# How to put down a goat? and other unplesantries



## stacy adams

Ok, for those of you that have had to do this unpleasant chore (this is hard to type..) 
We don't own a gun, and I don't honestly know if I could do that.
And then what do you do with the body??


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## Cotton Eyed Does

I use a 38 to the back of the head. It is instant death. They drop to the ground and it is over. If you don't have a gun, I guess you would have to cut one's throat. To me the gun is more humane. Another option would be taking it to the vet and having it euthanized. As far as getting rid of the body, I've used a front end loader to dig a hole and bury one, taken them to the back 40 and left them. I had one die and it got dark on me and I couldn't get a hole dug so I left her back by the fence and was going to go down in the morning to dig a hole. When I got down there she was gone. 5' non climbing horse wire fences. The only way out would have been up and over the fence. Had to be a strong animal to do that as this 10 month old doe was quite large. We figured it was a cougar that roams these parts.


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## Sondra

Stacy find a butcher in your area. There is one here in Azle and one in Weatherford I take mine to Weatherford and they will cut and wrap or grind for hamburger and sausage and chg $25 If you want to meet me somewhere I will take her for you.


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## NubianSoaps.com

After this as a discussion on Nubian Talk last week  The only acceptable way to put down any animal is via a vet. And the only way to put down a newborn is with the help of UC Davis's site on this subject.

How I do it. 

A sick older animal who I am not going to use the meat for any reason is shot in the head, taken out to the woods and buried, limed, covered. I would not have livestock without a gun, I prefer a 22 rifle. For myself having a rifle is like having a good pitchfork or shovel. Just yesterday I killed a stray who left on his own would have gotten into a dog fight with one of my dogs or perhaps killed chickens or harmed a young doe. Younger animals you can dispatch their head off with a machete, this takes a good deal of force. Mens work here. At any time a downer animal can have it's jugular slit with a disposable scalpel or very sharp knife and be dead in a few minutes. If I am going to kill a doe in the common barn, this is how I do it, so she is dead without me firing a shot which scares everyone in my barn. It's a much more personal way to kill an animal you love, than shooting it, and bothers me a great deal more....as it should be. The idea I am going to take a sick animal for a walk in the woods, or drag her, or put her in a wheelbarrow and shoot her in the woods ain't happening.

The rest are butchered. Vicki


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## Sondra

I really like that way of doing things Vicki. We have shot a sick animal and buried also here. and also slit throats to butcher here


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## Chaty

Its a hard job and sometimes it has to be done but my DH cant do it so its left up to me to do and it still bothers me when I have to do it as I tend and care all of my goats and he just pets and loves on them...but when it gets down to it I am the 1 that has to do it and I use either the 38 or 22 pistol. Its over fairly quickley. He does the burying or taking to the back.


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## Sondra

Sorry I wasn't even thinking Stacy abt not using her for meat because of the drugs. Do you have a friend or a neighbor that has a gun?? I know when it comes time to put down our old dog I have already talked to my neighbors abt it as DH won't be able to. Well neither will I.


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## goatkid

We have two guns here, but my DH won't let me use them on a goat because they are too big a caliber and he's afraid of ricochet. When we have had to have a goat put down, my friend's son did it with a 22. One went in her dumpster, the rest to the butcher. When a bigger goat dies here, we take it out into the National Forest for the wildlife to eat. When baby goats die, I put them in a trash bag and take them to the dump. They accept small animals there. Kathie.


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## ozark_jewels

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I would not have livestock without a gun, I prefer a 22 rifle. For myself having a rifle is like having a good pitchfork or shovel.


Exactly how I feel about my .22 rifle and .22 pistol. They are tools that I *must* have to use when needed. And they have been needed many times. As much as I don't want to use them, they are a comfort to have to fall back on.
I put goats down with a shot to the back of the head. Its the same angle as in my butchering picture.


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## Melissa

I have DH shoot the goats only because I'm afraid I'll miss and shoot myself in the foot. lol. I use the 22 rifle to dispose of the vermin and make dogs feel unwelcome. I was reading in on that discution on Nubian Talk. some people are so full of themselves and crap!! others are just plain clueless. I'm thinking with newborns', a razer blade to the throat would make it quick work. all big livestock not butchered for meat or the skins/guts is sent to the back of the farm for the coyotes and buzzereds to clean up. and no, I don't worry about them getting a taste for the meat and come up to hunt down the live critters.

-Melissa


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## ozark_jewels

I shoot even the newborns. A bullet is cheap and I can do that easier than slit their throat.....of course there have been a couple times I was no where near a gun and just crushed them quickly with a huge rock. :? In Missouri you are *never* far from large rocks.


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## Ravens Haven

Yep a gun works the best. I have also had to resort to the breaking of necks, not a pleasant job but at that moment something had to be done, argh people kill me!! Ok rant over. I have had to explain time and time again that raising livestock isn't all joyous there are unpleasantries that *MUST* be done, we are farmers first and foremost. I have also heard that a large syringe of air in the jugular or under the base of the skull works, don't know never tried it.

Autumn


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## Kaye White

> I have also heard that a large syringe of air in the jugular or under the base of the skull works,


Don't even go there...unless you have a desire for the macabre. That only works in the movies. IF you happen to get the right amount of air....it is not a humane death.

Without euthansia solution...which you CAN NOT get without a DEA #, the other is a shot to the head. Quick and final.
Kaye


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## Patty13637

When we butcher the small livestock Hubby slits there throats. If the blade is sharp enough there really isnt pain involved and then they fade away. Think like a paper cut ..you dont feel it til afterwards.

Patty


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## BlueHeronFarm

Oy. We still have not had to do this, but I know it's just a matter of time. We've only had goats a year and a half -- so we just haven't been there yet.
We have already decided we will shoot them. Thank you to everyone who shared, though. It is helpful to read about ways people do this.


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## Katarina

For us we believe that a bullet is the best way to go but we dont often carry a gun with us to a kidding so when faced with a kid that needs to be put out of it's misery quickly, there is always a bucket and water at hand and that is what we have used and will likely to continue to use.

As we discovered for the first time this past week.


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## Guest

We have used a 22 to put a doe down. We fed her grain on the ground and dh went up from behind. It was quick. As far as what to do with the body we usually bury them as most of ours are as much pets as anything else. Since this is winter though and the ground is frozen we got a tip from a friend and we had a bon fire and cremated her. I was not going to put her in the dump. The babies that have died at birth we do put in a grain sack and they do go to the dump. I hope your girl pulls through for you.


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## Patty13637

If you have land put her out back . She will not go to waste as she will be feeding other animals. We have never had a problem of more animals coming because of either. It is amazing on how fast they will be gone.


Patty


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## BlueHeronFarm

Do those of you who have LGDs worry about putting the body out on your property? We want to feed the ecosystem-- but we don't want Trudy to get into anything.


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## UnRuli Acres

We don't have a gun so in disposing of an animal I did have to cut a throat. I did have Jaguar euthanized (the vet was there anyway, and she was suffering) but any others had their throat cut. It wasn't fun and I hated doing it, but it is what had to be done.


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## Beverrlly

We have had to burn a body also up here in the Frozen North. We had one die of unknown causes overnight so I didn't feel it would be safe to eat him not knowing exactly why he died or how long he'd been there. Ground was frozen solid and we don't have any equiqment big enough to dig the hole so we made a big, hot fire and creamated him. I also made sure the bones were gone since I didn't want to see our dogs gnawing on him. He was a pet...


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## ozark_jewels

BlueHeronFarm said:


> Do those of you who have LGDs worry about putting the body out on your property? We want to feed the ecosystem-- but we don't want Trudy to get into anything.


Actually I feed any animal that isn't full of drugs to my LGDs. Surprised?? I researched it very carefully before deciding to do so. Its part of the LGD's job to eat anything that might attract predators to the herd. This includes stillborn kids, ones that die, etc.
I've fed my dead animals to my LGD's for years......no problems. They get everything I don't use when I butcher the butcher goats. This includes hide and head.
They are very smart dogs, they know the difference.
I just lay the body out far enough that it won't bother me, but the LGD's can still eat off it. This goes for bovines or goats.


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## BlueHeronFarm

I know that a lot of people do the BARF diet - so I guess I'm less worried about her eating it than I am worried about her dragging it back home. Our dog is a collector. She keeps a pile of stuff in the barnyard. Giant sticks she finds in the fields, anything we've accidentally left outside (like feed scoops), poultry feeders...anything she can carry goes to her little collection yard. This includes dead frogs, pieces of mice...I am worried to add goat carcass to that list.


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## ozark_jewels

Oooooohhhhh......I thought you were worried about them turning to eating their charges while they were alive. 
If they drag pieces back to the yard, I let them chew till all meat is off the bone then I burn the bones in my burn barrel for trash. I don't let them keep resurrecting the bones. That includes the horse that they drug over from the neighbors....piece by piece I saw them drag every part of that horse over to my yard. I just kept burning..... :lol


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## NubianSoaps.com

I dont' want my dogs fighting so I wouldn't just put a dead body out in my woods without liming and burying it or burning it. If it was fit for the dogs to eat, than I would butcher it. 

Now hogs, tell you Lisa if I had a dairy like you are doing, I would have hogs, they are the true end of the food chain for your farm...placenta's, dead kids, dump milk, spent hay, spoiled feed, there are regs on how far away the hogs have to be of course. Vicki


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## ozark_jewels

My dogs don't fight over it......there is a chain of command and it IS followed even to who gets to eat what. :lol Troy sets down the rules. He is even alpha over my intact male.


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## SherrieC

Vickie you just gave me a horrible memory, we had an old doe strangle herself on a collar, and it was in deep freeze time, we had Two large hogs in the shed so we just put her in there and after we butchered those hogs and were cleaning out that shed we did find a long femur of goat. easy way to loose a body.


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## NubianSoaps.com

Emily I didn't mean my dogs fighting with each other, but with coyotes or dogs from the area the carcass brings in...and buzzards you should see Texas bussards! Vicki


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## ozark_jewels

Ah, I see.  I seem to be doing a lot of mis-reading and using the wrong words lately......like yesterday. I posted on a forum about the difference in vacuum when milking goats vs cows by machine......only I used the word pressure rather than vacuum.......can you tell I was thinking of canning yesterday?? :lol


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## BlueHeronFarm

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I dont' want my dogs fighting so I wouldn't just put a dead body out in my woods without liming and burying it or burning it. If it was fit for the dogs to eat, than I would butcher it.
> 
> Now hogs, tell you Lisa if I had a dairy like you are doing, I would have hogs, they are the true end of the food chain for your farm...placenta's, dead kids, dump milk, spent hay, spoiled feed, there are regs on how far away the hogs have to be of course. Vicki


We have two of em...whey disposal units, I call them. Never thought about feeding them culls. Duh. These two are almost ready for butchering - we need to get a new pair of weaners to replace them first, though.


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## Katarina

Oh yeah, our hog loves placentas...she no longer thinks that she has to kill each one, tho :lol


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## Feral Nature

We shoot what needs shooting. If it needs disposing of, it is buried. We live in the sand so it is easy to dig. I dug a grave for a pony once, it took me 3 days....by myself in August. She was too close to the house to leave for the coyotes and buzzards. Need I say more. Chickens get thier necks wrung til they come off in my hand. Goats get grain in a pan and their tails wag as they are shot. If a large animal is dead away from the house, we leave it. Yes, the Pyrenees collect bones and rocks and things but they don't turn on their living animal friends just because they ate dead ones. They have seen me butcher goats and chickens and then consume the guts later. They do indeed know the difference.


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## Hannah Funderburke

We have a pair of Nigerian Dwarfs (A billy and a pregnant doe). We were told they were "bonded" an thus sold together. The billy had a fatal run in with a coyote or something, and we had to put it down. My question is this: Is there anything to be done with the cadaver before we dispose of it? I understand the doe will likely decline and possibly reject her pregnancy. Should I leave him near her pen so she can see that he is dead? Or is that just absurd?


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## sevenpineshomestead

I have never been able to put down ANY animal via any other method besides the vet. We live in a country type town, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of vets near who are kind enough and open-minded enough to come out to my truck (or used to be my Yukon) and euthanize an animal for me; a 10 year old goat in decline and just not able to live without intervention (sq fluids, supplemental vitamins, feed, probios) and after saving her from old age probably 6 times in a year, I had to let her go. I also had a very old Pyrenees (our first) who had served us loyally for all those years.... and God, that was hard too. There have been all of my aged cats (we always have 5 or 6 inside, and 5 or 6 outside) and it seems they all got OLD and ill at around the same time. So So hard to lose animals you love. and BABY goats? I’ve always still been treating them ...working for a miracle when they pass naturally, but I’d be very hard pressed to put them down on my own here. I am working on my self-reliance and am glad to have read this entire post through and through. We have guns. I’m not afraid of them, and know how to operate them. I just never considered I might be able to relieve one of my animal’s pain and suffering with this method. Now, I do think I could do it. It is most definitely a possibility in my mind now. Cheaper, easier, and probably less traumatic on the animal to just be eating their grain and then just fall down and go to sleep ....forever...... Thanks for expanding my mind this morning folks. This forum can always ALWAYS teach you a new thing or TEN!


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## Ann22222

Katarina said:


> For us we believe that a bullet is the best way to go but we dont often carry a gun with us to a kidding so when faced with a kid that needs to be put out of it's misery quickly, there is always a bucket and water at hand and that is what we have used and will likely to continue to use.
> 
> As we discovered for the first time this past week.


Please don't drown, that is very cruel.


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