# Local processors booked out for FULL YEAR



## Bicoastal (Jan 15, 2021)

A family member and I have "ordered" Hampshire piglets this spring (of course, the sow has to cooperate ) but we can't get into the local processor until winter. They have an existing relationship but that doesn't supersede the extraordinary demand. The calendar is full until December. I reallllly don't want 6mo+ hogs come December!

I contacted a few other local processors and all are booked out for the entire 2021 year. They are not opening their 2022 calendars yet. Some have had to shut down due to COVID outbreaks.  Mostly the demand exceeds the local resources. So what are you guys doing? Ten hogs between us and DIY is not an option.

The slaughterhouse posted this entry in November: https://temeats.com/covid-19-unleashes-extraordinary-demand-for-local-meat-processing/

I, too, thought this enormous demand for local meat -and processing- would drop as fast as it erupted, but that isn't happening yet. How are folks finding processing dates when you need them?


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## Bicoastal (Jan 18, 2021)

Good discussion in another thread: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/slaughter-houses-are-making-a-killing.41820/page-3#post-670717


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## josiegirl123 (Jan 30, 2021)

i guess it ddepends on personal preference but it is very doable to butcher your own pig if you must. i got a pig delivered for $70 bucks last year with all the mayhem. we shot it that night, and i cut it into primals, put them in trash bags put them all in our milk fridge and butchered one primal cut per day over that week. if you section it out like that, it is entirely doable, and fun! and free!


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## Baymule (Jan 31, 2021)

We are in the same boat. So far, we have managed to secure slaughter dates. We have a steer going March 3 and a date in August for pigs we don’t even have yet. We have slaughtered pigs ourselves. Shoot, hang from front end loader, skin, gut, cut in quarters, pack in ice and process over several days. How many pigs are you getting?


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## Mini Horses (Jan 31, 2021)

Last pigs I had were "kill & chill" ....  I went back after couple days to get full hanging, cold hogs.   I had no kill, guts or hair scrape to deal with.  Well worth the $40 each.   Here, they were cut into front, rear, rib section and heads....iced.  processed by over 2 days.  Still a job but doable. I did 2 at once, would only do single at a time in future.  SOME slaughter houses may be able to slide something like that in for you???  Of course, hogs are way smaller than cattle to process at home.


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## josiegirl123 (Jan 31, 2021)

That's actually a great idea I didn't know you could just get them to kill and chill. I think skinning is the worst part. If they're chilled in the cool room the meat will be firmer too for neat cuts.


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## Alaskan (Jan 31, 2021)

And even if you get 10 pigs...

You could butcher one at little suckling pig stage...  and keep going, do one more every 2 weeks... spaced out it wouldn't be too bad.


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## Bicoastal (Feb 1, 2021)

I'm a first timer so I'm just getting two. Family member gets eight every year. Plan to haul them together to the processor. Ten hogs between three people ain't happening at home. I'm currently on a waitlist for our preferred butcher with an invitation to check back with them in a couple months. 

If I can't get a processing date by December, I'll pass on the piglets. I don't want hogs much over six months of age in the depths of winter for several reasons. (I know, I know, Virginia's deep winter isn't anything like Alaska's! It's all relative.)


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