Meat Goats Two

Reader Contribution by Janice Spaulding
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It is impossible to address all the aspects of raising meat goats in approximately a 500 to 800 word blog post, hence part two!

There are so many questions about raising meat goats successfully, that after my first post on meat goats, I found that I needed to do another and possibly one more after that in order to address what I think is good information to get anyone started with meat goats. There is no “one size fits all” bunch of information that works every time in every location, every person, and for every goat.

I believe that “market” comes before anything. If you do not have a product that people will buy or if you have a demand for a product and are not meeting that demand no matter which path you take will not be profitable to you. If no one is buying your product you will soon run out of money and it will all be moot. You must do what works best for you and your personal situation. If you are fortunate to live in an area with a large ethnic population then you will do extremely well selling young (3 to 6 month old) approximately 65 pound kids. These customers prefer “unblemished” males. Unblemished generally means intact and with their horns. These males will grow quickly and reach market weight in a few short months. The shorter period of time to get to market weight, the less feed and hay you have to purchase, and the more profit for you!  Young Boer males can gain up to ¾ of a pound of weight (muscle) per day by simply letting them nurse for 3 months, and supplementing with creep feeding and free choice hay with a clean, fresh, accessible water supply.  This is the optimal way to raise and sell meat goats.

If your market is not ethnic in nature then your customer will be more interested in what is referred to as “plate cuts”.  Plate cuts are steaks, chops, and roasts. People of European descent most often are your customer. They are used to eating lamb and beef, both of which yield larger cuts. These cuts are not able to be butchered from young animals. This is where neuter, or not to neuter comes into play.

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