# Goat processing - Photo tutorial (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)



## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Alrighty. We got a late start on this today due to some friends stopping by, pony rides happening and burning some brush.




I forgot to take a photo of where we shoot them so instead I took a photo of one of the goats we did recently. You can clearly see where the bullet went through, it angles down towards their nose. They don't even know whats going on when you do it. They drop down and barely kick and make no noise.










Then we hang them up on the gambrel and bleed them out. Then we cut through all the flesh around the neck. Following a line behind the ears.










Once you cut through to the neck, you can twist the head and it will literally pop off. In this photo you can see where they separated. This is the easiest way IMO to get the head off. 










Then you give the head to the chickens :tongue: I bleach the skulls and hang them up so the chickens get to eat the meat off.










Then you do this, and skin it. I leave the penis and scrotum there and take them off later. My line goes down the belly, up the inside of each leg, around the ankles and along the back of the scrotum. Then its just a tedious job of peeling and cutting and pulling. 










So around the back side you come to this little gem. The anus. I just cut across it and then cut through the tail bone. I find it easy. I save the hides to use for stuff, some people just leave the hide on or whatever.










Here you can see where to cut through the end of the intestine and the tail. Then you just keep peeling it off...










End result of the hide. I get the bits of meat off and salt them, and store them for later.










Then you are left with this. He is not bloated like you would think he would be. It is just food and natural gases. I lower the gambrel to gut it.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

When you cut down the belly CAREFULLY (!!!) you will find this poking through. Be gentle and try to not pop it yet.










As you cut down, it will fall out naturally. I use a plastic barrel sawed in half as a catchall for gross stuff. At this point I let it hang and cut open the bottom of each stomach to empty the contents. Then I separate the stomach from the intestine. The intestine goes down into the barrel and the green tripe goes to the dogs.


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Normally the animal will have a full bladder, then you pinch off the top like a balloon and cut it out and empty it safely. This guy (shockingly) had a totally empty bladder. It is the pale vein-y bag thing in the upper right corner of this photo. It was empty so I just left it alone and the dogs can eat it some time. The photo shows how I pull the intestine down and cut it off. You can see the goat nuggets in the intestine, I always make sure to squeeze those down so they all go away nicely.


















Then it all pretty much shows you where to cut and tear it out. It is thin membranes so its very easy. I just let it fall into the tub and help it out by feeling for tight membranes to cut.










You will automatically see one kidney. That is the first "goodie" I cut out. The other is usually hidden and comes later.










The other kidney, you can see where I throw everything, into the wheelbarrow!  










Then I cut the liver out and pop the bile sack and drain it into the barrel of nasty stuff. 

Yummy liver!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Next is the lungs/heart/trachea. They come as one bunch. The follow photos show how to move the lungs forward with my fingers to cut down the back, then I reach in and pull the trachea up, and just cut it off.


































See? One nice little bunch.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Then we take the front legs off. Its really easy to just pull the leg back and cut up the "armpit", follow the shoulder blade up and around and sort of peel if off. The shoulder is not attached by any joints so you just cut around through the muscle and tissue.


































Then we take a saw to the ribs. Sometimes a cleaver, sometimes a saw.










Then you get this!










I took the backstraps off just because. Good practice for deer season :smile:











To remove the hind legs, you follow the same protocol as the head. Cut around the hip joint and the pop it out. My knife is pointing at the joint.










Then we saw the back piece into a few 8 inch chunks and freeze!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Doggies love warm green tripe  





















































The girl that went for a pony ride  She is my local 4H-er that will be showing some of my lambs next year!


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I want to see what you do with that hide!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

wolfsnaps88 said:


> I want to see what you do with that hide!


Any ideas? I have SO many hides to do. 5 rabbits, 4 goats, 2 sheep.

I want to make mad bomber hats with the rabbit pelts, sheepskins will be rugs or slippers, goats....no idea!


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Lol... If I had seen this thread 2 years ago, I'm sure I would have been horrified and sick to my stomach to see a goat being processed. Now I find it very interesting, and it doesn't make me queasy whatsoever. Then again, I didn't have to smell anything lol. Thanks for sharing  the doggies look happy eating the tripe


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Kat said:


> Lol... If I had seen this thread 2 years ago, I'm sure I would have been horrified and sick to my stomach to see a goat being processed. Now I find it very interesting, and it doesn't make me queasy whatsoever. Then again, I didn't have to smell anything lol. Thanks for sharing  the doggies look happy eating the tripe


It's funny how that is! :smile:

The only thing that smells is the tripe and its really not that bad smelling to me anymore. I've become acclimated. :tongue:

The actual processing doesn't smell at all. The body is warm which is odd at first and the muscles twitch for a while but over all its not bad until you clean out the stomach.


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Nice post! I've got the freezer space for a sheep or goat, or two, but I don't have the funds to buy one.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'll leave that nasty stuff to you...........LOL I guess I'll have to continue to buy my goats already processed!


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## Fundog (Oct 25, 2012)

Pretty danged awesome! I had no place to hang my goat last week, so we had to dress him out on the backyard picnic table-- it was just a wee bit more difficult, lol.

And I did not share the head with my sil's chickens, no way! That thing got lugged home, sawed in half, and the girls will get it one special delicious day.

I actually cut the lower legs off prior to skinning, to make the skinning easier, since we were doing it on the table. My girls will get the (hairy) lower legs with hooves attached as recreational chews. 

But the rest was really similar: I held a bucket up to the table to catch the intestines and stomach as I cut them loose.

Oh, and I didn't bother cutting his throat to bleed him out-- the bullet severed the carotid artery as it sailed through the head (and came out his nose or mouth), so he bled out very quickly before I got him to the table. The rest of the blood that pooled in his body I collected and added to the meals I bagged up. It is very rich and nutritious.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Fundog said:


> Pretty danged awesome! I had no place to hang my goat last week, so we had to dress him out on the backyard picnic table-- it was just a wee bit more difficult, lol.
> 
> *yeah we use to do that! It's so much easier with a gambrel. They are only 20$ at the store!*
> 
> ...


*I wish my dogs would eat the blood. They won't though. We take the head off first anyway so it's really just a pre head removal cut. I love giving it to my chickens though. It's super nutritious for them! The healthier they are, the more eggs I get :biggrin:. *


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Losech said:


> Nice post! I've got the freezer space for a sheep or goat, or two, but I don't have the funds to buy one.


Do you have a post on Craigslist? It's lambing season and sometimes ewes don't make it. We just got two huge ewes a couple weeks ago because of that. They were free, and whole. We just did the dirty work.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I'll leave that nasty stuff to you...........LOL I guess I'll have to continue to buy my goats already processed!


I wish I could afford that luxury! :tongue:


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Awsome pictures! You always do such a profesional job. It was worth the wait to see that! Thank you!


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

You're such a pro! I'll never be able to do that!


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

Awesome pics!! I want butchering lessons someday.

I was afraid to open this thread at work, I had to keep looking over my shoulder and make sure no one snuck up behind me, lol.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Such a clean and professional presentation; i wasn't grossed out in the least...just fascinated, really.

How did you learn to do this (butchering?)

Also, how do you keep your knives so sharp- mine get dull so easily.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Such a clean and professional presentation; i wasn't grossed out in the least...just fascinated, really.
> 
> How did you learn to do this (butchering?)
> 
> ...


We sharpen them  Most butchers in grocery stores will sharpen knives for free. I've never actually had them do that for me though.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Sprocket said:


> I wish I could afford that luxury! :tongue:


I wouldn't be able to if I had all those farm kids to feed...LOL


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> We sharpen them  Most butchers in grocery stores will sharpen knives for free. I've never actually had them do that for me though.


I was looking for more specifics-- do you have a sharpening stone? What I have used in the past have been pretty useless...


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## Fundog (Oct 25, 2012)

Sprocket said:


> *Do you keep the stomach? *


Yes. I actually took several buckets with lids with me to the property. I collected the stomach in one clean bucket, caught the intestines in another bucket that my in-laws had laying around, and collected the precious organs in a clean plastic container. I put the hairy chews in a big ziploc baggy, and all the cuts in two other buckets with lids. Very tidy. 

The unfortunate thing was opening the stomach at home-- oh my! Mr. Fundog was so nauseous he went to bed without supper. Next time I will be smart and open the stomach on site, while I'm field dressing outdoors. We live and learn, lol.


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## Fundog (Oct 25, 2012)

NewYorkDogue said:


> I was looking for more specifics-- do you have a sharpening stone? What I have used in the past have been pretty useless...


I don't know about Sprocket, but we have a sharpening stick with our kitchen knife set. As the knife begins to get dull during the butchering, you stop and give the knife a few swipes on the sharpening stick, then continue.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

So when you first cut him open and he had the big gut (the part you said to be careful not to cut) that's his stomach? It seems so big for a goat. And hanging looks like the way to go! Me hanging over my bath tub = not comfortable at all!!!


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

ahhh this thread has just made my day


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

very nice, clean and informative, I could see this as a sticky for butchering help and people adding other animals


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> I was looking for more specifics-- do you have a sharpening stone? What I have used in the past have been pretty useless...


We have an electric sharpener that was my Gmas. Its pretty old but does the trick. We also have one of the sticks, and two small plastic handhelds. We use the stick when we are processing and we don't use the good knives on the bones. I use Drews cheap game knives for joints and stuff.

I will take a photo of what we use.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Fundog said:


> Yes. I actually took several buckets with lids with me to the property. I collected the stomach in one clean bucket, caught the intestines in another bucket that my in-laws had laying around, and collected the precious organs in a clean plastic container. I put the hairy chews in a big ziploc baggy, and all the cuts in two other buckets with lids. Very tidy.
> 
> The unfortunate thing was opening the stomach at home-- oh my! Mr. Fundog was so nauseous he went to bed without supper. Next time I will be smart and open the stomach on site, while I'm field dressing outdoors. We live and learn, lol.


OH yeah. I just cut open the bottom let it all drop out! Minimal handling  



lauren43 said:


> So when you first cut him open and he had the big gut (the part you said to be careful not to cut) that's his stomach? It seems so big for a goat. And hanging looks like the way to go! Me hanging over my bath tub = not comfortable at all!!!


Yes that is a stomach. It is SO easy to just ease it out and cut the bottom open to empty it. Then I hook the stomach with a hay hook and separate the intestines from it.


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