One of our local friends recently developed a meat allergy after she had a tick bite. She started to go into anaphylactic shock while her brother rushed her up to the hospital.
Since, despite the guineas, we're getting a couple tick bites a week between the six of us, her scary story was enough impetus for me to go get prescriptions for allergic reactions. I don't know if we'll actually buy an Epi-Pen, since they are about $200 and have a shelf life of only six months, but we'll definitely get the over-the-counter Benadryl and Zyrtec, which, combined, provide a comprehensive protection for allergic reactions.
This afternoon, Joe and I planted several flats of flowers, and two flats (FINALLY) of my asparagus. I also got three flats of greens started.
Phil ran errands, and then hoed a bit in my onion patch. Such maintenance drives me batty, so I'm grateful he took it on. He said, "I think we waited a bit too long to hoe," and I thought, "It's just the story of our life this year: a bit too long to plant asparagus, a bit too long to get the fencing done, a bit too long to kill the goats."
So we killed the goats tonight. What a blessing. I know that many people find them lucrative and pleasant, and perhaps if we had fixed the boys, and they had bulked up more quickly, I would have enjoyed them more. But since they got out of their adorable kid stage (and I will admit: there are few things in life I've seen cuter than those kids: far cuter than the lambs, surprisingly), I have pretty much nothing good to say about them.
Phil learned at his grazing conference that in South Africa, they kill the animals, hang them overnight, then deal with them. So we're trying that. We have yet to get usable meat from goats, so if this method doesn't work, it will be par for the course.
Monday, May 9, 2011
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I know it's too late, but my butcher doesn't hang the goats at all, as they are too small and as you know , go bad quickly.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's the breed not neutering that makes the difference on bulk. Not neutering would have made them bigger anyways. Bucks, intact, are not good pets, as you have discovered. Try a doe or wether, neutered buck. Muck more manageable, but still always a challenge to fence...