The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: WinslowPorker on May 24, 2010, 09:32:53 am
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Well all here we are and after months of silly questions my first 4 pigs have gone to slaughter this morning!
feelings: not sure to be honest i know i am a little quiet sat in the office, but not upset or feel bad about anything because we always new that the pigs were purely for meat production, but it does feel a little weird.
At the abbatoirs there were a couple of farmers dropping of pigs who typical pink things but no where near the size of ours and i just hope they had a nice life like ours but i doubt it. however he also put a piglet in that was about the size of a large jack russel which again i found difficult to see especially when it escaped and was caught squealing and squealing! shame really but is uppose if he is pig farmer he may of quickly been able to see that it was not going to catch up ar ending not being commercially viable?
perhaps i am just being soppy but any feedback to settle my mind would be great.
On a positive note..................... Pork & Sausages tomorrow :pig: :wave:
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Yes it does feel a little strange, but like you say they had a good life, a life that was there for this purpose. When you get it back all bagged and labelled its really exciting, looking how much fat there is, how meaty it all looks, the proof is in the eating though, you wont regret it! Well done!
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What you are feeling is very natural. Look forward to that fantastic pork!!
I wouldn't say what you are feeling is soppy at all. It shows you care and that's why your pigs had such a good life.....and will make fantastic pork.
Personally I wouldn't say it gets any easier each time you take some, but the first time was definitely the worse for me. I think it was because I didn't know what to expect.
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Me too, I thought the abattoir would be smelly, noisy and scary, it wasnt!! my pigs were sound asleep in the trailer we had to wake them up!! it was just like taking them to another farm! they strolled off the trailer into the pen quite happily! I still feel a bit sad each time I take them, it does get easier though, once you know what to expect. I took a bottle fed runt, once he was up to weight, I thought that would be hard but it was ok! As long as you stay focused and not let your heart rule your head......................................... :pig:
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Thanks guys, still seem a little quiet at the moment but then it is all quite a lot to take in i suppose and going to feed the last 3 tonight will probably seem very strange as well.
The abbatoir was actually a really nice atmosphere, yes there were a couple of commercial producers but probably half a dozen people like us with the trailers having different animal all going fo the same, in a way i suppose it is quite exciting as well because we are now coming full circle. The was a trailer load of commercial pigs and they came out a lot smaller than ours and i looked and couldnt see any evidence of mud wallows or even being outside and were herded in not the most dignified manner, but then that is the reality i suppose, all of us fellow private producers would quiet looking at the animal go off but quite happy that we had all done a good job and given them a far better life than ending up with a commercial producer, i suppose that is what the forever lasting feeling of satisfaction will come from?
looking forward to picking up the pigs tomorrow, just so i can see the meat/fat etc and really gain some appreciation of if we got the feed levels right etc etc . :pig: :wave:
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I have a great deal of respect for you, WP. Pork is not my favourite meat as a roast, but I love bacon, sausages and ham. I fully admit I couldn't do what you have done and admire you for it. I have always said I can't eat my own animals but I'm quite happy to eat other people's ones. Your quietness /sadness is natural and understandable but I doubt if the commercial farmers are feeling as you are right now. ::)
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I know the whole planet seems to always be thinking of the money and fully appreaciate that the farmers are all quite happy because that is there livelihood, i thikn for us its more than that and the happiness of the animal and trying to recreate its natural envrionment for the ultimatley short life they will have is so important. i am sure in a couple of days i will be fine, but perhaps when the last 3 go it may be even more difficult because that will be final........ well until next year when we do them again.
The thing that 'bothers' me was seeing that little piglet go in, it was so tiny and had had no life. but then perhaps i am only one side of the story and if it was 'not commercially viable' for the farmer then perhaps that is the humane thing to do?? i dont know, but it has caused a fair amount of confusion in my mind to the extent i will probably ask them tomorrow. not out of ignornace but because i have no understanding - or do some things not have an explanation??
today i feel is reflection day
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The piglet was probably going for suckling pig. At least it would have been dispatched humanely. Its the down side of rearing your own, you see how the "other half have lived". Comfort yourself that the pork you will be eating has had a decent life, and for every kilo you sell/donate/barter to anyone else is 1 kilo that wont have come from a commercial pig whose 'life' if it can be called that - has been miserable and short. Even so far, far better than the ones from Holland that get turned into bacon or those dragged through the misery of the Eastern parts of Europe.
You have given your pigs the best of lives, a humane and dignified end. A good life free from pain, stress and hunger what more could they ask. Now you need to use and enjoy every piece of the meat out of respect for them.
Enjoy - you've done a great job.
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Thanks HM, dont get me wrong i never wore rose tinted glasses when this started and to be honest i am not upset, i just suppose it is the final act and it does make you reflect but i am sure it will be a little easier when the next ones go because we know what to expect and there is no surprises with 'wonder what the abbatoir is like' 'wonder if the pigs are going to get in the trailer ok?' etc
But yes the savouring moment was when we saw the 'commercial' (if thats the right description) pigs come out and they were all pink and quite flabby/soft fleshed. then ours came out with mud on them where they had been in the wallow and were nice and firm and had a good shape, and you sort of thikn well as best as possible we have created a nice piggy environment similar to their instictive habitat and they have run free, wallowed, foraged and dug holes!! and eaten lots of nice treats, where these other ones in all intents and purposes looked in showroom condition as if the have never seem any mud! s
so yes very satisfied, still recommend keeping pigs and man alive am i looking forward to eating some nice pork and sausages!! :o :pig: :wave:
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The others would have been kept inside, with no fat on them and thin skin, so no crackling! you wait til you try the crackling on yours, it will be divine!!
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Salivating already
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WP, our two are going to the abbatoir tomorrow so i totally know how you feel. it is such a bag of mixed feeling right enough - and not helped by the fact that we were told not to feed our boys tonight so every time they saw us they came squealing and looking for their dinner. poor fellas.
but i was reading HFW's meat book tonight and it really put the whole thing into persepctive for me and i think i will never buy commerical pork/sausages, etc, etc ever again. every pig we rear and take to meat ourselves, is one pig not doomed to a very inhumane existence.
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Can't you give them anything? Seems like they should have a last meal..
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Can't you give them anything? Seems like they should have a last meal..
they can still dig and find food so that should help. plus we've decided that they deserve a light breakfast tomorrow as a sort of 'thankyou', both for loading into the trailer and also for feeding us....hopefully the abbatoir people wont be too cross with us
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I hope so too :-) hope all goes smoothly for you
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Hi Egglady i fed my pigs as normal the day before, ok there evening meal was at 4 Oclock in the afternoon. not sure if i was right or wrong but am sure the abbatoir will tell me today. They also had two bags of apples, bunch of banana and some donuts as these were there favourites.
I have actually woken up this morning feeling ok about the whole exercise and now am really looking forward to seeing what amount and quality of pork they yield, as my friend said if we didnt eat pork/lamb/beef these animal would probably already be extinct!
Egglady i cam empathise with you today and am sure you will be quiet, not necessarily upset just quiet/reflecting :pig: :wave:
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they went in the tailer perfectly fine but refused to come out at the other end....so they ended up with some yummy chic chip cookies as their last meal!
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Never though of that one! our were bl**dy stubborn yesterday and needed lots of coaxing!!
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isnt it funny how we all learn so much from this forum?! it's just great
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You are certainly right there, not just the practical elements of keeping elements but all of the emotional, financial etc and thanks to Wiz a common appreciation of Nigella Lawson!!
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I cant stand Nigella lawson!! ::)
WP what time you picking up the pork?
Egglady, hope all goes well for you today!
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Nigella Lawson - Yum Yum ( And yes Mrs WP thinks i am extremely silly)
I finish work today at 1, so should be over there by 3Oclock. And WP junior is coming too!! bless her she is only 3 and i may risk a backlash but i thikn it is right she undertsands where all food comes from.
Yes Egglady hope you are not pondering/reflecting too much, coz i can promise you tomorrow you will be as excited as me :wave: :pig: :o
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I was quite quiet and a bit sad the day my first two went to meet their maker. This did change to delight when I had my first pork chop from "Fat Frank" as he was known.
I feel for you to have seen the piglet go in though - I remember going to a meat market in an area of Spain famous for suckling pig and seeing mounds and mounds of little piggies stacked on top of each other ready for skewering! Doesn't bear thinking about when you first get your weaners does it? (However, suckling pig is favourite of mine - now I am torn...)
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I must admit i am looking forward to picking them up today an having some pork chops this weekend
Yes it was little difficult seeing the little one, but its life i suppose! never tried suckling pig but am not adverse to anything so may well have a go next time i can fly to the sun!
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It's interesting Reading how you all feel. I had 2 gilts in feb but always intended to keep these 2 for breeding then keep some of theirs for fattening and sell the rest of the litter on hopefully. I've got really attached to kim and aggie so I'm wondering if I can be strong enough to fatten my own. I know it's about keeping the end game in mind but I'm sure it's still going to be tough for me this time next year..
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Helencus set some strategies in place now before the piglets are born. Pamper the sows who will be with you for years. Always look at the piglets from birth as meat. (This from the woman who has a large black for a pet because as she was bottle feeding him his owner said he would be a spit roast in a few weeks time - motto never drink while bottle feeding a piglet!!!!!). Look at the loins and see bacon, look at the legs and see hams. If you start to weaken a quick trip to the abattoir to see the inhuman results of supermarket pork will soon make you feel easier!!!
WP and Greenerlife, why dont you grow your own suckling pigs, much much better reared than the poor little Spanish ones.
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Thanks Hillarysmum Thats a good tip. I've never seen the abbatoir is it really a good idea to go and see what goes on first? Would it help then? I'd be worried it would totally put me off..
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Helencus - stangely i have not got attached at all to any of my pigs from day one their whole purpose was for us and all of kids to enjoy going and seeing some pigs, feeding them, going and give them the occasional scracth, laughing at them when they drag themselves out of the wallow and generally really enjoying the animals. but i NEVER detracted from the fact that they were for meat, and to be honest i am not a hard faced man and i had all of the same concerns as you are having, but as HM says if you look at them as pork from day one, you do tend to get your carnivores eyes on and look at the legs and imagine roast potatoes, apple sauce etc!
Go to the abattoir if you like but i very much doubt you will see anything, apart from a lot of animals being taken of trailers and walking into the holding pens, it is all very clean and business like and when we went was quite a nice atmosphere because of the amount of 'private kills' that were arriving everyone was excited about the final process, but a lot of pondering was also taking place.
The only down side to the abattoir was when the trailer with the commercial pigs turned up and the man was pushing, kicking the pigs down the ramp and they were slipping and sliding. so go witha n open mind coz that sight made me realise i will always now only eat pork i have reared and treated with respect.
Do it though, you will enjoy it so much
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" commercial pigs turned up and the man was pushing, kicking the pigs down the ramp and they were slipping and sliding"
Exactly!!!
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Thanks I'm going to. I'm pretty sure I've reached the age when I can be objective and appreciate as a meat eater that an animal that's had a great life is better than one that's not. So this time next year watch this space
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Once you have eaten your own pork and sausages, not to mention the bacon, nothing will deter you from continuing.
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Hello all I am not out to spoil your day out but if you go to a big commercial abattoir it is not to everyones liking to see beasts heads come tumbling down a slide into a skip and its legs and feet into another one.The one at Dovecotes Nr Doncaster is reasonably big and seem to specialise in cattle.Its all very clean and hygienic but also very sickening. :( :cow: :farmer: :wave:
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I hear you George but that is one of the harsh facts a meat eater has to acknowledge I guess. The guys have a point on here I think at least the animals they take have had a good nay fabulous life the same can't be said for the stuff you get from the supermarket I'm sure.
Now whether I could visit an abbatoir and actually see said harsh fact.. Truthfully not sure but I will rear my own and at least stay as long as I can.
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Not sure if you would even be allowed inside the actual 'processing' areas anyway, i am sure there is mountains on Health & Safety/Hygeine requirements. And at the end of the day as a meat eater i accept that the animals are slaughtered but dont feel the need to actually see it. there are lots of horrible things in life that happen and we all accept that they happen but again have no desire to see any of them....
Positive note, am picking up my pork from butchers tomorrow!! cant wait
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This is the reason some people become vegetarian. I think that as long as your beasts have had a reasonably happy life you should be happy and enjoy the meat secure in the knowledge that you did your best. Enjoy!
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Exactly and that was always the idea from day one, and now for the enjoying!!
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Sorry you have missed read or interpreted what I wrote.At Dovecotes in the yard are some special waste skips that are sealable Through the plant wall comes elevator chute and down this chute come the heads and lower legs. This is plainly visible from the yard and even I find it distressing. :( :farmer:
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I suppose its just the harsh reality of being a meat eater George and its part of the process of getting that big bone in rib joint for sunday lunch!!
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I can see George's point. I remember as a child going to the local one to pick up tripe for our german shepherds, I would have been about 7 so 30 years ago this is - I can still remember the sights, sounds and smells :( I could see into the skips, they were not hidden at all.
tony works for the farmers union on the insurance side and as a vegetarian, abbatoir visits are the only places he refuses to do surveys (consciencious objection).
my children and I had this conversation only yesterday though about how pigs and other stock from smallholdings will have had a happier life leading up to becoming our food - I know I'd rather eat from happy stock than mass produced miserable stock.
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totally agree plums i think thats where the satisfaction comes after you pick them up from butcher and start the eat-a-thon!! just knowing they at least had the opportunity to be 'piggy' :pig:
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Yes its like that at Dovecote I am quite surprised they get away with it in this H&S age I am sure that some children must go for a ride with Dad to take the animals :farmer: :wave:
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Well thats it the great WP pig rearing escapade has finally reached completion this morning with the last 3 gone to slaughter. I must admit that i was not bothered went the first ones went but becasue this is the last ones, i am at a bit of a loss and it is going to be very quiet now.
Oh well more pork chops on Friday and then planning for next years weaners. what a great experience and anyone reading this who is toying with the idea my advice is to do it, it is just so much fun and you do get an overwhelming sense of satisfaction when you get them back from the butcher.
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I dare bet Princess reckons its more satisfaction when its on her plate ready to eat.How does she like em wi chips and beanz :D :farmer: :wave:
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Chips is always a sure fire bet Wiz, sometimes pasta but never ever beans, no matter how hard i try she thinks they are 'sgusting daddy'