Pig Butchering

[RhodeIslandReds]

I will be the one doing mostly everything and the 3 guys which are all family will be the ones telling what to do. I will most like just cut into 4 large pieces and from there decide on cutting everything else into nice cuts.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[EggsForIHOP]

You know, take this at face value only, but if "helpers" just stand around and watch here and offer advice instead of jumpingin - we don't call that help. We call it them the peanut gallery - and I don't let members of the peanut gallery take home meat or anything else. Just saying...

If you really don't think they are going to actually help, why not just look it up on the internet - there's a video for everything on youtube and a blog somewhere with detailed instructions and pics I think I saw last year at one point in reference to hog butchering - and do it yourself? Or find someone who really will help? If we lived in FL, we would go help. I was kind of sorry to see your last response - I could never imagine anyone teaching me something by just watching and offering advice, but I need some hands on "show me what to do" when I am learning something like this.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean...but I've never gone to help anyone and not actually helped...everything comes in 2's on a mammal - they could show you half and then you do the other half at least

I can say...expect more than 4 large pieces if you want to make it easy on yourself - each leg makes it's own large piece and there's 4 right there (the back 2 are the hams and need little other attention which is nice), then you get to the middle portion - and the bacons come off and are their own big piece, ribs are another chunk by themselves, and the loins (those are your pork chops) those are 2 more long, large pieces. Try to get it down to like 8 or 10 medium large pieces and that will be easier on you in the long run (remember everything has a mirror image on the other side and works in even numbers).

And if helpers that don't help want meat, my vote is they can have the ears, tail and trotters!

Just saying...still wishing you the best luck and everything goes smoothly!

 

[RhodeIslandReds]

Thats very true about cutting the hog into those pieces good advice. The 3 helpers will be doing the stuff that I need to learn like how to take the intestines cutting the heart after shooting him and just helping move the pig around. They offered to help so they arent really expecting meat but depending on how much I learn and how much they acutally do helping I will decide at the end. But I am wanting to do most of it so I learn and hopefully start doing it with my brother. Just a question when I go to shot him will it be a problem if there are two other females pigs pregnant around? Like will they stress out or anything?

Thanks,
Tony

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
nope--- they'll leave you alone.. just aim right b/w the eyes...

Hope this male your eating has been cut, since you mention bred gilts.

make sure you bleed him quick enough.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Oh! Good point....is he castrated? If not...

Our neighbors at the old place had the bright idea of eating their boar hog...his wife wouldn't let him even bring that meat in the house after they attempted to fry the first pork chops....

Just make sure the other hogs can't actually GET to the one you are processing when you go to start...neighbors second mistake (after their first which was eating a 4 year old boar)...they shot him, then played hell getting the sow that came with him outta the way to bleed him out (she was too busy trying to find something to eat besides the occasional stale bread they brought home)...of course if they had been feeding anything decently, it might have been different...idk...just make sure they are apart and the others won't even notice what you are up to.

It's good to hear they won't just be watching

 

[RhodeIslandReds]

Yes he did his thing with the two girls and hes been casterated for the last 6weeks. There is 2x8 seperating them which is a wall of there pen so I guess im good there.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
If he's big enough to breed the two gilts.. he weighs quite a bit more than 215.. most likely closer to 300... Personally, I wouldn't eat a 6 week old barrow... 8 month old boar...

 

[RhodeIslandReds]

He turns 8months now on Novemeber 13.

 

[ScottyHOMEy]

Skinning or scalding and scraping.

Depends some on whether you're interested in putting up lard as well. We always did.

I used to take a week off every winter to go to my grandparents' and help with the butchering, usually two hogs and a steer.

For scalding to save the whole carcass for making lard, you'll need a tank and some way of lifting the hog. Someone mentioned a split drum. We used an old cast iron bathtub. Grandpa had a formula for the amount of lime needed in the water to both alter the boiling temp and kill microscopic things (not that they wouldn't be killed later in the process!) For lifting, he wired several sets of tire chains together along their long sides to make a sort of net. the hog was dragged onto it, and the end crosses of the chains picked up and looped over the teeth of a loader bucket for lifting and dunking the hog in and out of the scalding water. From there, on to a board for scraping, before being hung up for drawing and quartering.

Grandma would watch and sail down over the porch and across the yard as soon as the gut was in the #2 tub, and dive in up to her elbows to get out the parts she wanted (heart, liver, sweetbreads).

With the setup Grandpa had refined, we could have two hogs hanging and quartered, and be trying out lard after a late lunch. Grandma would be trimming up meat for sausage at the same time. The lard went into what they called lard tins, which were nothing but large round cans with a tension fit lid (think Charles Chips, if you're old enough to remember them, for a size -- otherwise picture a large candy tin

). The lard had would have cooled and set up by the next morning and the second day was for a final trim of the hanging meat the next day for sausage-making took up the second day while the hanging meat started its aging.and the making of sausage, while the quarters aged,

If you don't want the lard, it's a lot easier process as far as equipment and setup. Skinning only, the online videos and other resources will be a big help on the hanging, gutting and quartering up. Maybe you can find some help of that sort for cutting up, but that will take equipment, too, to do a good job of it.

But you'll fare even better if you can scare up someone around the neighborhood with experience to guide you.

My two cents.

 

[Henny peeny]

BEFORE YOU READ THIS IT HAS GRAPHIC CONTENT IN WORD FORM




I probably am to late for this but I thought I would through in my 2 cents

This is piggy sorry if the picture is to big don't know how to make it bigger or smaller

He was a stray we have had two strays ( not at the same time) one in our front yard PIG PIG and one the neighbors yard but he wanted to be with my goats since both goats are passed on anyhow I had piggy for 8 months he was a pot belly pig as was PIG PIG I fed him sweet feed the goats were eating I know but the little devil wouldn't eat his food he just wanted the sweet goat feed I reckon sweet was better. I would go play with him give him a scratch and he would litterally fall over on his side. I went out everyday to give a scratch he had fancied my one goat Daisy one day I found Daisy in heat and Piggy was trying to make babies with her I rushed her off to be bred it didn't take for her to be bred.

So him and my other goat were together he never tried with her. Now let me tell you how smart a pig is and how stupid they are. Piggy one day I thought was playing but he wasn't and being he was getting rough I think I should teach some manner he was smart as a wip but on the other hand we had left overs and a big bowel from my husband's mother I didn't think he would eat all of it but YES HE DID and then next day he ground his teeth I think he was thinking WHY I DO THAT and we said he had a food hang over like a alcohol hang over I said why didn't he stop my husband said THAT IS WHY THEY ARE CALLED PIGS.

So I kept going out to give a scratch and feeding him and we had another time we had some left overs not as much but a good amount from our house I put it out to piggy and he did it again ate all had hang over and I couldn't get this why would he eat till he was feeling bad my husnabd said this is what pigs do I reckon he would eat till his belly exploded so not long after that he started to get out NOW his purpose in life was to be killed and I was trying to keep him as long as possible but once he got out and my goat followed it was time.

I thought I would be pleading for his life but I felt e was ready to go to pig heaven. It was in Jan and my husband killed him I never killed a big animal and not sure of it, If I am not confortable to kill a animal I will not we have bunnies I have killed but this is much different I later have killed deer but this is different to. My husband got the 22 cal. and shot him between the eyes not for anyone who has not shot or seen a animal shot they kick it is not pain but the body catching up to what happened I am with all my animals as they die speaking to them and letting go piggy is no different I don't treat any animal I have differently then any animal I keep my dog or cat just because they are food source doesn't mater and I love them as much as other animal I have, with this said once he stopped kicking and I felt not heart beat we hung him up we have a place we hang the deer and he was on this.We talked of scolding but didn't have the right stuff to do this and in the end we skinned him, now he had a lot of fat A LOT and I think all pigs have this as I am told, anyhow it was messy with trying to get all the fat off, it was all through the body.

We had a pig also a pot belly but she was fat very fat at one time and when my husband used the 22 cal she did not drop she still was walking around he shot her between the eyes, behind the ear, in the back of the neck to the brain stem, he shot her in the mouth to the brain stem, and one shot I am not sure which one she went down but was still breathing I was upset seeing she was not going to die quick my husband said there was one more thing to do and that should do it he was to slit her throat I thought oh GOD but it was the only way I have witnessed many die but I truely was not prepared for this he slit her throat she was yelling I had turned around my husband told me to turn around this is part of it I finally did there was blood all around her and she finally had died.

You may think he didn't do it right we thought all of this it was that she was so fat at one time and the bullet should of been bigger in caliber but the fat around her head was some how making the bullet not do it's job. Now why tell you this well my husband is experinced in killing this sort of animal cows pigs big animals and he knows what he is doing the other 2 pigs died fast so why not use the 22 cal. well things don't go as you plan all the time and things happen we never thought this would happen. Be pepared if things don't go well and have plans to if the animal don't die fast to figure out what the next step is, the idea of this is not to let the animal suffer if you can help it.

Rhayden