[IretonsFarm]

Does anybody do this semi-commercially?

We have been approached by one of our customers (a local butcher) and asked if we could/would consider producing goat meat so basically just trying to find out what is involved to see if it is commercially viable?

Breed wise whats best for carcass weight & taste?
Are they easy to breed, what sort of numbers do you get? I'm assuming they will be akin to sheep?
What sort of age do you have to go to for meat?
Any idea what feed requirements would be from weaning to slaughter?
I hear they are escape artists so is standard stock net with two strands of barb at the top sufficient to keep them in?
Stocking densities?
Any other considerations? Vaccinations/ ticks etc??

All help and advice greatly appreciated

Dave

[Melmarsh]

Hi, check out the Boer Goat information on line. They are specifically bred for meat, people tend not to disbud ( remove horns) , as they live outside with shelter, goats hate rain and are not waterproof as only have hair. Injections ,usually 6 monthly lambivac, they don't need all the cover given in something like heptovac P, I think that johnes disease is the biggest no no but I don't know how prevalent it is in Boers. They're not cheap to buy but you should get a good carcase off them. If you Google them you will see they are short very stocky goats, should be ready to market in the same time as lambs, minus the fat. Good Luck, goats are great, friendly if handled well , and just wonderful creatures 

[clydesdaleclopper]

Please don't use barbed wire on your fences. Stock fencing plus either plain wire or electrified wire for a top strand keeps all of my goats in.

[fiestyredhead331]

we slaughter our billy kids for meat, sold to hotels. The herd is dairy (Saanen/GG etc) crossed with Boer. We had 8 kids this year (7 female/1Male) so it looks like a few of those females will have to go for meat this year.
We use stock fencing with electric top wires but I have one that could easy enter the Grand National 
They are more hands on than sheep, need shelter, feed, worming etc and easy to breed it just depends on how much time/effort you can put in to make it worth your while

[verdifish]

Feisty if you want to build the flock and not slaughter your girls you could get a shot of Andy the Randy one. 

[verdifish]

Your initial setup costs will be high but we sell our meat for twice the price than we sell our hebridean hogget so long term very profitable.
Goat meat is Britain's fastest growing meat market and not just the ethnic trade.
Breeding has to be either pure boer or bore x any of  the dairy breeds although sandals do have a tendency to have multiple kidds.

[fiestyredhead331]

don't tempt me verdifish 

sitting at 19 goats at the mo so building the herd even more would also involve building yet another shed and acquiring more grazing which isn't going to happen anytime soon  I would keep them all if it was practical but need some return

[Anke]

Your initial setup costs will be high but we sell our meat for twice the price than we sell our hebridean hogget so long term very profitable.
Goat meat is Britain's fastest growing meat market and not just the ethnic trade.
Breeding has to be either pure boer or bore x any of  the dairy breeds although sandals do have a tendency to have multiple kidds.

Sandals?   

[verdifish]

Your initial setup costs will be high but we sell our meat for twice the price than we sell our hebridean hogget so long term very profitable.
Goat meat is Britain's fastest growing meat market and not just the ethnic trade.
Breeding has to be either pure boer or bore x any of  the dairy breeds although sandals do have a tendency to have multiple kidds.

Sandals?   

Ah er Um maybe I meant saanens. my phone has turretes. 

[Talana]

Good you have a butcher and customers but research your area is there a slaughterhouse near that will take goats or do you have to travel 100 miles to one, also what are their charges -adds to cost.
Boer is the meat breed and dairy x boer preferred dam but also some people rear dairy or dairy x boer male kids for meat from dairy herds from a week or so old but obviously not such a good carcass as pure boer but lower cost than setting up breeding herd from scratch. That could be an option to start with milk replacer  creep, hay  browsing, grazing, to try it out before committing to breeding herd.
As others have said goats need access to shed all year round and hay /straw as if raining not eating. Higher vaccination / wormer costs as have different dosages to sheep often double dose for some. Electric fencing is a must. Most goats usually have twins quite common to have have triplets / quads -especially AN. They will de bark trees!
I read an article -boer goat breeder selling carcass straight from slaughterhouse for £6 per kg. (south England) I know a breeder who markets meat direct to public averages £10 per kilo.

[verdifish]

Good you have a butcher and customers but research your area is there a slaughterhouse near that will take goats or do you have to travel 100 miles to one, also what are their charges -adds to cost.
Boer is the meat breed and dairy x boer preferred dam but also some people rear dairy or dairy x boer male kids for meat from dairy herds from a week or so old but obviously not such a good carcass as pure boer but lower cost than setting up breeding herd from scratch. That could be an option to start with milk replacer  creep, hay  browsing, grazing, to try it out before committing to breeding herd.
As others have said goats need access to shed all year round and hay /straw as if raining not eating. Higher vaccination / wormer costs as have different dosages to sheep often double dose for some. Electric fencing is a must. Most goats usually have twins quite common to have have triplets / quads -especially AN. They will de bark trees!
I read an article -boer goat breeder selling carcass straight from slaughterhouse for £6 per kg. (south England) I know a breeder who markets meat direct to public averages £10 per kilo.

And there was me thinking ? males for meat were worthless??? 

[IretonsFarm]

I read an article -boer goat breeder selling carcass straight from slaughterhouse for £6 per kg. (south England) I know a breeder who markets meat direct to public averages £10 per kilo.

Sounds like a good price but what sort of dead weight do you get out of a Boer goat?

What is the issue with barb are they likely to try and jump it or is it personal preference as obviously electric is an added expense / maintenance.

[Talana]

It's worth noting often dairy males are culled at birth. Price & costs will depend where u are what kind of stock you have and what your butcher is willing to pay. The potential for those prices quoted are there but not available to everyone. Boer goat society has lot's info.
Goats are capable of jumping and as goats like standing on fences with front feet the barb could damage them, with a normal stock fence electric wire across should stop any problems and reduce tag loss.

[cuckoo]

ID    Birth Weight   Live Weight Prior to slaughter   Dead Weight   Kill Out Ratio   Age (weeks)   Weekly Weight Gain (kg)   DLWG (kg)
1   3.45   47.73   25.6   0.54   38   1.165   0.166
2   3.44   43.18   22   0.51   35   1.135   0.149

The above is 2 goats we reared last year - kill out ratio was 54% and 51%.  We aim for at least 40kg carcass.  They are 100% uncastrated Boers. Working this year on improving the birth weights as were low last year and not sure why.
PM me if you want more information

[Pabs63]

Cuckoo, that looks a good weight. Our 100% castrated Boers were on average 26kg at 9 months. We will not castrate this year to improve carcass weight. Our birth weights varied for singles between 8 and 12 lbs.
Wrt to jumping fences ours have not. We have a plain wire at 3" at the base then standard stock fencing then 2 strands of plain wire. The top wire at approx 5 feet. We also have put an electric fence wire above than but not ever needed to switch it on.  One problem with sheep stock fencing is that horned kids will get their heads stuck.