Regardless of what marketing channel a farm decides to work with, it behooves a goat producer to learn some basic slaughter terminology and how to calculate some of the commonly used measurements. Several factors affect these measurements.

Hanging carcass weight

Hanging carcass weight is the weight of a dressed carcass as it hangs from the rail. Different buyers will include different parts of the goat in this weight so it is a good idea to ask them for a detailed description. Often it is the weight of the carcass after the offal, internal organs, hide, head and lower shank bones have been removed. A hide off/head on carcass has the offal, organs, and hide removed but not the head while “organs hanging” means that the kidneys, liver and heart and any fat surrounding them are included in the weight. “Hot carcass weight” is the weight immediately after slaughter while “cold carcass weight” will include weight loss after chilling (cooler shrinkage).

Dressing percentage (DP)

Dressing percentage (DP) = (hot carcass weight/live weight) * 100 , i.e., it’s a measurement of the weight of the carcass compared to the live weight of the animal. For example, if an animal weighs 80 lbs live and dresses out with a 40 lb hanging carcass, the DP is 50%. Dressing percentages is affected by what parts of the goat are being included in the carcass weight. Dressing percentages range from about 45% – 55% for market kids with the hide off/head on, while dressing percentages for nice suckling kid carcasses with hide off/ head on and organs hanging often range from 52% – 62%. Two major factors influencing DP are gut fill and carcass fat. If an animal is full of feed when its live weight is taken it will have a full gut and a lower DP than if the same animal is taken off feed for a short time prior to weighing. Suckling kids and plump kids tend to have higher DPs than weaned kids or lean kids.

Shrinkage or shrink

Shrinkage or shrink refers to the weight loss that occurs in live weight from the time the animal is gathered for transport until it is slaughtered. Goats coming off lush pastures will show live weight losses shortly after being taken off feed because the feed passes through them faster than dried forages and grains do. If animals are deprived of feed for 6 or more hours not only live weight but carcass weight starts to decrease and DP will also start to drop. Carcass weight loss is about 2.5%, 3 – 4% and 6 – 7% after a 12, 24, and 48 hr fast, respectively. Water deprivation can result in another 2% loss in carcass weight. Depending on the distance traveled, truckers report shrink losses of 3% to 10% for goats going from farm to auction.

Cooler shrinkage

Cooler shrinkage is the weight loss that occurs as the carcass loses moisture during chilling. It is calculated as ((hot carcass weight – cold carcass weight)/hot carcass weight)*100. It normally ranges from 2% to 3.5% but can be as high as 4 – 6% for young suckling kids or extended chilling periods.

Carcass to bone ratio

Carcass to bone ratio is the ratio of the weight of the entire carcass compared to the weight of the bones in it. Similar terms are meat to bone ratio and muscle to bone ratio. Meat and muscle are interchangeable terms for what’s left after deboning the carcass and usually include carcass fat. Therefore, although we often consider carcass to bone ratio and dressing percentage to be measurements of the meatiness of an animal, they are also indicators of the body condition of an animal. Fatter carcasses will tend to have higher carcass to bone ratios and higher dressing percentages. Just like humans, some goats build short thick muscle while others have a body conformation that leans towards long lean muscles. However, despite these differences, the absolute ratio of muscle mass to bone does not vary a great deal within an animal species. As in humans, the ratio of fat mass to bone has the biological potential to vary far more.

Carcass makeup

When a goat carcass is split into halves between the 12th and 13th rib, approximately 45% of the weight will be in the hindquarters and 55% in the forequarters. The proportion of marketable retail cuts from a carcass can vary depending on breed, conformation, sex (intact males will generally be heavier in the neck and shoulders), animal size, and fat cover (the more fat on the carcass the more cutting losses during trimming).

Next
Module Home
Certification Table of Contents
Browsing Table of Contents