# Slaughter houses are making a killing.



## messybun (Jan 7, 2021)

I don’t know if y’all have experienced the same or similar, but I am constantly seeing people begging for slaughter houses. Most are booked out until 2022 already! How are you doing with the lack, and how are you taking advantage of it?


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## Grant (Jan 7, 2021)

I called in July thinking I was calling in PLENTY of time for a January butcher date.  I had to call 5 places and finally got a June 29, 2021 date.  😱. I thought I’d do my butcher on a 20 month old steer...looks like he’ll be 25 months.  Oh well.  Should be better beef, I was just hoping to not take him through winter.  I’m sure at this point it’s 2022 and most people with a date won’t even get a calf until March.

As soon as my calves are born March/April, I’ll schedule a May 2023 date to be sure I can get one.


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## farmerjan (Jan 7, 2021)

The small local shops are not making a killing.  Ours around here are getting the same to do the butchering as they were a year ago.  The problem is that there are so many FEWER due to regulations over the years making it near impossible for the small slaughter facility to compete.  The BS to be USDA accredited are absolutely absurd.  A small facility can only handle XX number of animals at a time, with some coming in, some hanging for aging, and some going out.  Good help is next to impossible to get and it is a D@#ned LONG HARD DAY on your feet doing the cutting.   When the whole shut down BS got going with the covid virus, and then meat got hard to find because of the bottle neck with the large processing plants, there were animals that farmers were selling, and glad to not be feeding them any longer, so the small guy got a bargain on a ready to kill beef, and the small plants all of a sudden got overwhelmed as people were looking for places to kill.  They were then at capacity and then some.  Did you see all the animals that were killed and buried because there were no slaughter facilities to take them?   Do you think a farmer, commercial or small time, wants to see his animals shot and put in a pit and buried???? When a hog is ready to go, there is a small window to kill.  A beef has a little more leeway.... Broiler chickens have next to no leeway..... 

Yet the regulations to do butchering get worse and worse.  Start up costs are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars..... Older butchers, who were really craftsmen at the job,  were getting out and the younger generation said it is not worth the BS for the hours and the pay.  So they closed up.  Some were put out of business by the competition of bigger places that made it impossible to meet the lower prices.... then when the bigger ones got all the business and the smaller ones closed, all of a sudden there was a longer wait to get done.  And prices crept up.  If you employ 2 people or you employ 22, there are certain costs that you have to meet.... so it is better to spread it out over 22 so that you don't have to charge as much per animal.... law of scale.  
Then there are all the places that no longer want a butcher shop near them.... 

I hope all those people go hungry one of these days.  

We have always figured a 4-6 month wait and we schedule from year to year.  Then on occasion, we could get an animal in on short notice,  that say got hurt,  because we were regular customers.  Now it is impossible.


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## Baymule (Jan 7, 2021)

We booked our steer for March of 2021 May of 2020 and were lucky to get it. We took lambs in and tried to get a slaughter date and they weren’t taking any more. Went outside, got in truck and started calling. A few months ago, we were able to book 3 hogs for August 2021. Hav lambs being born next month. Normally I book slaughter dates when they hit the ground, not even going to try, just take them to auction.


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## Alasgun (Jan 7, 2021)

Sounds like Farmerjan’s got it figured out. Having worked for a local slaughter house in southern Indiana almost 50 years ago, i couldn’t have said it better. 
Butchering has always been and in our area, still is hard, underpaid work. We buy a beef each fall, local grass fed Galloways! Its wonderful. After several atempts to get our producer to up the price a bit i finally told him “going forward i’ll be paying you $5.50 per lb. (previous price was $4.50) These are hanging sides.
He relented and we’re both happy campers. I haul the sides home a week apart and do our own cut and wrap. (not man enough to do the whole critter at one time anymore)

on the other hand, most Alaskans are familiar with roadkill! Up here we salvage moose that have met they’re demise on someone’s hood!
the process is simple, put your name on the list and when the Troopers call hop in the truck and get after it. It takes most of an hour to knock the guts out in the road ditch and load up the pieces which are usually processed by a group of folks all working together. Lots of Church groups and 501c types get on that list. And a full grown moose will easily rival any steer! In my area we’ll road kill between 150 and 300 per year!!


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## Beekissed (Jan 7, 2021)

We do all our butchering at home, from cows down to chickens.  Haven't taken an animal to an abattoir since the late 70s.


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## Baymule (Jan 8, 2021)

I slaughter chickens and have home slaughtered hogs. I used to hunt and processed deer. I like using a slaughter facility, we sell pork to a customer, so it is better for us not to do the slaughter. The one we use is USDA. We also take lambs to slaughter, we sell the meat. Going to skip the lambs for awhile, it's too much hassle to get a slaughter date right now. We have a steer going to slaughter in March. Just not equipped to do my own.


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## Bicoastal (Jan 15, 2021)

I just posted in the Pigs section about this then saw this thread. A family member just dropped off her annual batch of hogs last week at her usual slaughterhouse. Put me in touch with the breeder and we have our orders for the next batch of piglets. But the go-to slaughterhouse is booked until *December*. I called around a few other local processors and they are all booked for *the year*. The best we can do is be placed on a cancellation list. There are ten hogs between us and we don't want to rely on chance.

What are folks doing? We are not going to DIY. My neighbor, a bonafide cattle farmer, just sold his current group but passed on keeping back his own steer because he's heard all of the small-scale processors are backlogged a year. A cattleman can't eat his own beef! 

I don't think slaughterhouses are making a killing. If they are, good for them! One is currently shut down due to a Covid outbreak. Another had to invest in more equipment but still can't keep up. Some shut down livestock processing for deer season. Some have had to shut down this past spring/summer just to catch up on the workload.


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## messybun (Jan 15, 2021)

I apologize for the name of this thread. It was meant to discuss what are the people doing to cope with the butcher backlog. And get a general feel if everybody was experiencing the same thing or not. It can be really helpful to know how things are going nationwide, and even internationally. The name was just a pun I couldn’t pass up for this thread. I meant no insult, or to make light, I know most everyone is struggling right now.


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## Alaskan (Jan 15, 2021)

We can't ever afford to take meat to a slaughterhouse.

So, we always do it ourselves. 

My grandfather had a deal with the slaughter house where they got to keep part of the animal, but no cash.  But that was ages back, and down in Texas.


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## Grizzlyhackle (Jan 15, 2021)

I got tired of paying 80$ for a deer and having to argue everytime I didn't want his lousy sausage. I started doing it myself, bullet or bumper. It's a lot of work though. I couldn't believe the govt didn't step in to do something when I heard about those animals getting wasted. Contract Chicken growers mostly around here. I heard of several farms back late spring, early summer where the company came in shut the doors and windows turned up the heat and smothered the whole flock in each house. I would have bought some. Birds are messy but it's not that hard to do. It's a #$$ shame.


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## messybun (Jan 15, 2021)

Grizzlyhackle said:


> I got tired of paying 80$ for a deer and having to argue everytime I didn't want his lousy sausage. I started doing it myself, bullet or bumper. It's a lot of work though. I couldn't believe the govt didn't step in to do something when I heard about those animals getting wasted. Contract Chicken growers mostly around here. I heard of several farms back late spring, early summer where the company came in shut the doors and windows turned up the heat and smothered the whole flock in each house. I would have bought some. Birds are messy but it's not that hard to do. It's a #$$ shame.


I know. While small time chicken owners were selling out the moment they put a bird for sale thousands were just killed. Not to mention how inhumane it is. It almost seems that the government purposely interrupted the food supply; but this site isn’t for politics. For me, locally, everybody was joining livestock and chicken sites asking a thousand questions and panicking over trying to get Laying birds to feed their families. I sincerely felt sorry for some of the people, but most were just panic buying and grabbing whatever with absolutely no knowledge of what they were doing. I saw people trying to buy dairy cows for a family of three or four people, trying to fit a cow into their suburban back yard. Makes me grateful to already have some.


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## promiseacres (Jan 16, 2021)

We just got half a beef.... it was at the meat processor for over 4 weeks. Then they didn't follow our cutting instructions... a bit frustrating but the freezer is full.  
During college worked in a meat department and cut meat. He hopes to have a butchering barn and do everything from our rabbits to beef. Rabbits are super simple and I am expanding our meat rabbits this year. But am a bit intimatedated about a beef. We'll see. I think the processor industry is only get worse.


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## Beekissed (Jan 16, 2021)

Bicoastal said:


> What are folks doing? We are not going to DIY.



I'm curious as to why someone would not adapt and learn to do their own butchering, especially in times like these.  The alternative is what, exactly?   Wait for a butcher date a few years down the road? 

Hard times are when people need to get together and pool resources, help one another overcome obstacles and learn old skills.   What is wrong with processing meat in a DIY setting?


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## Grizzlyhackle (Jan 16, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> I'm curious as to why someone would not adapt and learn to do their own butchering, especially in times like these.  The alternative is what, exactly?   Wait for a butcher date a few years down the road?
> 
> Hard times are when people need to get together and pool resources, help one another overcome obstacles and learn old skills.   What is wrong with processing meat in a DIY setting?


Amen from the choir box.
It's funny all the hog killing pots you see used as flower planters and the pickling crocks as living room decor. I know what they're for,  never seen them used.


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## farmerjan (Jan 16, 2021)

Unfortunately for the "killing your own" thoughts, there are many reasons some don't, can't,  and won't..... do it.  Here, you have to have a place, and there are many that do their own.  There are several regulations now about disposing of the  parts of the carcass.... and some of the areas there are too many people who will call some "authority"  about people that do it.  It is alot easier to do small animals...rabbits, chickens, even goats and lambs.  Hogs and cattle are much bigger and therefore not as easy to do "quietly in your own back yard" type of thing.
  Age and abilities of the people that want to do the killing.  With my knees, I cannot do more than a couple chickens without being in agony, standing.  It doesn't pay to heat water and all that for just a couple of chickens.... you get all the set up, and it makes sense to do a bunch.  We can do our own here in Va without much problem.  You have to deal with the blood and guts for the bigger animal.  Many do  not have the  facilities to hang a large animal to age for the required amount of time.   Yes, you can cut up and freeze fresh beef, but it will have better texture and even cut easier if it has been aged, and then cut up cold.   
I am in an area of many that are capable to do their own.  But there is a closed "community" and many will not get together with others they are not close to or family members.  There is alot of the anti meat people around now with so many moving from the city areas.... we have seen so much of it with the fair animals and having them spray painted and such to "hurt" the ones that have raised them and show them.  
The problem with that is that you never know who they are anymore.  You don't know who to trust to not turn you in if you sell a dozen of your chickens and have not met the specifications..... If you kill a large animal, and do  not properly dispose of the hide, hooves, head and guts....

But some are just not capable of killing their own animal.  Not that they are anti-gun, but they just cannot kill it after raising it.  I get it, and I can sympathize. 

Sheer physical capabilities and limitations of the people wanting to do the killing/processing.

Some of it is also just the sheer size of a finished beef..... killing and cutting up a 70-100 #,  live weight lamb,  is just a whole lot easier than a 1200 # live beef.  Or even a 200 # live hog.  In the case of the hog, scalding is the only way to go if you are going to cure much of the meat..... that takes time and muscle to handle a whole hog....a big container to heat water to scald;   hanging a whole beef after killing to bleed out takes a tractor/hoist/something that is capable to hold big animal up in the air to skin and gut.   Then the facilities to hang to chill and age.  
Years ago deer season used to seem to have colder weather here....you hung the deer for several days after gutting, with the hide on, then skinned and cut up the meat.  We don't seem to have the colder weather during hunting season as much.  I would not want to trust the weather to hang a beef for a couple weeks.  

I agree that it would be better for many to be able to get together  and do a community kill day.   Many here still do that, but most have places that they can do so and dispose of the offal on farm without a problem.... manure pits or piles to compost the remains, places to bury some of it.  I could never kill here at the house I bought.... too open for everyone and their brother in law to see what is going on......


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## Grant (Jan 16, 2021)

I





Grizzlyhackle said:


> Amen from the choir box.
> It's funny all the hog killing pots you see used as flower planters and the pickling crocks as living room decor. I know what they're for,  never seen them used.



I’ve made sauerkraut in one of. The big crocks.  Only thing I ever actually used it for.


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## Alaskan (Jan 16, 2021)

promiseacres said:


> He hopes to have a butchering barn


AKA dirt floored garage.   

We have a big cross beam in our garage from which he hang the meat.


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## Alaskan (Jan 16, 2021)

farmerjan said:


> too open for everyone and their brother in law to see what is going on......


That there...  makes it truly more problematic...

My baby sister got fussed at by multiple people because she had "unsightly" brush piles in her pastures after redoing some exterior fence.

X2 on lots of the rest of your post too.

So glad I live more remote.


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## Alasgun (Jan 16, 2021)

Not seeing the right answer here, @Beekissed and others touched on learning to do your own and @Alaskan mentioned how they did some swapping way back when.
Guy’s, someone in your immediate area knows how to kill something!!!
yea, bigger animals require some equipment but up to hog size animals can be handled with a couple knives, a saw if your into saving all them bones and a swing set. A rope over top of the swing hooked to the bumper will lift most of what you need lifted, within reason and if your a scalder add an open top 55 gallon drum. The simplest thing is to just skin hogs and dump the hide and guts into the 55 then bone the rest. You’ll be happier with the packages down the road without all the punctures.
Get creative, invite some friends and if one of them knows something so much the better. If not no big deal, you’ll all know something when you get done. From rabbits to Moose they look pretty much alike when you get the hide off. Dont be put off by all them names you see on some butcher chart, around here we have Steak, Burger and Fajita which is the smaller stuff im Too lazy to grind. It all eats just fine.

These problems we’re discussing may be with us for quite some time, i aint gonna quit meat simply because someone wont do it for me!


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## Beekissed (Jan 17, 2021)

Alasgun said:


> Steak, Burger and Fajita which is the smaller stuff im Too lazy to grind. It all eats just fine.



That right there is how we approach meat.  Never been one for fancy cuts and packaging.  We strip the back strap and butterfly the steaks, then freeze them...those don't stick around long enough to worry about those.  We may or may not freeze a neck roast or we will just as often remove the meat and grind it, jerk it or chunk it.

Since we can't depend on the power in these parts, we've taken to canning up most meats anyway so that nothing goes to waste if the power is off for a couple of weeks.  Canning it immediately tenderizes all meat and tendon, seals in the natural juices and flavor and makes for an easy meal any time and for any recipe~no freezer burn, no thawing time, no worries about old meat at the bottom of the freezer, etc.   We even can our ground meat now...since doing that, we find the meat much more moist, much more flavorful and much easier to get into recipes.

We've always hung our animals in a tree, yanked off the hide with the use of the truck, lawn tractor or ATV, and stripped the carcass right there in the tree, quartering and chilling the quarters in the extra fridge if the weather wasn't cool enough.  The dogs get the head, legs, spinal column and any bones removed from the meat...mostly those scraps are what we store in the freezer, as it doesn't matter if those are lost to a power out.

Offal can be frozen until you can get it out to portion it out for the dogs or even for making homemade dog food, like Bay does.

Here's a vid that was made in my state wherein folks come together each year to butcher hogs...there's things on it I wouldn't do(these boys don't seem to know how to back a pig into a truck), or couldn't do, as we have no tractors and butchering equipment here, but overall it's just home butchering in a very plain way.


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## Bicoastal (Jan 17, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> I'm curious as to why someone would not adapt and learn to do their own butchering, especially in times like these.  The alternative is what, exactly?   Wait for a butcher date a few years down the road?
> 
> Hard times are when people need to get together and pool resources, help one another overcome obstacles and learn old skills.   What is wrong with processing meat in a DIY setting?


With age comes wisdom, right? 😄 Our supplier -and friend- says he's too old to be doing this at home anymore. Plus we have state regulation for sales. Some are sold whole or halves to family and friends but it's technically illegal from home without inspected facilities and these days that feels like a bigger risk.

Even then, ten hogs between three people? Not happening.


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## Beekissed (Jan 17, 2021)

Bicoastal said:


> With age comes wisdom, right? 😄 Our supplier -and friend- says he's too old to be doing this at home anymore. Plus we have state regulation for sales. Some are sold whole or halves to family and friends but it's technically illegal from home with inspected facilities and these days that feels like a bigger risk.
> 
> Even then, ten hogs between three people? Not happening.


Maybe have a good ol' fashioned group hog killing...advertise for others to buy in and come butcher their own hogs along with y'all.  Or just sell the hogs outright to folks who want to do home butchering?   On the WV FB page there are folks selling hogs left and right, so there must be some folks out there wanting to butcher their own.


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## Alaskan (Jan 17, 2021)

Bicoastal said:


> Even then, ten hogs between three people? Not happening.


Just the thought makes my back hurt.



Beekissed said:


> Maybe have a good ol' fashioned group hog killing...advertise for others to buy in and come butcher their own hogs along with y'all.  Or just sell the hogs outright to folks who want to do home butchering?   On the WV FB page there are folks selling hogs left and right, so there must be some folks out there wanting to butcher their own.


I think there is a place up in Fairbanks that sells you the live animal...  but has all of the "stuff" on site that you need to process....  so you show up, pick out your animal...  walk it over to where the butchering station sits, and have at it.

I read of one family that did a pig party...invited a bunch of friends to come over and all butcher together. 

Our neighbor once decided to slaughter their own cow...  got started... realized they knew nothing,  and didn't even have a saw....  so knocked on our door so we could "help" them.  

My grandparents would get awesome deer sausage in exchange for hunting on the property. 

And as a kid, I was always amazed that we NEVER butchered a deer by ourselves.   Always called the cousins ... and they just came right on over, every time, and helped us butcher.   

In hindsight...  wow....  nice cousins.


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## Beekissed (Jan 17, 2021)

Alaskan said:


> Just the thought makes my back hurt.
> 
> 
> I think there is a place up in Fairbanks that sells you the live animal...  but has all of the "stuff" on site that you need to process....  so you show up, pick out your animal...  walk it over to where the butchering station sits, and have at it.
> ...



I hope you got a lot of the beef you "helped" them butcher.  That's a tough job. 

A pic or two of Mom helping me butcher a young heifer that we butchered at home...granted, not a huge beef, but we'd do it the same with a big one as a little one. 

Caping the hide to insert a hammer, tying off with a rope...






A slow pull with a lawn tractor and the hide just zips right off...





Mom and I have been doing all the processing for our large family, from gutting to canning, of all the animals both domestic and wild since I was just 10 yrs old.  Mom is now 86 and I've since let her retire from that job. 

My Mom, then in her 70s, helping me get this beast from standing to food with just sawsall, knives, ropes, etc. 





Don't know how it happened, but butchering has mostly been up to the women in my family.  The men do the killing(except for the chickens, which we ladies do), we do the rest.


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## Alaskan (Jan 17, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> I hope you got a lot of the beef you "helped" them butcher.  That's a tough job.
> 
> A pic or two of Mom helping me butcher a young heifer that we butchered at home...granted, not a huge beef, but we'd do it the same with a big one as a little one.
> 
> ...


Very nice!


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## Alasgun (Jan 17, 2021)

@Beekissed, thanks for this and as they say “a picture’s worth a thousand words”! Besides, it would take more than a thousand words to adequately describe your sweet ole Momma’s smile!!
From all these miles away she appears to be a happy, contented self assured soul!


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## Sheepshape (Jan 17, 2021)

I just thought I'd give a UK perspective here.
Home butchering is illegal. All animals have to be humanely slaughtered at abattoirs. The vast majority are stunned prior to slaughter (non-stun slaughter has been taking place at a very small number of halal meat producers, but I think, is now banned)
Abattoirs are widespread throughout the country.
In Britain, compliance with 'Farm Assured' standards ensures that animals for slaughter will be taken and killed on the same day. Non-farm assured producers send animals to market where they will be slaughtered on the following day.
The system is in place to ensure humane slaughter of animals entering the food chain and generally runs very well (even in Covid lockdowns)


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## Beekissed (Jan 17, 2021)

Sheepshape said:


> I just thought I'd give a UK perspective here.
> Home butchering is illegal. All animals have to be humanely slaughtered at abattoirs. The vast majority are stunned prior to slaughter (non-stun slaughter has been taking place at a very small number of halal meat producers, but I think, is now banned)
> Abattoirs are widespread throughout the country.
> In Britain, compliance with 'Farm Assured' standards ensures that animals for slaughter will be taken and killed on the same day. Non-farm assured producers send animals to market where they will be slaughtered on the following day.
> The system is in place to ensure humane slaughter of animals entering the food chain and generally runs very well (even in Covid lockdowns)


Even chickens?  I can't imagine living somewhere that such laws exist!  Makes one extremely dependent upon the government for their food, doesn't it?


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## Grizzlyhackle (Jan 18, 2021)

Craigslist I saw a place in Hagerstown MD that will sell you the animal and then has the set up and help you butcher. Too far from home for me. 3 hour ride one way. They listed everything as available to buy cows down to birds and rabbits.


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## Nao57 (Jan 18, 2021)

promiseacres said:


> We just got half a beef.... it was at the meat processor for over 4 weeks. Then they didn't follow our cutting instructions... a bit frustrating but the freezer is full.
> During college worked in a meat department and cut meat. He hopes to have a butchering barn and do everything from our rabbits to beef. Rabbits are super simple and I am expanding our meat rabbits this year. But am a bit intimatedated about a beef. We'll see. I think the processor industry is only get worse.



:O

I can see why people would consider beef to be super intimidating. I like the idea of starting with rabbits for practice and then going up. Maybe people could try doing sheep next before beef?

You know I wonder why those horsehoeing and tack guys don't do this? These guys seem to always be worrying about money.

In our town there was a guy that was one of my dad's friends who shoed horses for a living. He didn't really make much and when when he died his wife lost their house.

This leads me to believe that guys like that would and probably could use the money to do this kind of stuff on the side if they had half a mind to learn it. (Although I get that many of them wouldn't know about this kind of stuff off the bat.)

And what about huntsmen?

Sometimes dad would tell me some times huntsmen would go out to hunt critters like coons and stuff on peoples properties just so they didn't have go buy meat and let their dogs have stuff to practice on during certain times of the year. I wonder how many of them can do butchery work, since they are involved with it anyway? And a lot of people with lots of hunting experience have practice with some butchery skill, though I can't say if they do it well or the same way as your grocery stores.


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## misfitmorgan (Jan 18, 2021)

We butcher everything so far. I've never done beef but DH has as he used to work at IBP in Iowa.
I would say easiest 100% is rabbits, DH breaks neck, skins and guts, I cut off feet and head then chuck in a feezer bag, done. Literally takes about 2 minutes start to finish.
To be fair I can't/have not killed anything other then fish and poultry, at least not as of yet. So DH kills the lambs, goats, pigs, rabbits, etc. Once the critter is dead though I have no problems.

My List for easiest for cleaning/processing:
rabbit
fish
quail
turkey
chicken
duck
lamb/goat/deer...pretty much exactly the same
pig
Then I imagine beef is the hardest DIY for most, to be fair we will likely have our beef done at our friends butcher house, by DH and I.

Basically in the past 7yrs I've learned if you can get it dead and know how to cook from scratch, you will recognize the parts and figure out the cuts. We have processed in all types of setups, from a tree, on wood pallets, on a tarp on the ground, on snow on the ground, on the back of a truck, etc. You will figure it out pretty quick.

If I am worried or want a refresher I watch some videos on youtube. Justin Rhodes has some good videos on all types of slaughter, and Scott Rea of The Scott Rea Project is a butcher in the UK who shows entire break down of many many critters and recipes, ways to dress roasts, different sausages etc. Highly recommend either of them, Scott is good for just different ideas as well if you are out of meal ideas or want to try new sausages recipes.

Until I got with DH 7yrs ago I had never killed or cleaned anything other then a few fish.


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## Mini Horses (Jan 18, 2021)

@farmerjan  listed everything I can think of for issues in my general part of the world!  From regulations, age, location, equipment, opinions and all.

Add to that my own living within a city where most farmers are crop people, with the bedroom communities in far more abundance than farms.   Now, there are some home farms who butcher and do it well!   Hard to find and often wary of people who "ask" about it, to do, buy, help, etc....some asking just want to bring trouble  

By accident, I found the neighbor behind me not only knows how to do it all, has a pro set up but is great at it!!   Yeah, I am looking to see if we can get together for some goat and pig.   He took a goat from live to ready to cut carcass in short, amazing time for me!   I need a cooler.  😎


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## misfitmorgan (Jan 18, 2021)

Mini Horses said:


> @farmerjan  listed everything I can think of for issues in my general part of the world!  From regulations, age, location, equipment, opinions and all.
> 
> Add to that my own living within a city where most farmers are crop people, with the bedroom communities in far more abundance than farms.   Now, there are some home farms who butcher and do it well!   Hard to find and often wary of people who "ask" about it, to do, buy, help, etc....some asking just want to bring trouble
> 
> By accident, I found the neighbor behind me not only knows how to do it all, has a pro set up but is great at it!!   Yeah, I am looking to see if we can get together for some goat and pig.   He took a goat from live to ready to cut carcass in short, amazing time for me!   I need a cooler.  😎


People are weary everywhere honestly. There is a rather large group of people/ friends of friends we pretty regularly get called on to help butcher animals. At home butcher is 100% legal here as long as you are not selling the meat except poultry. 

There are also many many "private" butcher shops you can get animals processed at. The only USDA inspected place close to me is 4hrs round trip and cost $137 to kill, hang and inspect then give it back. No cutting, grinding, wrapping or curing. 

We use 2 local places for pork or pork sales the one is $127 which included ham, bacon, pork chops, tenderized cutlets, roasts, ribs and sausage everything in butcher/freezer paper. The other is $100 for pork chops, ribs, tenderized cutlets, roasts, breakfast sausage and Italian sausage with everything vacuum sealed. The second place is the one DH goes and helps sometime.  Honestly having it all done and vacuum sealed is worth the $100 vs us doing it ourselves. Bonus the sausage at the second place is really really good.

If people are having a hard time finding a butcher/processor ask around. Worst case no one knows any, best case you find a great "private" butcher/processor. Usually if anyone asks us, we offer to help them butcher if they cant get in or want to learn DIY.

DH keeps talking about opening a butcher shop, it would be very costly.


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## Beekissed (Jan 18, 2021)

Nao57 said:


> This leads me to believe that guys like that would and probably could use the money to do this kind of stuff on the side if they had half a mind to learn it. (Although I get that many of them wouldn't know about this kind of stuff off the bat.)



The problem with a private individual doing butchering for money is that the liability of it all would be a deterrent.  You'd have to worry about someone getting sick and blaming the meat/the processing for their illness.  No matter that more people have died from USDA inspected meats in this country than you can shake a stick at, if just regular Joe had his own private butchering service going on and got sued over such an event, he would lose everything.  

The only people that do that here abouts are the Amish.   The Amish will do butchering for folks because they don't have to worry about being sued.


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## Alasgun (Jan 18, 2021)

It looks like we’re coming around to a happy place on this thread now and that makes me happy! One last tidbit then i’ll be off chasing another butterfly.
I understand and respect the differing opinions and would agree butchering is not for everyone. Heck, if everyone was a butcher we’d not have a very complete society. I do take exception to the idea that we need greater control (governmental) over the process.

Our land was not built by a bunch of people sitting around a table wringing they’re hands and proclaiming “we can’t do that”. 
Look around, the Hoover dam, the Erie canal, the Panama canal, the Suez canal, Rockets to the moon, the Trans Alaska Pipeline etc. and hundreds of other projects that affected out world in a positive way were completed by folks who “got er done”.
it sadden’s me to see how quickly the thought police have gained prominence here and abroad, it saddens’s me that my g.kids are getting stuck with all this. It also saddens me to see how quickly the country has devolved to it’s current state. In another thread somewhere i shared a cute little micro biology lesson which bears repeating here.

”microbes function by way of team mates with each one unlocking the others potential”.
 Folks, if the one cell critters have this figured out wouldn’t you think there’s a lesson in that for us big boys?


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## Beekissed (Jan 18, 2021)

Alasgun said:


> Our land was not built by a bunch of people sitting around a table wringing they’re hands and proclaiming “we can’t do that”.



Agree!  What I find mostly in society today are folks saying " I could never do that to one of my own animals!" but when you push the issue for the truth of the matter it's really " I WON'T do that" rather than "I couldn't do that".   Most will say they would only do that if they were starving. 

Truly, the time to learn a new skill is not when one is starving.  Oh, sure, the animal will get dead and the animal will get eaten, but how much food will be ruined or how many people will be sickened by the fumbling around of inexperience?  These skills have been passed down generationally since the world began for a good reason...experience matters.  Doing things efficiently matters, especially when it comes to one's food supply. 

As this current experience teaches us here in the states, do you really want to depend on someone else to procure your food for you?


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## misfitmorgan (Jan 18, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> The problem with a private individual doing butchering for money is that the liability of it all would be a deterrent.  You'd have to worry about someone getting sick and blaming the meat/the processing for their illness.  No matter that more people have died from USDA inspected meats in this country than you can shake a stick at, if just regular Joe had his own private butchering service going on and got sued over such an event, he would lose everything.
> 
> The only people that do that here abouts are the Amish.   The Amish will do butchering for folks because they don't have to worry about being sued.



The vast majority of butcher/processing places are private individuals doing butchering for money without USDA inspection. 

In the entire US there are only 8,000 USDA inspectors, and 6,200 inspection locations, a USDA inspector must be present during killing hours and inspect every live animal then watch them be dispatched to ensure it is humane, then they have to watch the cutting/processing to ensure it is done properly. 

In Michigan for instance there is a total of 30 USDA slaughter/processing locations, of those 30 only 11 accept animals from the customer for processing(4 of which are specialty, only venison, only beef, only poultry, only turkey) of those 11 places you could take your animal 1 is located in the upper peninsula, and 3 are located in the upper half of the lower peninsula. All other locations are wholesale meat packers who raise their own animals for slaughter, buy large lots only(auction) or buy direct from farmers in high numbers. 

The only people who usually use USDA inspected are those wanting to sell cuts of meat, or cooked foods to the general public. 

The next tier down and what most butcher shops here are, is MDARD inspected. You pay $187/yr and once a year they come inspect your set-up, that's it. By having an animal you own butchered and then consuming it the owner of the animal is accepting the risk of food borne illness. That is why when someone sells a half or a quarter the animal must be paid for before it is taken to slaughter. 

Most any processor even if they are not inspected are not sued, I mean someone could attempt to sue them saying they gave them a food borne illness but proving it came from the processor vs the consumers home kitchen or the consumers own animal(salmonella) would be extremely difficult to do. I mean if a restaurant makes you ill, even go into the hospital can you  legally prove without doubt it was the restaurant?

Also in Michigan I can raise, home butcher and sell up to 20,000 poultry per year with zero licensing.

I've never heard of a butcher/processor being sued for making someone sick(outside of covid craziness)


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## Kusanar (Jan 18, 2021)

For anyone that is interested in the finer points of butchering a beef (once it's dead, skinned, and cold) check out this video and some of their other ones. They show step by step and explain everything.


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## Beekissed (Jan 18, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> The vast majority of butcher/processing places are private individuals doing butchering for money without USDA inspection.
> 
> In the entire US there are only 8,000 USDA inspectors, and 6,200 inspection locations, a USDA inspector must be present during killing hours and inspect every live animal then watch them be dispatched to ensure it is humane, then they have to watch the cutting/processing to ensure it is done properly.
> 
> ...


Makes you wonder why there are not more people butchering?  Around here there are no private butchering operations of which I'm aware.  People are pretty much bound to take it to a USDA abbatoir or to the Amish.   I've seen a few guys on FB advertising to butcher for people on the farm, but they are very rare. 

Here's a chart for our state as to what is allowed to be sold to the public and/or across state lines:


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## misfitmorgan (Jan 18, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> Makes you wonder why there are not more people butchering?  Around here there are no private butchering operations of which I'm aware.  People are pretty much bound to take it to a USDA abbatoir or to the Amish.   I've seen a few guys on FB advertising to butcher for people on the farm, but they are very rare.
> 
> Here's a chart for our state as to what is allowed to be sold to the public and/or across state lines:
> 
> View attachment 80538



For some reason that chart will not go bigger.

Also per USDA having your own animal butchered to be consumed by you or guests who do not pay makes you not "the public"    Maybe your area just has people covered with USDA locations? I can't imagine that being the case though. We are not allowed to sell anything across state lines as far as I know.

You appear to have non-USDA processors.
https://www.tandrdeerprocessing.com/  I clicked this one just because deer processors are 90 out of 100 times or there abouts not USDA.

Seems you only have 13 USDA locations, I did not look to see who offered processing to the public. I can not imagine the entire state would only go thru 13 locations and the amish. Mr googlepants has like 20 pages of results for meat processing in virginia, so I'm thinking there has to be whatever your MDARD equivalent is or private butchers. 

I'm just saying if you didnt need USDA And wanted cheaper processing or more options probly something to look into. Honestly I didnt even know taking my own livestock or game to a USDA meat processor was an option until about 4yrs ago when i had to research it all for a hog roast we were doing.


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## Beekissed (Jan 18, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Mr googlepants has like 20 pages of results for meat processing in virginia, so I'm thinking there has to be whatever your MDARD equivalent is or private butchers.



Uh...you know West Virginia is a whole other state than Virginia, right?     As far as opportunities and population, Virginia is pretty much a whole other country compared to WV.  

You could be right...they could be everywhere, but I haven't seen ads nor signs for such where I live and other places in the state in which I've lived.  Could be they are covert?   If so, why?  If it's so very legal to butcher privately and sell the meat, other than wild game which is illegal for sale, why isn't that more visible?


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## Alaskan (Jan 18, 2021)

Grizzlyhackle said:


> Craigslist I saw a place in Hagerstown MD that will sell you the animal and then has the set up and help you butcher. Too far from home for me. 3 hour ride one way. They listed everything as available to buy cows down to birds and rabbits.


Nice!


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## Kusanar (Jan 18, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> Uh...you know West Virginia is a whole other state than Virginia, right?    As far as opportunities and population, Virginia is pretty much a whole other country compared to WV.
> 
> You could be right...they could be everywhere, but I haven't seen ads nor signs for such where I live and other places in the state in which I've lived.  Could be they are covert?   If so, why?  If it's so very legal to butcher privately and sell the meat, other than wild game which is illegal for sale, why isn't that more visible?


I can't really read your chart either, but my understanding is that to sell it to someone else it needs to be USDA processed, so if I were to raise 50 CX and sell them, I would need to take them to a USDA butcher (very few around me). If I wanted them for my own consumption, I could take to USDA approved, take to non USDA approved (same prices and can't sell afterwards), or butcher myself. 

Around here, most people butcher their own if they aren't selling and take to USDA if they are selling. For large animals like cows and hogs they take them to a USDA facility, but they typically sell half or more rather than having the entire animal for themselves.


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## Beekissed (Jan 18, 2021)

Kusanar said:


> I can't really read your chart either, but my understanding is that to sell it to someone else it needs to be USDA processed, so if I were to raise 50 CX and sell them, I would need to take them to a USDA butcher (very few around me). If I wanted them for my own consumption, I could take to USDA approved, take to non USDA approved (same prices and can't sell afterwards), or butcher myself.
> 
> Around here, most people butcher their own if they aren't selling and take to USDA if they are selling. For large animals like cows and hogs they take them to a USDA facility, but they typically sell half or more rather than having the entire animal for themselves.



Apparently that applies to all but the CX, which you can home butcher up to 20K per year and sell, without the USDA or WVDA inspection stamp.


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## Kusanar (Jan 18, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> Apparently that applies to all but the CX, which you can home butcher up to 20K per year and sell, without the USDA or WVDA inspection stamp.


Then it is probably an issue of people not having somewhere to hang them. I want to get a retired heated or refrigerated (read well insulated) semi trailer and put a rail system in it, preferably a circular one so you can hang the carcass with the tractor (we have one) and push it in on the rails and let it chill for a few days before working on it. The neighbor has beef cows but having one processed costs too much so he sells them all and buys beef at the store, if I had a place we could hang a whole beef and process it, my parents, the guy next door and I could split the meat of one steer a year and be fine. He raises them anyway, my dad would have no problem putting a bullet in it's head, and I don't have a problem with setting up the trailer and running the power to it. Dad and I could part the steer out once it's cold, I've been helping him with deer since I was little. We just don't have good consistently cold weather here anymore to be able to hang one without a giant refrigerator / freezer.


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## Simpleterrier (Jan 18, 2021)

The bearded butchers. They are about 5 miles from me. They had a kill floor and a custom shop but know they only kill and sell in their own store steak starts around $25 a pound. People around herego crazy for home grown grass fed or whatever beef. I probably have 40 butcher shops with in an  HR ofme  and most have u take your animal to the same kill floor.


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## Sheepshape (Jan 18, 2021)

Beekissed said:


> Even chickens? I can't imagine living somewhere that such laws exist! Makes one extremely dependent upon the government for their food, doesn't it?


We can slaughter our own chickens. Larger animals must be slaughtered at licensed premises. Actually, there's really no delay and, though abattoirs may be 'ruled', inspected and licensed by the Government , they are under independent ownership. If I have 'fat lambs' for sale they can be taken from a 'transfer station' this morning and slaughtered this afternoon. Small abattoirs will also slaughter individual animals for personal consumption and butcher them nicely for you too,...for a very reasonable fee. 
To be honest I am more than happy to have  'humane slaughter' for all animals. Though I know that many of you guys will know how to slaughter an animal humanely, there are way too many folk who don't know how to, and some don't seem to care, either. I care a lot, as do many of you 'softies' out there!


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## Kris5902 (Jan 19, 2021)

I’m in Canada, and although we haven’t been hit quite as hard with the backlog here, many of the issues come from not being able to hire qualified staff, and people not wanting to do the “dirty” work of processing. Granted 8-10 hours of eviscerating or scalding and plucking chickens is not anyone’s idea of a good time, to qualified individuals who have complicated their humans stunning course it is a reasonably well paid job. Bear in mind the facility has to pay its overhead and all of those workers, so they are most likely not actually making that much profit once all the costs of operating are covered. This applies especially to small producers. A qualified and proficient stunner can expect to be earning $20-28 CAD per hour here. Which is similar to a ticketed butcher.

My Husband (47, with 30 years experience in meat processing and a ticketed butcher) works at two fully licensed class A local abattoirs, one (unpaid) as a stunner for beef and sheep and as a butcher, and at the other solely as a butcher. The unpaid work is the business owned by his family’s farm 3 days a week, and the paying job at the other abattoir is 2 days a week, he was also working 5 days a week at the local pub... leaving me to run the cattle, chickens, and farm chores on 600 acres... and we are barely making ends meet. The paying job is a four hour commute by two ferries, and he spends two nights sleeping in our truck to work there.

The Abattoir my friend has his hogs done at cancelled 1/3 of their 2020 bookings and is going out of business. A small family owned plant that has been operating since the 50’s. All Because they can’t hire qualified staff to stay open. DH would have taken a job there, if he could find the time. And that has put a huge strain on the other local plants in taking up the slack. Because yes, the animals need to be brought to slaughter, and it is completely illegal here to sell home butchered meats. It’s not all milk and honey on the other side of the coin either, is all I’m trying to say. It would be nice if there were more government incentives to get and keep smaller plants in business, as overall they have better records for cleanliness and traceability than the huge plants. Speaking from our own experiences, and in a different country, but I still see a lot of similarities in what you’re saying here.


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## Beekissed (Jan 19, 2021)

Sheepshape said:


> We can slaughter our own chickens. Larger animals must be slaughtered at licensed premises. Actually, there's really no delay and, though abattoirs may be 'ruled', inspected and licensed by the Government , they are under independent ownership. If I have 'fat lambs' for sale they can be taken from a 'transfer station' this morning and slaughtered this afternoon. Small abattoirs will also slaughter individual animals for personal consumption and butcher them nicely for you too,...for a very reasonable fee.
> To be honest I am more than happy to have  'humane slaughter' for all animals. Though I know that many of you guys will know how to slaughter an animal humanely, there are way too many folk who don't know how to, and some don't seem to care, either. I care a lot, as do many of you 'softies' out there!



Now that's cool....no waiting for a year to get livestock butchered!  And also for a good price, can't beat that.   That's all good to hear.


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