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. Its 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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 theres 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 hadnt 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 didnt 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 havent 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 cant do this. It is not much different from a deer.
Thanks again to everyone that offered advise.
