. Taking them to be done....ya will never know which is which, so it'll be just bringing home goat meat from a butcher....

 

[babsbag]

The first ones are the hardest. I don't name the ones going to freezer camp and I try to ignore them, not sure that it really helps.

 

[Devonviolet]

The first ones are the hardest. I don't name the ones going to freezer camp and I try to ignore them, not sure that it really helps.

Yes, our first chicken was very hard to eat. But, I knew I had to get used to the idea, 'cause that's why we were doing all this . . . To produce our own food.

I learned my lesson with these two. Won't be naming them from now on. Toward the end, I started calling Woody, Brisket. It helped a little, but not really. Too much, too little, too late.

 

[Devonviolet]

Is that $90 per animal or for both? I know it has to be bittersweet, but it is just like the chickens....you have provided for them, and now they will provide for you. Taking them to be done....ya will never know which is which, so it'll be just bringing home goat meat from a butcher....

That is $90 for each goat, no matter the size. @goatgurl told me her butcher charges $60 per goat.

Interesting you should say that about taking them to be done, not knowing which is which. I was just saying to DH, it is a good thing we took two goats. When we get the meat, the pieces will be mixed together, and we won't know which one we are eating.

I'm thinking we will probably take next year's wethers, to the butcher as well. Maybe the next year we will be able to do them ourselves . . . maybe not.

 

[Latestarter]

Do you know how much they each weighed? or an approximation? I ask because my little guy CM, though "bigger" than CB (his sister), is still basically skin and bones... very little meat on his bones. Wouldn't be worth the $90 to me to process him at present. I know your boys were a month or more older than CM... Sorry it's sad to see them go, but I hope they provide many tasty meals for you guys.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I'm looking for one here, for that same reason....not the Boys tho, or Star for that matter....but, if we get 2 young pygmy does in the Spring and they are bred, then the young ones would be going to the freezer. I can handle the birds, but I prefer to have the goats done. It would be worth it to me to just pay for it.

 

[Devonviolet]

Do you know how much they each weighed? or an approximation? I ask because my little guy CM, though "bigger" than CB (his sister), is still basically skin and bones...

We have a Vet Scale set up in the barn. We weighed the kids on Thurs.

Woody was born on March 11th and weighed 83 pounds.

Linden & Anjelica were born on April 22nd. Linden weighed 71 pounds and Angelica weighed 63 pounds.

Last June we weighed the girls. Ruby weighed 105 pounds and Falina weighed 100 pounds.

I asked the butcher for any bones they ended up with, so we could make bone broth. He said surprisingly, goats don't have a lot of bone. Most of the bones are in with the cuts of meat. Although, when I asked him about how much meat we can expect to get, I think he estimated about half of live weight, which would be due to taking away skin, fluids, internal organs & head.

 

[Devonviolet]

I can handle the birds, but I prefer to have the goats done. It would be worth it to me to just pay for it.

I agree. I don't have a problem butchering chickens. But, I'm not sure if I will ever be able to butcher one of our kids. Time will tell.

 

[babsbag]

My butcher charges a lot more than that. It is $40 each for the kill, which he does at my house, and then so much for cut and wrap, don't remember the price.