-
Western or Roman Easter:
April 16, 2006 / April 8, 2007
Type of lamb wanted - 30-45 lbs, milk fed and fat.
Type of goat wanted - Fleshy, milk fed kids with relatively
light colored meat, 3 months old or younger. Suckling kids
weighing less than 20 lbs are generally disappointing to
buyers due to low meat to bone ratios and high carcass
drying losses now that they must be marketed with the hide
off. Kids gaining less than 10 lbs per month or 1/3rd pound
per day after accounting for birth weight are generally not
fleshy enough to be considered prime. Prime Easter kids are
generally gaining at least 1/2 lb daily. There generally is
a slight price (per lb of live weight) penalty for kids
weighing over 40 lbs. Acceptable weights generally range
from 20 to 50 lbs with 30 lbs considered optimum by most
buyers.
-
Eastern or Greek Easter:
April 23, 2006 / April 8, 2007
Type of lamb wanted - 40-55 lbs, milk fed and fat.
Type of goat wanted - Similar to Western Easter kids. A
slightly larger milk fed kid (i.e. around 35 lbs) is
considered optimum.
-
Passover: April 13 - 21, 2006
/ April 3 - 10, 2007
Type of lamb wanted - 30-55 lbs, milk fed and fat.
-
Rosh Hashanah: Sept 22-23,
2006 / Sept 12-13, 2007
Type of lamb wanted - Forequarters from weaned lambs 60-110
lbs.
-
Navadurgara or Navratra
Dashara or Dassai:
Sept 23- Oct 1, 2006 / Oct 12 -20, 2007
This is a Hindu holiday honoring the goddess Durga. Goats
are generally slaughtered from the 7th to the 10th day of
the holiday after which families meet together and celebrate
with curried goat while receiving family blessings. Female
goats are not acceptable for this holiday. Relatively tender
male goats are generally used. Size of carcass depends on
number of people expected to be fed.
-
Start of Ramadan: Sept 24,
2006* / Sept 13, 2007*
Type of lamb wanted – Weaned market lamb 60-80 lbs.
Type of goat wanted - male and female kids with all their
milk teeth (i.e. not older than @ 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.
* can vary by a day
depending on the actual sighting of the moon.
-
Id al Fitr - The Festival of
the Breaking of the Ramadan Fast:
Oct 24, 2006 / Oct 13, 2007
Type of lamb wanted - same as for Ramadan.
Type of goat wanted - same as for Ramadan.
-
Id al Adha - The Festival of
Sacrifice
Jan 10 - 13, 2006
Dec 31, 2006 – Jan 3, 2007
Dec 20 – 23, 2007
Type of goat wanted - Prefer yearlings (i.e. animals with
one set of adult teeth) that are blemish free. Large kids 60
- 100 lbs also in demand. Animals with broken horns, open
wounds, torn ears or physical unsoundnesses generally do not
meet the criteria. In some cases, castrated animals or lambs
with docked tails are frowned upon.
-
Other holidays when goat
meat is commonly consumed include Christmas, the July 4th
weekend, and the numerous Caribbean holidays in August -
Carnival, Carifest, Jamaican Independence Day, etc.
-
The Christmas market is
for milk fed kids and lambs. These young animals are rare,
because they must be produced by out-of-season breeding in
May for October births. Kids and lambs as light as 18 lbs
may be readily accepted.
-
Goats for July 4th weekend
are animals suitable for barbecue, generally cabrito kids
for small parties and large but young market bucks, does,
and wethers (no more than 1 set of adult teeth0 for larger
celebrations.
-
Optimal goats for the
Caribbean holidays are young, smelly 60-80 lb bucks.
However, older animals of all sexes are often in demand and
customers may prefer to buy them rather than pay the extra
price for prime young bucks.
-
The Chinese market for goat
according to Frank Pinkerton, PhD, is "limited to the six
colder months. The preferred weight range is 60 to 80 pounds
live, and goats in good health are required."
-
The Hispanic market for goat
is for 15 to 30 lb live wt suckling kids for cabrito, and
large weaned market kids for seco de chivo and barbecues. It
is especially strong in some regions during Cinco de Mayo
(May 5th), Mexico's Independence Day.
-
Cull does and bucks are also in
demand for the curried goat market and for prison contracts.
-
More information on popular
holidays is available on the web at http://www.interfaithcalendar.org
