# Do you eat a goat if it dies...



## Kris (Mar 28, 2010)

of say milk fever? Or say after a hard birth where her uterus was damaged beyong repair?


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

I would not eat any animal that died. Put down and butchered is a different story but I will let others chime in about the health concern. I could see a problem with a doe that died of staph, etc, but milk fever or kidding problems should not effect the meat?


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## feistymomma (May 20, 2009)

I wouldn't think that kidding issues would not cause problems with the meat. We have butchered cows that have died from giving birth, but we take care of it immediatly. Milk fever either, but that I am not sure. The only way I could think it would be safe is if you were right there when she died and butchered her right away. If I came into the barn and she was dead, no I wouldn't think that is safe. Someone else may have more info =)


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## homeacremom (Nov 6, 2007)

Anytime an animal is under stress there are toxins accumulating in the body...the longer the stress the more unfit the meat is to eat. Add to that the most animals have already been in treatment when they die....so no, we wouldn't eat anything that died of it's own accord. 

Now maybe, if you could get a cull healthy and let the system clear of treatments then, yes, you could butcher, but at that point it's butchering a "healthy" animal even if they are no longer useful in production.


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I wont eat any of my does. I get too attached to them to eat one. Waste of meat I know, but that's just me. 

But to answer your question, if one died quickly of an injury, like broken neck of something yeh, but not one that has been ill or had medication. And I wouldn't eat one that was injured and layed around for a few days before it died either.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Same here, if I was putting a doe down, or saw a goat get injured above what I would be willing to do to save it, than yes we butcher. I butcher even the very old does and bucks that are put down at the end of their lives. But we rarely have milkfever and I would treat it, not let them die. A true disease process, no I would never eat the goat or even use it for dog food, unless it was something I had a definitive diagnosis on like Pneumonia etc. Yes if it was during kidding, like the doe who bled out here after kidding, she was butchered. I can't be around for the butchering of my aged does and bucks as they are put down, but I am for the rest. Vicki


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Same as Vicki


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

Just wondering....

What is the protocol for euthanasia in goats? Is it an injection, gun shot, etc? Also, do you butcher the animal yourselves or take it somewhere to be butchered?

Is the meat of an older animal still good to eat? Isn't it tough?


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## homeacremom (Nov 6, 2007)

NavyWife53108 said:


> Just wondering....
> 
> What is the protocol for euthanasia in goats? Is it an injection, gun shot, etc? Also, do you butcher the animal yourselves or take it somewhere to be butchered?
> 
> Is the meat of an older animal still good to eat? Isn't it tough?


Euthanasia... for butchering we prefer a head shot and then slit the jugular for a clean drain. A vet is the only one who can administer an injection. We do our own butchering. Too expensive per lb. otherwise. I don't think I could eat a couple of ours that are headed for the cull list over the next few years. We'll let someone else eat them.

Sausage is a good way to turn an older, tougher carcass into something edible.


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## Feral Nature (Oct 26, 2007)

I lead the animal to an area where the other goats cannot see or know what is going on. No drama or anything much out of the ordinary. The point is to have no excitement or fear. I put a pan of favorite food Down, sometimes something forbidden that the goat loves, sweet horsefeed or oats, something wonderful. Then I get a clean shot to the back of the head and the last thing the goat knows is joy. I always say a prayer for the animal and also like the tradition that some Native Americans had of thanking the animals own spirit for feeding them. I do that. It helps. Then I quickly cut the throat and hang the goat up in my hanging tree and get to work having all my things already together the night before. I like to get going early when it is cool, or do it in the winter. You don't want flies. Also, you will need a saw and very short strong knives to make the job quick. Just get at it like you would do a chicken, only bigger. Age in the fridge for a couple of days, then freeze. The smaller and younger the goat, the better. Emily has an excellent article with pictures in the goat section of the HT forum.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

I just cant eat my old girls so I have my son do like Diane with giving them good food and a shot to the head, but I have lots of wethers and extra bucks that we do eat and it's really good BBQ


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Speaking of butchering goats...well, I can't even disbud and I have some bucks with scurs that need redoing....so for me, I'd have to call a neighbor or take it to the vet. Course I don't own a gun either, so it would be a brutal death by any other means...which is out. 

I would like to kill some roosters though....for starters...a couple were fighting this morning and I caught one and was wishing like heck I knew how to kill it quickly so I could stop some of this nonsense. Other than beating it to death, I couldn't think of anything..maybe wringing it's neck? I'd like it dead instantly, before it can look at me and ask "what the ****are you doing??? One day... I'm still getting over years of vegetarianism.


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## Kris (Mar 28, 2010)

Anita! OH my gosh you made me laugh.
"before he could look at me and ask what the @#$#$# are you doing?"
I have never wringed or ringed? (sp?) necks. But I hear it's easy.
I read an article by Temple Granderson about Kosher killing, neck slitting without the stunning and she said it was the most peaceful.
Feral Nature (Diane) have you ever done it this way? I would like things peaceful. 
What do you do for a clean kill..a .22 or do you need something larger for a goat?


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## Poverty Knob Goats (Apr 13, 2010)

A .22 correctly placed is completely adequate. No need for anything larger.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

NO


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I don't eat anything that dies of itself for biblical reasons. It would be dog food.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

Diane is much better at butchering than me but I have and do butcher the roosters . I butcher before they start crowing as last time they had just started crowing (maby 5mo. old) and they were free range running birds ,I tied their feet with a wire loosly and took a new sharp pair of tree limb pruners and snipped the head off with one snip ... and it was a mess :down ,dunked in hot water,plucked for an hour and he had pin feathers that I tweezed out,finally I bagged him and froze him (as I read they taste better after frozen) .... I butchered 4 more the same way and froze them. The next month I defrosted one and boiled him, and boiled him some more  and he was sooo tough that I couldn't eat the meat but the stock was great ! The dogs loved him tho :twisted ... anyway I just couldn't eat any of them due to them being so tough , I read that a free range running ,especially a egg layer type with dark feathers have more pinfeathers and tough due to muscles and no fat ..... ok back to the subject ... I would never eat a goat or anything that died.


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## PattySh (Apr 29, 2010)

Let your chickens sit in the fridge for 3 days after butchering next time before freezing them. You froze them while they were in rigor mortis (sp?). Same for rabbits (or cut up young goats). Found that out the hard way with our first rabbits, very tough. Second batch, very nice and tender.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Soak in cold salt water for a short time.
Rigor in small animals is very fast. An hour for rabbits about 3 for goats.
Chicken even less. The salt also plays a role in the chemistry of rigor which I cannot spew right now.
We have cooked very old animals successfully by learning about rigor and salt.
The brine process after butchering interferes with some ion pump in the cell blocking chemical reaction. PAV???? I am no good at chemistry. Rigor happens very quickly at moderate temps. You slow it down by chilling and there is no need to chill meat that is under water. (brine) So the ideal temp for this to happen quickly is about 70 degrees. Most tap water is below that temp so just fill a cooler or bucket with cool tap water and soak your carcass a short time- pieces if a goat and it will not be tough even with little fat and quick cooking. Squidge put older breeding stock rabbits in the freezer with this method and they are just like 8 week fryers. The fat has little to do with anything but mouth feel and flavor carry. It does not tenderize. It is what it is when you put it in the freezer as far as chewable.

When you pull the carcass out of the salt water it should hang limply and joints move freely.
We only eat things that we kill. Already dead goes to the wildlife.


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