The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Bumblebear on October 13, 2012, 05:10:29 pm
-
The girls are getting chunkier and having spoken to the abbatoir today, I need to use one of the two November slots or wait until mid Jan. I'm pretty sure they'll be ready mid Nov anyway but I am already getting upset when I talk about it! Stupid I know. I know they've had a good life etc etc, and I know I can't justify keeping 2 pet pigs; but I am worried I won't be able to go through with it OR even worse that the meat will stick in my throat and I won;t be able to eat it. Anyone else feel like this before? What did you do? Does it get better? Should I not have had so much physical contact :(? :(
-
I made the mistake of naming my first two pigs and treating them more as pets, and it was very difficult when slaughter time came round. They were the first "large" animals I personally bought, cared for, and then ate.
Once the trauma of the slaughter and butchery, which were both done at home, was over, I ate them quite happily, though I do come from a country background of knowing animals prior to eating them. I made sure I didn't make the same mistake of identifying with the individual in future.
I feel that unless I am a vegetarian then I am simply transferring the "deed" to others. Plus I know my stock enjoys a healthy, stress free life, in the best conditions I can offer them, and with the calmest death also. Never nice, but if one intends to eat meat, which at present I do, then I feel it is the best alternative. It will be hard for you this first time.
Nowadays if I have an animal I always go the abbatior with it myself and see it into the pen, and I can honestly say they seem more interested at new surroundings than stressed, and the stunning is quick and seems no more stressful than normal medical or tagging procedures. I think most abbatiors nowadays are well supervised, and there is, I think, always a vet on hand to look at the animals when they arrive.
-
No-one can tell you whether you will be able to eat the meat - it's a very individual and highly personal thing. And it's not rational, it's of the heart. Don't knock it, it means you're human. :-*
What you have to decide right now is whether you want to be able to have any other livestock in due course. If yes, then you have to 'man up' and make that journey now - or you can only have as much livestock as you can cater for as pets, just as you can only have as many dogs as you can cater for at one time.
When I took Gaby in, I knew damn fine I wouldn't be able to eat her meat if I got it back that day. But you don't. By the time it's been slaughtered, cooled and butchered (assuming from your post you are having it butchered for you), more than a week has passed. And you don't have to eat any of it straight away if you don't want to - give some away or sell it fresh, freeze the rest, eat some when you're ready. If you are never ready, give the rest away, or sell it, or swap it for pork from someone else's pig.
In my case, by the time it came back from the butcher, I was ok to eat it. BH was a little uncertain about it the first couple of times we ate meat from the first pig, but now he loves it. I have to say, he doesn't get as attached to them as individuals as much as he did that first pair, though.
I am now okay about it; I don't like taking them in, and am very sad for a day or two when they go, but I love filling the freezer, and the arms of relatives and friends, with beautiful succulent home-reared pork. And I love love love serving up the best roast pork anyone can get anywhere to family and friends.
I also love getting the next pair, or breeding a litter at home, and having all the fun of rearing weaners again.
So in my case, and BH's, I would say that yes, it does get easier. It still affects us but the benefits are worth it - to us.
But if you decide now, or after taking this first pair in, it isn't for you - don't beat yourself up about it. And certainly don't make yourself miserable or ill over it.
-
No-one can tell you whether you will be able to eat the meat - it's a very individual and highly personal thing. And it's not rational, it's of the heart. Don't knock it, it means you're human. :-*
Yep - a mate of mines dad (I think he is 70-odd now), whos family has been on that farm for generations cant eat anything he has looked after, all is sold deadweight, just loads it on a trailer and says goodbye. They never had pigs though, just cattle and sheep.
-
If it's the first year, then it can be really hard. But yes, it does get easier - because you'll know what to expect and also because you'll know how much wonderful meat you'll get back ;)
The first year we had pigs, everyone who knew about them (except me) thought that I'd never be able to go through with having them killed (I'm a big softie when it comes to animals), and that we'd be looking after these pigs for years to come! I did have a few nightmares the first year (first after visiting a few abattoirs to decide which one to go with, then after watching some butchery footage on youtube -things we did because it was our first year and we still had to learn so much). It'll never be really easy, because we don't keep large numbers and we really enjoy looking after our pigs, so it'd be rather strange if we couldn't give a hoot about them being sent to their deaths. It's always a sad day when they go, but a very good day when we pick up the boxes of meat - the latter does soften the blow quite a bit.
Our pigs always have names because it's easier for us to use a name as a reference if something's wrong (.e.g Black Ear seems very quiet, or Bigspot didn't eat much - no doubt about which one we're talking about ;) ).
Our pigs have lots of contact with us and receive plenty of visitors who will rub their bellies and brush them. That also makes their last journey easier for them as they are used to seeing new people and being handled.
So plenty of contact is not a bad thing, and yes you will get attached to them, but parting becomes easier after the first time. If you find it too difficult to take them to slaughter, get help in from someone else who doesn't have an attachment with them. Also, use an abattoir you can trust. I can stay in the pen with mine and see them being killed if I want to (only after a few times of taking animals to slaughter did I feel up to that - and it was ok to watch) and if it's a good abattoir they'll handle the pigs well and it'll all be over very quickly.
And if after all that you find that keeping pigs for meat is too hard, then there's nothing wrong with that! :wave:
-
its a personal choice as we all act differently.
never felt i could not face the final journey or eat the end product, but its not a trip we enjoy its a trip we have to make to keep the cycle going and yes it does get easier.
having said that i was brought up where this is all part of life we breed to eat or feed others, at the end of the day its nice to know your meat has had a happy life.
-
ahh. poor u. iv been there.
our 2nd pair of tammies were so lovely, there were completely freerange and used to follow us everywhere, i tried to sell them as breeders as i couldnt bear the thought of killing them, but as unreg boars, they were destined for freezer! i remember sitting outside the abattoir crying my eyes out but knew i had to send them through as they were eating there heads off and were huge.
a butcher cured the whole carcuss and the meat was awful and the brine was sooo strong, it took almost 2 yrs to eat them which was a terrible waste really.
u have to harden your heart to the fact they are going to be slaughter, or at least mentally block it out. we werent squeamish with the first lot to go to slaughter cos they were bolshy and as beginners we were ready to see the back of them. (excuse the pun) but i couldnt face eating them for 3 mths tho!
it does get easier with time, especially if u have some at home, an empty field is the worst.
-
ahh. poor u. iv been there.
our 2nd pair of tammies were so lovely, there were completely freerange and used to follow us everywhere, i tried to sell them as breeders as i couldnt bear the thought of killing them, but as unreg boars, they were destined for freezer! i remember sitting outside the abattoir crying my eyes out but knew i had to send them through as they were eating there heads off and were huge.
a butcher cured the whole carcuss and the meat was awful and the brine was sooo strong, it took almost 2 yrs to eat them which was a terrible waste really.
u have to harden your heart to the fact they are going to be slaughter, or at least mentally block it out. we werent squeamish with the first lot to go to slaughter cos they were bolshy and as beginners we were ready to see the back of them. (excuse the pun) but i couldnt face eating them for 3 mths tho!
it does get easier with time, especially if u have some at home, an empty field is the worst.
It will be an empty paddock :'(. Thank you all for your replies. I KNOW they are looked after and about responsible farming and all that about the food chain but this is pure emotion, no logic at all. I have prepared and eaten roosters I hav eh and raised from the incubator and whilst it was all a bit sad it was nothing like this. We have 2 lambs going on Tuesday and whilst it will be a bit sad I'm actually looking forward to eating lamb and won't miss them as much (I don't think i will anyway! Ask me again Wednesday) but these girls are something else. I even thought about keeping one and getting another weaner, but then I really couldn't choose between them. Or even keeping them both and breeding so I could then eat the weaners but the reality is that's not really practical and there's already too many around from what I have read on here. Those little piggy eyes are so trusting it breaks my heart.
-
I've never chickened out but I really had to force myself to do the whole 'last journey' bit with the boy goat kids last year. Way worse than the tup lambs, as the goats come in every night, get stroked etc.
I didn't eat the meat, but sold it, although one 'half kid' has been in the freezer for a year now and I probably could just about manage it now.
The first time I ate our lamb I felt decidedly funny about it and didn't finish it. That's got easier. It all gets easier but is never easy, if that makes sense.
-
the thing with pigs is they get so much bigger and eat so much after the golden 6 mths old. keeping them longer is a big commitment.
-
I've learnt to have pets (the mums and the 'stayers') and see others as joints getting bigger on the hoof on the things I know will have to go.
If you start to fall for that trust in their eyes you've lost.
(anyway, it's not love and trust, it's 'I love you, where's my grub'.) ;D
-
Those little piggy eyes are so trusting it breaks my heart.
The hardest one to take was the one with prick ears. Stick to breeds with lop ears, it does make it easier! I hardly ever see Meg's eyes under those great big ears!
-
I am like penninehillbilly. They are my much adored pigs, even the meat ones, up to the moment the tongs knock them out, from that second onwards they are pork, not pigs anymore. I dont feel I have betrayed their trust as they always seem completely relaxed at the abattoir until it is their turn, far more interested in chatting to the new pigs in the next door pen, and as far as I can judge from watching them, are perfectly happy and contented until their very last breath. So even though I was dreading it the first time, I found it surprisingly easy and unemotional when it actually happened. :wave: :pig: :tree: Tamsaddle
-
I still cry - every trip to the abbattoir :'( & when I get back home I cuddle my "keepers" :hug:
Would it help if you started looking for their replacements before they go - or would it feel like betrayal?
:love: :pig: :love:
-
My Mum, who was a child during WW2, saw her dad kill a cockerel that she considered a pet and didn't eat meat for 20 years. Now she won't eat meat from any animal she has known when it was alive. I think that if you eat meat you should face up to where it comes from but there's no telling her. I admit it would be much harder to take one of our breeding pigs that we've developed a relationship with but one day I know it'll have to be done.
-
I even thought about keeping one and getting another weaner, but then I really couldn't choose between them. Or even keeping them both and breeding so I could then eat the weaners but the reality is that's not really practical and there's already too many around from what I have read on here. Those little piggy eyes are so trusting it breaks my heart.
Bumblebear its great you're emotional about your girls and its great you've realised the practicalities of pig rearing, even 8yrs on i still ball my eyes out when i send girl pigs off to the abbattoir, boys i find a bit easier as by time they're 24wks old they're little terrorists and secretly its :relief: , no more being upended in a sea of mud!
Enjoy the time you have left with them and start planning for your next lot next spring, what you would do different, how can you make it better etc. When i go to collect my meat i don't think of it as those pigs its just 4 boxes of pork and by gum doesn't it look fabulous. Well worth all the hard work and heartache.
HTH
mandy :pig: :bouquet:
-
I dreaded our first 2 going as we had also named them. The night before I hardly slept and was up at 4am.
when the meat came back and we looked at it we where not convinced we could eat it but once tasted we didnt look back. Infact if we where thinking of having pork we used to call it a Joint of Mr Tamworth.
we actualy got the next lot of weaners before the tamworths went so out time moved over to the next weaners
-
My Mum, who was a child during WW2, saw her dad kill a cockerel that she considered a pet and didn't eat meat for 20 years. Now she won't eat meat from any animal she has known when it was alive.
oh dear, my kids have just helped me kill 20 meat chickens for the freezer. they r hoping for homemade chicken nuggets with our new mincer and arent phased at all. to be honest they were a little bit excited, i think, with adrenaline. hopefully no turn out like lord of the rings tho.
-
Sometimes i feel a bit of a freak when people say to me how can you eat something you've looked after since a baby even helped deliver into the world, but i'm afraid if i had to chase it accross a field in me cave woman furs with a spear so i could eat it i would!!
I'm just not that bothered about the killing side of things i'm more interested that the animal had a really good life before it was killed. I absolutely hate to see animals kept badly or cruelly the least we can do for them is makes their lives decent before the final deed is done and i do think it affects the flavour of the meat.
When we first had orphan lambs i did get a bit attached, but it soon wore off when one tup put me clean over some hurdles one day, he was loaded up and went straight to market!
Now nearly all our orphans go for meat unless they are from a very precious line, even then we have to think long and hard about keeping them
-
When we first had orphan lambs i did get a bit attached, but it soon wore off when one tup put me clean over some hurdles one day, he was loaded up and went straight to market!
ha, i have had a fully grown hebridean ram jump on my head from out of the trailer jockey door,whilst being loaded for slaughter. hmm back in to go boy. :rant: those horns hurt. :rant:
-
My first lamb was called Chops, then after he knocked my knee out, - they were tasty :yum: (along with the rest of him ;D )
-
This founds very superficial.... when they are born, Ido worry about whether they have too short a life and it is fair.
A short lifetime of escapes, dramas and assorted livestock keeping and, by 28 weeks, I am looking at them in the field and they are almost marked on the side with the joints.
That said, I am still not sure what is going to happen to Charlotte when she stops beingfertile.... she is more like a pet..... but I'm not sure I want to be feeding a full grown pet sow.
I suspect I will get over my qualms then.
.....I dislike the process but love the result,,,
-
.....I dislike the process but love the result,,,
perfectly put
-
we have just come back from a weekend show where we took our show pigs along with a pen of weaners on the weaner pen we had a banner for british pork & recipie cards for cooking pork we had a stream of people wanting to know how we could eat these animals so this is how we explained it...
first of all not all pedigree pigs are suitable for breeding/showing and if we bred from the unsuitable ones further down the line these lovely looking pigs would look crap with all the bad faults we try to disgard in the selection process.
secondly if we and the public dont eat these pigs why breed from them ? the breeds would then not only be rare but we could loose them altogether and we have already lost breeds along the way.
third question how do we feel when the time comes well we have given them the best life we could and we like to think they have the best relaxed end they can by us being calm around them. we also pointed out if we have a pig that does not meet the grade as expected we would rather have it slaughtered than pass it on for someone else to breed from it so i know it has been taken out of the breeding chain keeping the breed strong is most important to us as we belive in our pigs and want to see them going.
the next question that was popular was i keep rare x breeds for the freezer so am i helping their survival ? my reply to this and it may not be popular on here is not in any way the RBST get their figures from registrated pigs only and if its not a registered pig its just a pig and if it is you can not sell your pork as a breed its against TS rules.
as a whole it was a enjoyable day lots of people saying they would look ouyt for BN pigs in future for their weaners fingers crossed they will.
the best part of the day had to be the interest in the pigs in general.
btw i dont know anyone that like the final drive but its the cycle we choose to embark on.
-
the next question that was popular was i keep rare x breeds for the freezer so am i helping their survival ? my reply to this and it may not be popular on here is not in any way the RBST get their figures from registrated pigs only and if its not a registered pig its just a pig and if it is you can not sell your pork as a breed its against TS rules.
I always liked a crossbreed, usual was some kind of long white x GOS, because I found GOS ran to fat too easily. The answer is yes, you are helping rare breeds by keeping crosses, because somebody had to breed purebred boar you used and the purebred sows you bought.
Until of course, you start to put a crossbred to a crossbred to make a composite that suits you for whatever reason. Wouldn't worry though, because this is how breeds of animal come into existence in the first place - all are man made and new ones will continue to appear.
-
My Kune Kunes are pets - not for eating. Thats fortunate, as I am very attached to them, and had they been reared for eating, then I would struggle I think to let them go. But, I am now ready to rear a couple for eating, and they will not be named, and not be fussed - I am hoping this detachment will make it easier for me. But .....there again, if they look at me, and I soften, and call them names ........
-
We both cried when we did our first and decided not to do it again. Every now and then we think we shouldn't be so soft and should just do it again, but then I look at a piggy and I know I can't. I'd just rather not eat pig.
Someone said we should keep males only, they get on your nerves and knock you over when they're too big - you get ratty with them and then it's easier to see them off. :'(
-
We both cried when we did our first and decided not to do it again. Every now and then we think we shouldn't be so soft and should just do it again, but then I look at a piggy and I know I can't. I'd just rather not eat pig.
Someone said we should keep males only, they get on your nerves and knock you over when they're too big - you get ratty with them and then it's easier to see them off. :'(
i may well be starnge but i find males more affectionate.
we once had a pig called charlie pig he got heat stroke and almost died i nursed him back when d day came we had him in our freezer as we felt no one else would appreciate the pork as much as we would.
-
I was a bit like this with our orphan lambs, I bottle reared them from 2 days old but it was always in my mind that they were for the freezer so lived in the shed and fields like the cattle away from the house. We had ours killed at home which meant bringing them in the night before and bringing them out 1 by 1 to be killed, that was the hardest part especially holding them... however when the meat came back it was totally worth it. Would I do it again, yes... and I will have them killed at home too even if it is slightly more stressful for me to witness, it's 100 times less stressful for them to endure than going through an abattoir.
And now we have a freezer full of lamb to last us over the winter, yum! It's a luxury for us to have lamb as it is so expensive in the butchers we rarely could justify £8 for 3 chops, never had lamb roast due to the price, so it's made a big difference to us.
That said I nearly kept 2 ewes for breeding, however there wasn't much point in just keeping 2 as we have no ram, so will hope to keep a few more back next year if they are as good as this year's lambs and buy ourselves a ram :)
-
where are you twizzel just wondering about how you managed home slaughter?
-
South west, using fully licensed mobile slaughter man, luckily we have a freezer big enough to keep it all in!
-
I spend a lot of time with my pigs and do get upset when we take them on that final trip but I know I have done my best by them and the pork is so good. :innocent:
-
I would love to have a mobile slaughter man come here but I am in Norfolk and as far as I know there are none. Well, I booked them in for end of November as the guy said there were only 2 pre christmas slots left and from what I have read it wouldnt be wise to keep them over winter. I measured them today and according to the tape they come out at about 60kgs which still seems small to me (I keep reading HUGE numbers). Should I keep them over winter do you think? They are Berkshires and we did want bacon - I don't really mind if it's small. I read HH comments about taking girth measurement rather than weight into account and my girls are 90cm and 96cm.
Hubby took the lambs today and said that the abbatoir were very nice and helpful. When I phoned them later about collecting the lamb, I did ask them if I could stay with the girls in the lairage until they went through or whether we could get there at a time when they could just go straight in to be 'done'. He said I could stay with them if I liked (although it could be a few hours) and in their experience pigs are less stressed getting used to their surroundings for a bit before they "go through"....although of course he may be saying that just to make me feel better....
-
which slaughter house are you using ?
-
Howard's at Gayton.
-
they are very good we have used them and in doing so pretty much drive by one slaughter house to go to them.
james is very helpful before we used them the first time we turned up to talk to them and her took us on a tour of the whole place.
they also offer a curing service so you can get your bacon done there too.
-
Where are you Kja? There was another one recommended to us north Norfolk someplace but it was that much further and unnecessary we thought.
-
cambridgeshire
-
Whereabouts? :wave: