OneFineAcre
Herd Master
My family owned a fish market many years ago
When we filleted grey tout for restaurant orders those bones got saved and fried at our house
Feeder Pigs 2017
- Thread starter Baymule
- Start date
When we filleted grey tout for restaurant orders those bones got saved and fried at our house
misfitmorgan
Herd Master
Nice looking pork @Baymule
It does seem like the demand wouldnt be to high for slaughter but every butcher and slaughterhouse here is pretty much booked up from May to February. You either do the butchering yourself and find a friend to help or call way ahead if your gonna butcher anything within that window. I know for nov to feb it is hunting that keeps them busy, and from july-oct is 4-h livestock and those who raise their own or buy farm raised beef/pork/lamb. Not sure how it is down there but up here some places only have one person who works at them and they might hire in another guy or two for the busiest part of the season.
I have however noticed what i would consider an odd thing occurring over the past 4yrs. With the increase in backyard farming and hobby farms, farm to table movement, etc the butchers/slaughterhouses here are seeing an ever increasing number of poultry and rabbits being brought in which until fairly recently was pretty unheard of, at least here. The poultry take longer to process then large livestock and require more clean up of the facilities as well as it taking more time to break down and package poulty/rabbits. The one butcher will not accept more then half a dozen poultry or more then a dozen rabbits at once because it is just him and he says he doesnt have the time to do more then that at once with other critters in for slaughter.
It does seem like the demand wouldnt be to high for slaughter but every butcher and slaughterhouse here is pretty much booked up from May to February. You either do the butchering yourself and find a friend to help or call way ahead if your gonna butcher anything within that window. I know for nov to feb it is hunting that keeps them busy, and from july-oct is 4-h livestock and those who raise their own or buy farm raised beef/pork/lamb. Not sure how it is down there but up here some places only have one person who works at them and they might hire in another guy or two for the busiest part of the season.
I have however noticed what i would consider an odd thing occurring over the past 4yrs. With the increase in backyard farming and hobby farms, farm to table movement, etc the butchers/slaughterhouses here are seeing an ever increasing number of poultry and rabbits being brought in which until fairly recently was pretty unheard of, at least here. The poultry take longer to process then large livestock and require more clean up of the facilities as well as it taking more time to break down and package poulty/rabbits. The one butcher will not accept more then half a dozen poultry or more then a dozen rabbits at once because it is just him and he says he doesnt have the time to do more then that at once with other critters in for slaughter.
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- Thread starter
- #93
Baymule
Herd Master
@OneFineAcre I see why you asked. On a fish fillet, there is still a lot of meat left on the bones. I have even boiled them and made fish soup. But I took the ribs off for packaging. There wasn't hardly a shred of meat left on that backbone! 
@misfitmorgan the slaughter houses here run at full tilt. I don't know of anywhere you could take your own poultry or rabbits. Sanderson (chicken) is opening 3 plants here, a feed mill, hatchery, and a chicken processing plant. It is expected to add 1700 jobs. They are looking for farmers to raise their meat chicks. Places like that will not accept home raised poultry in their facilities and that is the only type of poultry processors there are.
After slaughtering 3 hogs in a week, I am tired and still have to process ours. I am not against doing this again. But I will not raise summer hogs again. It is just too hot here. Our neighbor Robert said that he can now understand why they charge so much to process a hog! LOL
@misfitmorgan the slaughter houses here run at full tilt. I don't know of anywhere you could take your own poultry or rabbits. Sanderson (chicken) is opening 3 plants here, a feed mill, hatchery, and a chicken processing plant. It is expected to add 1700 jobs. They are looking for farmers to raise their meat chicks. Places like that will not accept home raised poultry in their facilities and that is the only type of poultry processors there are.
After slaughtering 3 hogs in a week, I am tired and still have to process ours. I am not against doing this again. But I will not raise summer hogs again. It is just too hot here. Our neighbor Robert said that he can now understand why they charge so much to process a hog! LOL
misfitmorgan
Herd Master
@OneFineAcre I see why you asked. On a fish fillet, there is still a lot of meat left on the bones. I have even boiled them and made fish soup. But I took the ribs off for packaging. There wasn't hardly a shred of meat left on that backbone!
@misfitmorgan the slaughter houses here run at full tilt. I don't know of anywhere you could take your own poultry or rabbits. Sanderson (chicken) is opening 3 plants here, a feed mill, hatchery, and a chicken processing plant. It is expected to add 1700 jobs. They are looking for farmers to raise their meat chicks. Places like that will not accept home raised poultry in their facilities and that is the only type of poultry processors there are.
After slaughtering 3 hogs in a week, I am tired and still have to process ours. I am not against doing this again. But I will not raise summer hogs again. It is just too hot here. Our neighbor Robert said that he can now understand why they charge so much to process a hog! LOL
Not all butchers here will take poultry or rabbits but most will. If they are super busy they will tell you no because they make more on large livestock with less mess. If your raising for wholesale to stores or restaurants you are required to take them to be USDA inspected so the USDA slaughterhouses take them in large numbers.
Hillaire
Loving the herd life
the butcher I use has quit doing poultry and deer focuses on beef and pigs. He still does my deer though because I was one of his first customers 
- Thread starter
- #96
Baymule
Herd Master
Just sat down with a glass of iced tea. Robert came over at 12:30 and we ground his sausage meat. We seasoned it and fried a patty for a taste test. Then we made stuffed sausage and bagged up pan sausage. He enjoyed the process, especially learning how to process meat for himself. I'll start on ours tomorrow.
Mike CHS
Herd Master
Our butcher made a slot for our wether to get butchered tomorrow. I love small towns where everyone knows everyone and business go out of their way to please their customers.
Simpleterrier
True BYH Addict
We have at least ten butcher shop within 20 miles from.our house and to get a hog butchered you have to call around the time u get it in May or June to have a fall kill
goatgurl
Herd Master
good job bay. haven't done my own hog butchering for years and years. now I remember why. and I think that it is great that you and DH are teaching others how to take care of themselves. the butcher I use can usually get our animals in for slaughter within a few days except from mid October to mid December when they are full to the gills with deer so we just have to make sure to have things ready to go before or after those dates. I don't know of anyone around here who will process rabbits or chickens. that falls to us to do. I sent mama penny pig to freezer camp a little while back so only the bacon bit is left here. not sure when he will go.
- Thread starter
- #100
Baymule
Herd Master
Today was processing day. I sharpened up my knives, got out the bone saw and hacksaw.
I wrapped the hams and put them in the freezer. Then I went outside to do my morning chores. I fed and watered animals. I picked delicata squash, fire log sized zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers. I brought in 3 large wash pans from the garden!
I got a ham out of the freezer.
I went to work, I cut it in half, using the hack saw. I cut 4 center cut fresh ham steaks. I cut off the leg shank for soup bone. I deboned the rest of the meat for sausage. I cut the leg bone in 3 pieces for soup bones.
I wrapped the bones in Glad Wrap to keep the bone sharp edges from poking holes in the vacuum sealed bags.
Then I sealed it up.
I wound up with a lot of real nice meat. I did both hams.
The sausage meat is in the ice chest waiting on me for a fun time in the morning.
I wrapped the hams and put them in the freezer. Then I went outside to do my morning chores. I fed and watered animals. I picked delicata squash, fire log sized zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers. I brought in 3 large wash pans from the garden!
I got a ham out of the freezer.
I went to work, I cut it in half, using the hack saw. I cut 4 center cut fresh ham steaks. I cut off the leg shank for soup bone. I deboned the rest of the meat for sausage. I cut the leg bone in 3 pieces for soup bones.
I wrapped the bones in Glad Wrap to keep the bone sharp edges from poking holes in the vacuum sealed bags.
Then I sealed it up.
I wound up with a lot of real nice meat. I did both hams.
The sausage meat is in the ice chest waiting on me for a fun time in the morning.
