Here's How We Wean, Fatten, and Butcher Goats on Rimfire Ranch

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It was cold (35° and windy) the day we butchered our first buck. By the time we'd worked our way down to the dewlap, our hands were getting numb and the carcass was starting to stiffen. The hide-which had slipped so easily from the firm flesh of the torso-now refused to peel at all from the floppy dewlap. We had to cut it every inch of the way. But we persevered . . . and it really wasn't too long until we had a beautiful goat hide off, all in one piece and ready to tan (but that's another article). The carcass was bare (Fig. 7).

THE GUTTING

As soon as the hide was off, Judy took over and began to gut the goat.

Fist she cut down the length of the carcass's belly- from its pelvis to its breastbone-taking special care not to puncture the intestines and stomach (Fig. 8). Again, note that this cut, once started, is much easier to control if your knife is turned so that the edge of its blade faces out. The fingers of the left hand (if you're right-handed) can then be inserted into the cut as it's made to steady the carcass and hold the internal organs away from the blade as the right hand guides the knife. (The intestines will sag somewhat as this cut is made, but they're supported by membranes and they won't fall out.)

Judy then made a second and lateral cut through the belly wall and flanks of the carcass . . . all the way around to the backbone on each side. This gave her easy access to the internal organs and she began to cut the intestines and bladder loose from the pelvis (taking great care, of course, not to puncture them). She finally cut the lower end of the intestines and urinary canal completely free by running her knife around the patch of skin we had left surrounding the anus and genitals as we skinned the goat. Then she pulled downward gently on the mass of guts and worked them loose from the inside of the pelvis with her knife.

Judy next pushed the freed intestines to one side and cut the supporting membranes which anchored them-and the stomach, etc.-- to the backbone and back muscles. Then she pushed them to the other side (Fig. 9) and cut the remaining membranes. It's easy to overlook a few of these supporting tissues and you might have to repeat this step a couple of times until you get 'em all. Judy also advises that you may have to "tilt the intestines forward" somewhat before you'll be able to get to some of the really hard-to-reach membranes along the backbone. Be careful when you do this, or you may wind up spilling everything on the ground.

Once the supporting membranes were all severed, Judy laid the contents of the abdomen out on a sheet of plastic and sorted out the organs we wanted to save. The liver looked exactly like raw liver and she carefully cut away the bile sac attached to it. (The bile sac is a finger-shaped, transparent, greenish gland filled with an extremely bitter fluid. If you should puncture the sac, wash the spilled liquid off the liver immediately.)

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