Goats Marketed as Meat Goats
Pygmy and angora goats have a reputation for having little meat on their carcasses. However, Pygmy kids command top prices because they make great "shoebox" kids for many ethnic groups to offer as a sacrifice upon the birth of a child.
Milk-fed kids are required, however, these are hard to obtain because get them at this time of year requires out-of-season breeding. Quality control for Christmas or Channukah kids is not as important as is with Easter.
Type of goat required: male and female kids with all their milk teeth (i.e. not older than at 12 months). Males can be whole or castrated. Overly fat kids are discriminated against. Optimum live weight is about 60 lbs, but weaned kids from 45 - 120 lbs. are accepted by different buyers.
Italian kids are typically 25-35 lbs, while Greek kids usually range from 30-45 lbs. Fleshy, younger, milk-fed kids with light-colored meat are most desirable.
Custom dictates that female goats are not acceptable for most Hindu holidays. Therefore, relatively tender male goats are generally used. The size of the carcass required for the holiday depends on the number of people expected to be fed.
The Hispanic market for goat is for 20 to 35 lb live weight milk-fed kids for cabrito, and larger animals for seco de chivo and can be especially strong in some regions during Cinco de Mayo [May 5th], Mexico's Independence Day. These requirements are similar to those for the July 4th market.
Optimal goats for the Caribbean holidays are young, smelly 60 lb bucks. However, older animals of all sexes are often in demand
