age of goats to slaughter for meat
The largest industry group is the meat goat group, followed by the dairy industry group. Production of. goats for hair, whether cashmere or mohair, has. declined substantially since the removal of USDA. subsidies in 1995. Ethiopia is home to 24 million sheep and 23 million goats, and meat production is the most important. function of these animals in the country. There is high demand for live animals as well as meat from small. ruminants by consumers in the Middle East and North and West African countries. Meat Production and Carcass Composition. 12.2.1. Meat production. The annual national mutton and goat meat production is 77 and 62 thousand metric tons, respectively, largely. because of the high average off-take rates estimated to be about 30% from sheep and 36% from goats. Sheep. and goats, respectively, contribute some 21 and 16.8% of the total ruminant livestock meat output. While contributing significantly to meat production in Ethiopia, present production levels of sheep and goats. are far below their potential. Productivity per animal is reported to be very low. Annual meat production is. estimated at 3–3.5 kg per animal per year in the population and 8–10 kg per animal slaughtered. Dairy goats are also good but they don't grow as fast and as large as the Boers. We butchered the six-month-old Boer cross twins and 10-month-old Nubian twins a few weeks apart, and the Boers were as big as the Nubians. Boers are best butchered from six to 12 months of age, and dairy breeds from eight to 12 months. Hispanic consumers prefer the cabrito, a. young milk-fed goat with light colored fat. In Texas, this usually is a 50-pound live goat which results in a. carcass less than 25 pounds (personal communication). Muslim consumers, depending on the occasion, will. consume does or bucks of all sizes and ages. Chinese consumers was available. While holiday. demand for goat meat plays a part in demand, federal. slaughter statistics seem to show that demand is steady. throughout the year, indicating that goat may form a. part of ethnic diets on a regular basis. Otherwise they would be kids. Eating kids just sounds weird. It depends on what cuts of meat you are looking at having. A younger goat say up to a year is going to be more tender and the steaks would be tender still. If you are just wanting mostly burger I would say you could butcher even a 3 or 4 year old Wether. We butchered a 2 year old, and he had a lot of fat on him, where as I think if you do right around a year you don't get as much of that. A Boer goat is the best breed for butchering because Boers are bred to be meaty. Goats are also excellent providers of milk, thereby contributing both milk and meat to the. household. Because of the familiarity with goats that. many cultures have, it is no surprise that as those. cultures become established within the U.S. they. demand those foods with which they are familiar. While most experts agree that ethnic demand is driving. the growth of the goat industry, the diversity of. ethnicities demanding goats and their differing. preferences for types of goat meat have resulted in two. marketing avenues for goats. Except for pork, we age all our meat from fowl to cow, and strongly advise you to do the same. Pork should only hang overnight to chill, and all meat should be cut up in a chilled state. A goat should age one week in 40° weather, longer in colder weather.
3 or 4 year old