[nihicib2]

Hi all,

we have two AN x BA male kids, they're eight weeks old now, we have sold the other two females (to a great home) but I know the males will be hard to get homes for.  Nobody around here wants males and if we were to find owners for them I would be worried what kind of homes they would end up in. I know this is the other side of breeding them but Im wondering should we keep them here until they're ready for slaughter.  I would rather they had a good life (and a quick humane slaughter) here with us than be sold and tied to a tree somewhere or badly treated.

So would you recommend I keep them (if I cant find them suitable homes) and if I do, a few questions;

At eight weeks old can they still be castrated?
If I cant castrate them should I keep them separate from the females? (we already have a buck)
If I keep them for slaughter at what age/weight should they be slaughtered at?

So that's my dilemma, any advice is greatly appreciated as always

Bríd

[colliewoman]

Can't help with the questions  but if it were me, which in a few weeks time it will be I would rear them up for slaughter myself if I could not guarantee the home.
All my male kids will this year go to the lady who had my girls for a month with her billy, and they are destined for meat. if we hadn't arranged this I would take them myself.
I personally would rather them in the freezer than spend forever worrying about them

[jaykay]

I also kept mine til 8 months and then sent them for slaughter. Like you I was worried what sort of homes they might end up in and since they could live til 18 or so.....
I preferred that they had a happy life and then a quick end.

[fifixx]

yes keep them!  We had 2 which we had castrated by the vet at 3 mths lld last year.  They walk a bit like john Wayne for a few hours, but they have an anaesthetic.   i think we were charged around £15.  But of course worth it if you take into account the value of the meat

[Anke]

If you knew they were not destined for breeding (and cross males are very rarely used for that), I would have ringed them within the first week, that way you do not have the problems of having to separate and also no taint to the meat (or your farm for that matter.

Given that they are probably quite big males, I would have them done asap (by the vet now that they are older) and then get them into the freezer. Goat meat is absolutely wonderful.

I have sold two GG wethers last yearas pets to a farm park, as it made financial sense, but would have preferred to have eaten them....

[Lesley Silvester]

Definitely keep them for meat.  You might need to get another freezer if they get big.   

[nihicib2]

Thanks for all the answers, my mind is made up now, we're keeping em, I'll get them booked into the vet for castration and eventually booked into the freezer 

Its better that they have a good, albeit, shorter life then one long one in bad conditions.

Bríd 

[salopman]

Great outcome at least they have some life

[nihicib2]

just one more question, at what weight / age would they be ready for slaughter, they are two of triplets (sold the female as previously mentioned) and are big enough considering they were triplets, as we've never done this before what is a rough guideline of the weight we should let them grow to before slaughtering?

Bríd

[fifixx]

Mine were around 15kg deadweight last year - 5 mths old - but you can let them to to 8/9 mths if you want

[jaykay]

Mine were 18-20kg deadweight at 8 months (Old English are not as big as the big dairy breeds) which is what my hill lambs were when I sent them at 6 months, so that seemed about right.

[Anke]

Send them when they start to become really destructive.... No honest, they are ready whenever you are. If they are smaller, just less meat and you have to balance with the feed costs if that may be an issue. We have sent a GG wether in at 11 months and he came back about 13kgs deadweight, but he was not very big as he weaned himself off milk quite early and had very selective taste buds.... in other words he was skinny.. but the meat was great.