The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: welshlass181 on May 06, 2011, 01:49:19 pm
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We went to our monthly livestock mart for the first time today. We were shocked at how cheap the adult pigs were going for ??? not that we can house a mahoosive pig but one we saw (a large white/pink one with floppy ears) no idea what breed she was but she could have gone straight to slaughter went for £50. It has made us think of making a holding pen out of 4 large gates, buying a large sow from mart on a Friday holding her in the pen over the weekend then sending her straight to slaughter on the Monday. Given us some things to think about but what we've defo found out is that there is no money around here to sell live pigs.
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Much cheaper than meat! Does stress affect the pigs meat as is would with venison? I think that's the main thing I'd be worried about ... go to market, load into new trailer, go to new home, change in diet, start getting settled and then back in the trailer and off to abbatoir.
I think your pen would have to be very sturdy too ... I think most people have rocky starts when new pigs come in, they test the fencing or may not be broken to electric tape etc.
Hope that doesn't sound too negative ... just some of things I'd think of if it were me :wave: :)
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there is no money to feed pigs what age was the pig and what condition was she thin fat in pig just had a litter all relevent also what she had been fed on (tainted meat) slaughter/butchery charges have you had pigs before 4 gates wont hold a pig in they have to be well secured for a pig weighing in the region of 200kgs also will there be a pig when you go back to mart or one that you want
not trying to put you of just alerting you to some of the pitfalls :wave: happy pigging :wave:
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The pen i was thinking would be post and rail (or even scaffold poles with wooded posts) with elec fence on the inside and outside (to stop pesky Kunes annoying the newbie) as it would simply be as a over weekend thing. Nothing has been decided yet and defo no plans being made just simply food for thought.
I've no idea how it would affect the meat re stress >:( i am sure there are some ppl on here that will know more than me. I'm new to piggery hehe
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She seemed in good sorts but i'm a newbie and i would rather speak to the sellers before i bought anything anyway. She didn't have saggy teats but i am not sure if that is relevent. She was nice and calm laying down and getting up for fuss when i knelt down to see her. There were no cuts or bruises. She didn't look fat but i am a newb and not really sure about what is classed as fat or not. Didn't buy and had no intention to buy jst simply went to look :)
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It is depressing when you see the small amounts that pigs sell for at the market. BUT I think it's very much a case of buyer beware at market (different of course if it's a rare breed sale with documented pedigrees etc) you have absolutely no idea what conditions the pig has come from, health status or feeding. It could end up as a costly mistake or the bargain of the year - just depends on your luck ;)
Private sales of pigs are slightly better in terms of cash, but you'll never get rich with pigs (til the prices change)
Karen x
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Does the 20 day movement restriction not come into effect?
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doesn't apply for animals going to slaughter I believe!!!
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if you have pigs on your holding they are held to the 20 day rule after bringing the new pig onto your land any pig can go to slaughter but the remainder are held there unless you are slaughtering them as well :wave:
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The way it was discribed to me was ...... any pig can go to slaughter regardless of the 20 day stand time but they must come back as a product IE meat and not still a live pig. Thought this was a sort of laymans way of explaining it to ppl.
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welshlass you have just said the same as myself how you get a live pig back from slaughter will need a lot more than Paul Daniels :wave:
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ah right, thanks ;D
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Ye i jst said it the way it was said to me lol maybe cos i am a bit thick and dopey hehe i was arguing with a guy who has pigs that he takes to slaughter about the fat that the 20 day stand time does not count if they're going to be killed hehe 1 up to the girlies cos i was right hehe yes i know i am a tad bit sad ..... but still i felt kinda good ;)
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I have heard a lot of people say that you can taste stress in the meat of any species and especially pig.
I absolutely believe it to be true; certainly we believe that some of the excellent tenderness and flavour in our own meat (lamb, mutton, beef and pork) derives from the as-stressfree-as-possible last 24 hours. We use a local small abattoir, take the animals ourselves in our own trailer, normally they are slaughtered within minutes of arrival, the handlers at the abattoir are great and you never see any harsh handling or signs of stress (in handlers or animals!)
However I know that I want it to be true, so I could be self-deluding. And our pig ended up not being slaughtered till the next day as they had an equipment failure the day we took her in - and the meat tasted fantastic. (But they would have looked after her well and so even though she'd have been in a strange place for 24 hours she maybe would not have been too stressed by it.)
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what you do get with stress is little spots of blood through the meat i think i am right with saying cattle meat gets fired if stressed :wave:
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We use a local small abattoir, take the animals ourselves in our own trailer, normally they are slaughtered within minutes of arrival, the handlers at the abattoir are great and you never see any harsh handling or signs of stress (in handlers or animals!)
Sally,
I am maintaining a list of abattoirs
www.oaklandspigs.co.uk/links/abattoirs (http://www.oaklandspigs.co.uk/links/abattoirs)
Can you let me know which abattoir you use, and I can add you really helpful comments to the list
Post here, PM or email me.
Anyone else who hasn't already sent me comments - would welcome any reviews or just confirmation (or otherwise) of existing comments - they more the better the guide.
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are you doing scottish ones as well :pig: :wave: :pig:
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Your abattoir listing is I am sure very useful to lots of people.
The abattoir we use is Black Brow, Great Orton, Carlisle (or maybe Wigton - it's between the two) 01228 711190
They tick all your boxes but I cannot speak for them on the butchery front as we always have our animals butchered by our local butcher; he collects the carcase from Black Brow and we pick up from him when butchered.
I was also going to recommend (though I never took a pig to them, only lambs) a small family slaughterhouse in Weardale (Co. Durham) which only does private slaughter (for your own use) and butchery. We only stopped using them as it is a much shorter journey for us - and the animals - to Black Brow. But I have a feeling they may have retired - I couldn't find any current info about them.
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Hi oaklands
Sorry i meant to post this ages ago here goes my story.
When i had my first 2 pigs 4 years ago i phoned my local abattoir and explanied that i was new and this was my first lot of pigs,they were not friendly or helpful and seemed to me to be rude,so i thought stuff them and then phoned the next nearest to us who were completly the opposite so friendly and helpfull ,they went through everything with me,they deliver/collect to 2 butchers so they gave me the number of the nearest 1 to me and again the same very friendly and helpful service.It seems to be a mixture of people with little trailers with a few like me and some of the bigger lorries,the first time i didnt go as i couldnt face it so my good old dad took them,he couldnt turn the trailer round but 1 of the other farmers just jumped in and turned it round very helpful.After that first time i have been every time and what i like is that its the same staff and vet you see still 4 years on,the vet checks every animal that is unloaded.I have phoned them countless times with questions and each time they are very helpfull,i now have sheep as well that go to them and they are very good with them as well,the last lot i send were due to be there 7am on a monday morning and i had a query about wheter 1 of them could go so on the off chance i phoned them at 5:30 in the morning and someone answered and helped me with my problem.When these sheep when for the first time i went inside with them as they didnt want to go but the man just calmly walked behind them no pressure to get a move on.
As i said before my animals then get delivered or collected not sure which one direct to my butcher which is a great plus but you can collect yourself if you wish.
The only negative was when i send these last lot of sheep i send a ram with the most amazing horns and i asked the vet if i could have them back and he said he would ask but he thought i would be very luckly to get them back,i didnt get them but i wasnt that bothered really just glad that my animals are treated with the respect they deserve.
They are based just on the outskirts of Norwich,Norfolk and called HG Blakes.01603 262525
As you have guessed from my very long post (sorry) i would highly recomend to others,just wondered if anyone else had used them and found the same.
Karen
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are you doing scottish ones as well :pig: :wave: :pig:
Absolutely - am keen to collect info on all I can get !
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We use a local small abattoir, take the animals ourselves in our own trailer, normally they are slaughtered within minutes of arrival, the handlers at the abattoir are great and you never see any harsh handling or signs of stress
we're sending a pig away in a weeks time, and for the first time we are collecting the carcuss straight from the abattoir, not butcher. the man told us to come back after 2 days to collect it (which is a pain going there twice) presumably he wants to hang it. my question is, would putting it down in trailer for an hour straight after killing ,to take home and hang straight myself, be ok. i mean if the blood is drained, u wont get bloodclots as u wud in a chook not hung by its feet straight away?
does that make sense?
stress or no stress, they know its not a good place to be, especially sheep!
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it is law that the carcass has to stay in the chiller for at least one night :wave:
also when you collect the carcase have a plastic sheet for the vehicle you are collecting it in you can also use a clean bedsheet :wave:
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i remember meeting a man at the abattoir who had just sent his porkers in and was waiting for the carcusses to take home. that was 2 years back tho.
how do u carry half a pig??? how embarrasing if i cant carry it!!
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Due to a breakdown we had to use my friend's Suzuki swift a neat little car but not big in the space dept. to collect 2 very large carcasses complete with heads. Big mistake. With no tow bar we were unable to use the refrigerated trailer we normally hire. Arrived at abattoir where two men carried out the first half, stopped, stared in disbelief and did not heed my confident they will fit. They did, although it took a lot of juggling and me in the back with 2 pigs heads on my lap. I never want to be so upclose and personal with that much polythene sheeting and pig again, it was the longest journey of my life. That particular route is notorious for police stopping and searching cars, I had no idea how I would explain the heads on my lap.