Pygmy goats for meat ? ? ?

[NS2A]

We have 2 pygmys that are about 10-11 months old. I know it's not typically done, but can these be butchered? How much meat can I expect from a 40 lb live weight goat? What's a fair price to process? I'd be sending these to a processor and probably just get sausage made.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[AussieSharon]

Pygmy goats can be used as a meat goat. Sorry I have no idea about the cost or how much meat you'll get

 

[Frozen Feathers]

They can be used for meat, but I doubt you'll get very much. The goat in my freezer live weight was about 100lbs and yielded about 50lbs. I can't tell you what the butcher charged (since I bought from a friend) but total cost to me was $100 for the goat, processing, and packaging. I do have several cuts (chops, burger, roast etc) and at $2 a lb sure beats supermarket prices...hamburg typically runs about $3-4 lb last time I checked.

I think when you figure in butcher cost, you might find it more "profitable" to sell them as pets because I don't think you'll get more then 15-20 lbs of meat out of each one.

 

[KingsCalls]

With butchering any animal you will lose 1/3 or more of the body weight. I do not have a clue what butchering would cost for a goat, for a deer it is around $50.00.

 

[muddler6]

If you aren't "attached" you could do the butchering yourself. Especially if you are just making sausage. I got tired of paying to have deer processed, found some folks who needed help taking care of theirs, learned by doing. I have a grinder that attaches to my Kitchen Aid mixer, or you can get one fairly cheap these days that is a stand alone, you may just have to cut the pieces up a little smaller. There are attachments that go right onto the end of the grinder that you can put the casings on, makes it really easy. I make patties or leave it in a bulk bag and freeze it that way. Now I am saying this having butchered deer, not a goat, but I can't imagine that it would be too much different. My local library has videos that show butchering processes. Good FREE reference to use.