Butcher Time - Hogs

[Dogfish]

Those pigs look great Jeff. Wish the wife would buy into those, as I'd love to raise one. Maybe I can find someone with an unruly pig that I can "re-home" on Craigslist. I think she'd allow me to own a pig, if it was only alive for a day. I'd love to build a smoker and do my own hams.

As far as dispatching, a .22LR is a bit on the small side for doing the job in my opinion. I'm sure over-penetration is a concern, but stepping up to a 9mm (as previously mentioned), a .40 S&W, or even a .45 ACP would insure an immediate drop at the shot. Again, you would need to be sure of a safe backstop, reasonable surface (not concrete), make sure everyone was behind you, and your feet were not below the head of the animal being shot.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Ya, the whole shooting the pig thing kinda freaks me out. Reason being I've seen these things ticked off and I've been caught in between 500 pound sows trying to move them to different paddocks. They are insanely strong animals for their size. I was loading a couple of 250 pounders about a month ago to go to the processor for my neighbor (he mowed the fields all summer and I traded him two pigs) but anyways we had one that decided to turn around in the chute... don't know how she did it but she lifted me up in the air like I was a 50 pound feed sack. I weigh just under 200#s and she didn't think twice of going through me.

Besides loading them to go the processor... they truly are a piece of cake. Just keep them in an area where you don't mind them tearing up because they do a good job at that. As far as curing your own hams and bacon... talk to OFG it's seems like it's not to hard. I'm going down the same road with the smoker too. I'd like to learn how to do that, the processor charges $1.00 / pound to do hams and $1.50 / pound to do the bacon. The problem is all the regs I have to deal with to sell the meat, for myself it wouldn't be an issue.

If you do decide to do it... get them when they are small because they are like a pup when transporting. When they get big it makes it tough to haul them around... at least for me anyways.

 

[Dogfish]

My dad told me about the time he rode a sow "through" a fence. She made it, he didn't.

 

[booker81]

Any tips on how to convince DH to let me get a pig?

(With the chickens, I just showed up with them. He was a bit...startled...but he's grown to like them and even helps care for them.)

I think I can convert part of the shed where the chickens have half the space to a shelter area, and run fencing next to it.....might have to wait for spring for a thaw though to really solidify that stuff....

Hmmm....

 

[Jared77]

Hollow points regardless of caliber Id think would be the better choice too. That rapid expansion designed to devistate tissue would be my choice. Little pricier but difference to me would be piece of mind.

Ive seen what they can do first hand and it wouldn't be a 2nd thought to "upgrade". Over penetration shouldn't be that bad since your bullets expanding through all that tissue it should slow down dramatically. Then add on a thick skull like a hog has Id think you'd be safer that way than with a regular round if your worried about over penetration.

Booker good luck convincing him on raising one, maybe you could try the same approach of "surprise"! Especially if you got a really good price on it.

 

[Talihofarms]

As far as dispatching a hog. Most slaughter houses use electric and or .22 not only on hogs but also on cattle.

The biggest mistake I ever made when I was younger was to use a .44 on my first hog kill.
Shot was dead center low. A pig doesn't sit there and pose for a second shot.
Any person who has used a 9 or larger knows that a second dead on shot ain't going to happen.


Much easier to use a .22 rifle. Never had a shot bounce off the skull. Over penetration is dangerous and the noise will scatter the other hogs if you are hoping to do more than one.

We have done hunreds of hogs and steer with nothing other than a .22.





Just my 02

 

[Jared77]

I dont know I've never done hogs was only a suggestion if you were going to upgrade the caliber from a .22

 

[willkatdawson]

Thought I would post this article from one of my favorite magazines. "Countryside & Small Stock Journal," I buy it at Tractor Supply, and there's always something interesting in it. I remembered reading this article about harvesting home grown pigs, so I thought I would share. The author make a big point of say to only use a .22, nothing larger or you'll kill instantly. You need to stun it, then you have maybe 15 seconds to slit the throat before the nerves start "firing" and the pig is flailing, and getting the jugular becomes really hard.
I hope y'all can read this. I know if you click on it, it will enlarge a little. If you can't read and would like me to email you a copy, I'll be happy to, just PM.

Sorry, it looks like unless you've got a mag glass near by you won't be able to read. I thought it would open a little larger if you clicked on it, but it doesn't.

 

[bigredfeather]

Thank you everyone for your great responses and interest in this thread. I wish I would have posted my questions a few days earlier, as by the time some of this great information was posted, I was already done. I would best describe this as a successful learning experience. Sorry Jeff, but no pics. It’s hard to take them when you are doing it yourself. Besides that, taking pics was about the last thing on my mind prior to doing this. To be honest, I was a little uneasy about doing this myself.
The worst part was definitely the killing. I did use a .22 for the task. The pigs were hungry, so the first one quite easy to get into a position for a shot. It only took a few minutes, and I was able to get a good shot. Here where I made my first mistake. I didn’t have my knife on me. He dropped just like he was supposed to, but by the time I got to my knife and got back, he was flopping around uncontrollably. I was tempted to try on hold him down to finish the job, but considering the force a hog that was close to my size (both of us 260lbs+) , I decided it wasn’t a good idea. After he quit flopping, I went up a slit the throat across the throat. Turns out that was the wrong way to cut. I was surprised how deep you need to go to get to the jugular and windpipe. I used a 5” knife, and it took all that to reach the right spot. Eventually I got the blood to start coming out, but I think it should have been done quicker. I think a double sided knife would have been the best knife for the job. In my mind I tried to compare this to killing a chicken, but there’s a huge difference between slicing a broiler in a cone and chasing down a hog. Not even a close comparison. The second one I shot didn’t drop. He turned a little right when I pulled the trigger. It took quite some time before I could position for a good shot. He was not nearly as willing to get close to me after already being shot. Luckily he didn’t get aggressive. This time as soon as he dropped, I opened him up and the blood came out immediately. Lesson learnt.
With both of them dead, I made a slit in the rear leg between the bone and tendon, just like a deer. I ran a piece of string thru the slit giving myself plenty of rope to tie them up. I then pulled the loader tractor into the pen, and made a loop on the string to hook to the forks on the bucket. Got them hooked, and lifted right out.
Time for the gutting. I was surprised to read in earlier post it is easier to gut with the animal on the ground. It seemed that it would be easier with the legs up in the air. The biggest mistake I made on the first was not cutting below the penis before getting the guts to start rolling out. I started by cutting around the anus, so that it could be pulled back thru the body cavity. As I started to get it all to come out, it was a real pain that I hadn’t cut all the way down first. I had to lift the innards to finish my cut. The second one I started below penis, making sure to cut the breast bone, so when I got to the bottom, everything could roll out into the wheel barrel. It worked much better this way. Again, lesson learnt.
I ran out of time Friday evening, so didn’t get them skinned. Turns out it was probably easier after it had cooled overnight. The fat was nice and solid and cut very cleanly. I took my time on the first one and it took close to an hour, but the second one I had done in less than a half hour. I also figured out how to leave more of the fat on the second one. After they where skinned, I cut the head off with a sawzaw ,and then split down the middle. I was glad I attached each leg independently, as the halves hung there after they where split, making it easier to handle. It was all I could do to get a half off the tractor and flop it onto the table.
The cutting up was not a problem. The only place I stumbled was getting the shoulder roast out of the front legs. I got the butt roast okay, but there is a funny shaped bone in there that still gets me.
I haven’t weighed anything yet, but I would guess we have around 200 pounds of meat. I still need to grind/stuff the sausage and butcher paper everything.
All in all this was a great learning experience. Next time will go much smoother. Jeff, there is no reason you can’t do this. It is not much different from a deer.
Thanks again to everyone that offered advise.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

FABULOUS!!!! I am so impressed, hats off and kudos to you. Can't wait to hear more about the cutting and sausage making