The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: JulieS on September 02, 2009, 07:12:47 am
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My first GOS boars are off next Tuesday.
Any hints and tips for the remaining days and the big day?
Anything you wish you'd known before your first time?
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If possible get them in the trailer the night before.
Dont feed them too much that night.
Check all the necessary paperwork; have your movement licence ready,
slap mark in the trailer
If you are unable to clean out trailer at abattoire have the disinfectant ready for when you get back.
Have a large bottle of wine ready for when you get back.
Oh and dont worry it will all be fine.
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That's great Hilarysmum, thank you.
......Hadn't thought of the wine, sounds like an essential! :)
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Get all the Recipe books out - and start preparing
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You'll be amazed at just how much meat you are going to get back. It really does take some dealing with.
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I've got orders for just over 2 pigs, and got another freezer on order for the rest. Hope to get some more o
I've been going through my recipe books and have some good ideas. Can't find my recipe for pate though.
Anyone got one they can recommend?
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Remember to tag or slap them! having done this several times before, I got 2 loaded yesterday started to fill in the form and remembered I hadn't marked them! duh ::)
Oh and I let mine have a beer the night before, they love it. :pig:
Then start looking for the next lot, I missed my first lot terribly!
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Many thanks Dixie. The beer sounds a great idea.....I have to metal ear tag mine, so I think a beer and some food and tag them while they are busy???
Fortunately I have my next ones ready. I'm going to pick up 3 gilts the following Sunday.
I also have a breeder with two gilts in with a boar at the moment for me, so all being well will have some piglets here in a few months.
I (and they) will be in piggy heaven :pig: :) :pig:
Going to miss my boys so much though.
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Good luck for the day! You will need far more polythene food bags of various sizes than you can imagine, and if butchering at home loads of string.
If you are doing hams make the brine a day before, then get it down to 4 deg. c with ice blocks before adding meat.
Have your breadcrumbs made and ready for the sausages. Ideally weighed into batches and seasoning added. (Saves loads of time).
Dont forget the bottle of wine for after its all done!!!
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:D Link to pate recipe. Its for chicken liver but dont think it makes much difference.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Liver-Pate/Photo-Gallery.aspx
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Many thanks Hilarysmum. The recipe looks great too.
I think the wine is going to be an essential part of Tuesday :)
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dont forget your food chain paper work.
take your time and relax less stress for you and the pigs.
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Tagging them is simple, mine have never even flinched whilst head in a bucket of food the night before! As for the beer I have never seen anyone down a pint faster than a pig! then lick the bucket clean! :pig:
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I'm looking forward to giving them the beer!
I've got all the paperwork ready. I think I'll move the trailer down near to their paddock over the weekend so that they get used to seeing it.
Tag them Monday morning at breakfast, then load them onto the trailer after their beer in the evening.....They should sleep well!
The abbatoir seem really nice on the phone. They said if I get them there between 9 and 9.30 they will be done straight away. It's only about 20 mins away.
I can go back in the afternoon for the offal and they have a butchery there to cut, prepare and pack the meat for me to collect later in the week after hanging.
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Oh and dont mention that you loaded them the night before! You'll have to put your start time as the morning! Also have a good look at them before you go as to the size, even measure the girth and keep a record, ask what the weights are at the abbatoir, its really useful when trying to gauge when the next ones are ready so that you can become familiar 'by eye'!
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Many thanks Dixie. That's great advice about measuring them and keeping a record.....and about loading them!
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Had a phone call from the abattoir today to say they are having a few problems with their new pig machine (didn't ask what problems as I'm not sure I wanted to know too many details! lol). So my boys have got a week's reprieve!!!
They are off next Tuesday instead now.
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;D :pig: ;D :pig: ;D :pig:
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Got 2 of mine back Friday, girth measurements were 37" and 38" and the dead weights were 53kg and 55kg, fat was just about perfect I'm really pleased with them, butcher reskons I got it right! so satisfying ;D
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That's brilliant Dixie. Must be great when you know you've got it right.
:)
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My two pigs went last week, very sad but I took them right in to the abbatoir as they were used to me and they had a last treat of apple. I kept it together while I was with them but once outside I had a cry and next morning when I went out to feed everyone as there bed was empty. We had our first pork chops the other day and the taste was amazing. My OH did some bacon by putting it in salt for four days and boy was that good. The pigs were a bit on the fat side even though I had cut there food down and I felt that they should have gone the beginning of last month. Will judge it better next time. The four lambs went yesterday and I think I have made a better job of them as I have done lambs before and know what I am looking for. I am wondering if I should go for a smaller breed of pigs next year as the all blacks did seem to grow very fast. :pig:
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Well done, at least you appreciated the whole process and enjoyed the chops and bacon! what age did you take them? if you want to stick to the same breed just take them earlier. also never be tempted to overfeed, it does result in more fat, which although isn't bad in my view (adds to the flavour) may put customers off if you sell any?
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:pig:i took two of my boys yesterday no matter how many times i do it i always feel a little down beat after but when we collect the pork wow, so its all well worth our hard work, and this week is extra special as i am collecting my first bacon pig from the smoke house so oak smoked bacon & our own sausages for tea on wednesday and the roast will have to wait til thursday. we always have great satisfaction that we have produced the happy pigs that produced the great pork we eat.
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Since getting my boys we've had a saying here "Happy pigs make tasty pigs"........My boys are very happy, so the tasty bit is what we can look forward to after the not so nice part of taking them away.
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I did stick to the feeding guidlines Dixie, they were 24 weeks old and had free range of a small paddock. apart from their nuts we also gave them fruit and veg from the garden so maybe they were finding more to eat than I had thought. One came back at 71 kilos and the other 79 which was rather on the fat side. We are not selling any but plan to give some to a friend who is having a hard time atthe moment. :pig:
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Then again all that extra fat can be used for lard, for pork pie crusts, for roasting potatoes, and on ad infinitum
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We took our three Berkshires yesterday. We put the trailer in position two days beforehand so it wasn't new. I wish we had fed the pigs by the gate a few times and perhaps feeding them on the trailer might have been an idea. Luckily we have an small abattoir only seven miles away - it is however tricky to back up to and the audience doesn't help - I was please to have done a dry run a few days beforehand so I knew the best way to approach the entrance. Next time I'll take a bucket of food to entice them off the trailer - we had to manhandle them off but they didn't seem stressed or upset - just reluctant. The staff at the abattoir were kindness itself and the pigs then wandered off to a pen being herded by a kindly man calling "come on my bubbies". We get them back on Friday and are really looking forward to trying them out for taste. We ear tagged them - as has been said relatively easy once they have their head in the trough - although one developed the knack of twitching its head to one side just as I closed the pliers - I now have three demonstration tags attached to thin air. We are now going to give it a rest over the winter and get some more in the spring. We will however try and time it so that they are ready for slaughter in October as our abattoir doesn't take small holders' animals during August and we sent these pigs about a month later than we might have liked.
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They will be just as delicious and the extra fat can be used for all sorts anyway. Glad it all went well. Looking forward to hearing about your next pigs. Will you really be able to wait that long?
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Sabrina, sounds like you got it right! they will have more fat than anything commercial but if you wanted them a bit smaller I'd stick to the feeding plan and maybe take them 2 weeks earlier? or if you feed fruit and veg slightly reduce the amount of nuts, all works to saving you a few quid!! :pig: