a probably 3 month old pig walked into my yard..now what?

[goatgurl]

i'm thinking latestarter is probably right about the slimy mike scenario. what a piece of work!!
just remember you are among friends here and you are more than welcome to rant when ever you want to. we all do from time to time. from one old nurse to another just never let 'em know they got to you. grit your teeth and get on with it. i promise you will have many more adventures with bacon before he is bacon and we want to hear them all. just a word of warning lady bug, you'd better quit playing with your food or you'll get so attached he will never become bacon, lol

 

[heckerdy]

I totally backed off the whole thing they are all douche bags and I am done ..I was going to complain but why? my life was quiet and I was just pissed off and ranting I guess ..she is crazy I did send a note to her boss stating the facts . but as far as him? he is one of those people who just leaves a trail of crappy moves as he passes through the world….the more research I have done the more I will just leave it be..he has no friends has screwed a lot of people and is a lonely man …so thanks goatgurl and late starter …Baymule the fencing idea is still holding!!! fingers crossed! I just can not believe he has dug so deep! wow! this is going to be prime growing area
I cook for him daily and am growing to love him ..this is getting hard
he is so funny when you put fresh straw he rolls like a puppy in it
I need to find more acorns I want to make procuitto out of one leg

it feels so strange to adore an animal and think about how you are going to prepare it
I was a vegetarian for 19 years do not laugh! or make fun ..ok you can make fun

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I remember part of an old joke... and it went something like this. A farmer had a visitor to his place who noticed a three legged pig in the farmers pen. He asked the farmer why his pig only had three legs and the farmer said " this pig means so much to us we didn't want to eat him all at one time."

Horrible, I know.

We butchered two pigs last year. The first one dropped like a rock on the first shot. The second one, not so much. I've never cried so much in my life because that second pig took three shots to kill and I had promised them a good death. It still brings tears to my eyes...

I still love those pigs and I tell them so with every bite!

A good (even if it's short) life with a farmer who cares is the best thing we can hope for while these guys fulfill their destiny.

 

[heckerdy]

that is hysterical! thanks!

when my husband and I had little kids I found a lady who only liked "leg of lamb" and every year she would raise a lamb my husband butchered it and she took the legs we got the rest …I have participated only in the meat cutting of the whole thing and I like doing that actually making a pretty crown roast of lamb is one of my favorite things

I am sure I will be fine ..back to Benson the one who my friend had walk in the yard as well? he fed a lot of people she kept him 11 months I believe I have to look back at this thread and see LOL ..he was HUGE

 

[sadieml]

EarthMother, love the joke. Haven't heard that one in ages.

I plan to start raising meat chickens in the spring, and my daughter vows she will not eat them. I say better a short, happy life here than a longer crappy life with Perdue or Tyson or any of those. I can't be a hypocrite and say it's horrible and not try to do my part to take the profit out of it. I know, my few dozen chickens a year are barely a drop in their ocean of profit, but at least I will feel better. I'm
sure she'll come around. Last week I passed a freshly killed white-tailed doe in the highway 1/2 a mile from my house. I double checked the DNR website and found that if it was a fresh kill, left behind, that I could get a report filed with the cops and then keep the deer. Well, my elder son (19) and I brought her home and spent almost 10 hours (I know, a pro can do it in no time) cleaning and butchering her. WOW! That is really hard work, but sooo worth it. We had boneless venison chops from one loin. Even my daughter, who ate 2 bites(under duress), had to admit it was "not bad". Then, the next day, she ate a whole(albeit small) leftover chop. Not bad? It was AWESOME!!! I am really looking forward to the ribs. We have a friend with a BBQ food truck. We're giving him 1/2 the ribs in exchange for him cooking ours along with his on Saturday. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Anyway, I've never butchered anything before(store-bought chicken or turkey don't count). It was a lot of work, but I am reassured that doing the chickens won't be too much for me. After I kill the first several, I'm sure it will get easier. I just hope I can get a friend to trade a couple of birds for the use of his plucker. My Nannie said plucking was the hard part. I guess I'll find out in 6 months or so. BTW, I'm really proud of John. He gets light-headed when he sees someone(especially himself) bleeding, and he worked as hard as I did on that doe. I may make a farmer out of him, yet!

Heckerdy, I feel sure you'll be more than ready to do the job when the time comes. Especially if your DH does the kill and you only have to butcher. You never know, I may work my way up to pigs. As long as I can get someone else to process it.

 

[Baymule]

@sadieml butchering chickens is not so bad. My grand daughter, when she was 6, asked me to butcher a rooster for her. We said a prayer over the rooster, thanking God and thanking the rooster for giving up his life so that we could eat. I used a cone, actually rolled up cardboard held in shape by duct tape. Haha.

Pat yourself on the back for butchering that deer. It is hard work, but rewarding. I have never taken a deer to a processing plant. I have butchered feral hogs, but that was usually sausage.

 

[Baymule]

@heckerdy glad the fence idea is working! We are picking up 3 feeder pigs in the morning!

 

[heckerdy]

HI you guys long time away and I apologize I am reading your posts and so grateful for all the wonderful advice …just a quick update ..we are in a huge mess and I pretty much went on a media black out ..to easy to get distracted when trying to work from home! wow I always worked as a nurse and was under the direction of my patients schedule ect ..being home and rogue takes some getting used to for sure! ..but it is coming ..

Bacon is HUGE I will try to get a photo later but he really is a cool looking pig as far as pigs go! I never heard from anyone about him again so he is just growing and digging ..we have him contained BUT we noticed he found a weak spot yesterday so we are going to go down and "reenforce " he seems "happy" he gets a massage daily eats better than I do and I do really see why folks should not have on pig ..he really loves company

we have decided to play this by ear and let him tell us when he is "MEAT" LOL ..have lined up a really good butcher who scalds..

you guys this was critical for me ..what is the point of raising a pig if you do not keep the skin ? wow seriously ..this became complicated as well ..terms wise we just becomes aware the person who "harvests" the pig …. I call it "killing" it is what it is …he is a living being that will be killed of the the table not a apple from a tree to be picked ..THEN they take the pig to the butcher for you ..I wanted the full meal deal and found a great guy ..pricy but good since really other than time stress and more time and stress Bacon has cost us very little we feed him the same things the ducks chickens and dog eats with minor adjustments and so very much MORE ..he is an eating machine …

so this guy will do it all including scald and scrap and that is just what I wanted ..the only bad part is he is on an Island quite aways. Still need to firm it up and find out how big we can go and still have him scalded ..I can not give the skin up both my husband and I agree there is no point for "us" to raise a pig and not keep the entire thing nose to tail and I love cracklings and skin on the roasts …why do people not have their pigs scalded as much anymore I wonder ? that is a lot of "food" to just rip off and toss?

so much going on I want to sit and read everything on this forum and then the water in the hoses thaws and starts shooting out or I have to do actual WORK OY being at home is as hard as I remember it being when my kids were little and I stayed home ! never tell me this is not a job that deserves bennies and sick leave LOL

Happy Holidays you guys all of them … they have begun! Thanksgiving is next week how did that happen???

 

[heckerdy]

Baymule it is still working we have to reenforce but it worked thank you so much!

Sadiemi I love your post honey thanks so much for posting wow on that deer! great job! I was worried with my little kids about butchering animals and they will either eat it or not and really isn't that what kids do …one of mine went vegetarian and then I made fried chicken one night and he ate half a bird !

this is the first time I will be using a processor but he is really small and very earth fatherish ..he is cool and this is safe clean ..but as far as the breakdown i will be there bossing him around you can believe that I want my cuts like I want my cuts and I think he will let me stand with him during the breakdown even so that is good .

tell you right now I talk to Bacon every day I will not be there for the KILL …why can I not give this pig sedation before the deed is done? seriously there is no way a couple of xanax and a beer as a good by and thank you gift? seriously there is no way it could do the meat harm and no way would it affect anyone eating it …there is no scientific reason I can think of that we can not sedate an animal before killing it? …heck my dog he gets 2mg of Zanax when it is thundering? that is far less serious than death ?

what do you guys think? about sedation and a beer before the deed is done?

so good to visit I love reading the posts on this board

 

[Ferguson K]

We always give our hogs a good send off. Give them a HUGE last meal 12 hours before we process them. Let them eat themselves stupid.

Never given them beer, though. It won't hurt them. We used to give it to our show cattle.

Good to hear he's doing so well! Surely you'll post a new picture when you have time. Working from home is more work than having " a job " I'm afraid. I worked from home for six months... I haven't been that tired since I rejoined the work force.

Good luck with Bacon!