The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Roxy on July 24, 2013, 12:12:29 pm
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Being near the road, and not far from Manchester, since moving my goats to the new fields, I have noticed a lot of interest from certain members of society who are looking for meat goats. One stopped to enquire if I would sell him a goat, as he had not had goat meat for over a year.....unable to source any. I gave him a number of someone who may help . Usually they ask, and they go on their way. Last night I was just walking Darren the male AN back over to his stable, and noticed a big white van slow down and watch him. It went, then came back and looked again. Darren is large, and understandably, may be of interest to people wanting goat meat due to his size. Just hope they do not come back and take him. and the others. When I questioned the other man, the fact that a goat may be intact did not seem to bother them.
What bothered me, was when he said he would take the goat whole, but could I (yes me) kill it the halal way, and I could keep the skin ........after I picked myself up off the floor, I gave me reply ??? :o :o
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There's apparently a whole lot of sheep rustling great and small going on around the country, so I'm sure goats will be at risk too.
Watch out for your boy and up your security :goat:
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Our stables got done last September - a farm overlooks the land, but quite a way off. Goats are down two large fields, so quite a way to walk them to a vehicle,but it is worrying. Does anyone know how much a 25kg plus meat goat is going for? Man said he was quoted £195 which may have been to put him off .......
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some people will only buy entire males.
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I would have thought that eating an intact male would mean you would have tainted meat from the billy smell??
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DO not quote me.., but I belive that rams and billys need to be intact owing to beliefs be very careful and secure!!
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As I do not live on site, there is only so much I can do. There again, adding up the pure bred AN females, and the male, plus my other females and intact male .....and all the ponies, there is some moneysworth. Unfortunately I was too far away to take a registration number. Just hope they were only looking, and nothing more.
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Is there anyone in the vicinity who will also keep an eye out for suspect vehicles etc? What a dreadful worry for you!
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I hope you've got padlocks on the gates. I worry about mine, ever since a local pub had someone get into the garden one night and steal their billy goat. The thieves had obviously slaughter it before moving it as there was a quantity of blood that looke dlike its throat had been slit. The landlord then rehomed of all his animals, which were there for children to see, as he was so upset and didn't want to risk a repeat.
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How awful!! How could someone do that,when obviously they were pets!
Hope your goats are ok.
Helen
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What a worry for you.
I do hope that you can get someone nearby to keep an eye open.
Might it be worth mentioning to the Police? I've heard that they can be quite helpful with the likes.
Good luck.
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What a worry for you.
I do hope that you can get someone nearby to keep an eye open.
Might it be worth mentioning to the Police? I've heard that they can be quite helpful with the likes.
Good luck.
police will tell you to get CCTV.
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Probably the last thing you need to be thinking of at the moment Roxy - I know I'd be shattered if anyone stole any of our animals :'( (especially for slaughtering) - but are you insured against theft? I know it would never replace them, but you clearly have some sought after animals.
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Padlocks are useless - when we were broken in to, they bolt cropped all the chains on the gates, and they were substantial chains. These people know how to sort the CCTV and alarms out. At my old farm, three houses/barn conversions border my fields, and my dogs are there, so that's a deterrent.
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Its a worry , I always get concerned when anyone is coming here to look at Goats or Poultry incase they are just sussing the place out.
I do however make a point of telling people not to get out of the car when they arrive untill we go out as there is 2 Irish wolfhounds and a German shepherd running loose ::)
We can see people coming up the drive so always make sure we open the door so the dogs go out first :innocent:
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I've been a bit wary since a taxi driver (well tanned) stopped and asked OH if the goats were for sale.
We live up a farm track, a security camera looks out of a bedroom window over the field, the girls and babies are locked in barn at night, internal bolt/locks on stable door and yale type lock on metal door, boys are out of sight in a lower field, I did think about leaving girls out overnight in the hot weather but decided against it.
Hope everybodys animals stay safe
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I would have thought that eating an intact male would mean you would have tainted meat from the billy smell??
yes it is tainted.......that's the appeal to some cultures.
there is a market across the board for goat meat.
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Is there a shortage of goat meat?? The reason I ask, is that one of the men said he had been quoted £195 for a goat in Scotland (he was in Manchester) and that was the only one he had been able to find. But he seemed more than willing to travel to collect a goat .....hopefully not on the back seat of the nice Merc he was driving.
Another thing springs to mind - CPH numbers? These people want to buy my goats - they live in Manchester, which in all probability means nowhere to keep a goat. Would they therefore want to buy the goat and disregard paperwork??
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yep....is the short answer.
Yes there is a shortage of goat meat. Average price normally for a good weight carcase, properly done thro' abbatoir is in the £150 bracket & many butchers willing to pay.
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Plenty of people selling goat meat now - tell any prospective buyers http://www.chestnutmeats.co.uk/ (http://www.chestnutmeats.co.uk/) are good. Also Abraham http://www.organic-halal-meat.com/index.php (http://www.organic-halal-meat.com/index.php) are organic and well-run. Most slaughter houses have a halal slaughterman which is worth telling anyone tp stop them killing in the back garden.
Your best bet, if it doesn't affect your business, is to put up some sort of disease-control poster maybe - that'll put 'em off!
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Your best bet, if it doesn't affect your business, is to put up some sort of disease-control poster maybe - that'll put 'em off!
thats what i was thinking, pretend they are under quarantine for something infectious and put a sign to say so.