The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 11:54:36 am

Title: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 11:54:36 am
One of our three pigs went to the abattoir this morning at 7.5 months.

We've been preparing for a while for this now, making sure the animals were happy to clamber into and out of the trailer without being prodded or shoved. We did two practice morning runs in advance, and the appointed porker was quite happy to climb in and out, quite unconcerned. Come this morning at 6:30am, he went in for the third time no problem at all and had a very small breakfast in the back. Separating the pigs and getting him in took less than five minutes and was completely stress free.

We got to the other end about 40 minutes, he was fast asleep and snoring in the back. We had to wait a few minutes for another trailer unloading, so were parked on the street and wandered in for a look. The first thing that worried me was the slaughterman chasing some small pigs around the lairage and shoving them around with boards into the open door of the abattoir whistling and yelping at them. As each pig was shoved through you could hear the pigs up ahead scream as they were stunned, so naturally the pigs behind were so frightened at what was up ahead they tried to get away. I didn't expect that and almost turned around there and then, but then realised the noise and machinery couldn't be helped. It was a small abattoir. Then the ones in the trailer in front were unloaded. Cue more screams and yelps and whistles, both from the slaughterman and the owners.

Finally it was our turn, and 'Mr Whistly' had gone inside and another much quieter calmer slaughterman came out. There was no-one behind us so no time pressure. All was going well - it took him a few moments to get his bearings and he was a bit disoriented, being lop-eared he couldn't see that well. We expected this and had his feed bucket in the car with some apples in, however, we didn't get a chance to get it out and lead him quietly out because the stupid cow from the previous unloading decided to get involved. Before we could stop her, she'd clambered in through the side door of the trailer and started yelling and slapping him to get out because he was so slow, spooking him and making him squeal. She left the side door open behind her so the pig made a dash for freedom, with her kneeing him and slapping him back and the slaughterman getting agitated about closing the door because he didn't want to have to chase the pig around. On the abattoir walls are a sign that animals are not to be unloaded unless the main gates were shut. Clearly no-one paid any attention to that and they were wide open and led onto the main road and residential area.

I was so angry and upset. We've NEVER treated our animals like that. We don't whistle or yell, slap them, or poke them, we don't slam boards against them to get them to move.  In the end he almost tumbled down the ramp frightened and screaming, and the slaughterman guided him quietly into the lairage, which was filthy and stinking from all the previous animals and had no water. He was so stressed. Then to make matter worse, you could still hear the pigs screaming inside as they were stunned and the metallic clanking of the machinery.

It was horrible and I was so upset when I left. We've raised these animals free from stress on good ground and with kindness. I read everything I could about how to give them best stress-free ending possible and we were so pleased at how calm everything was. Then all that work is undone in the last 20 minutes.

Hideous.

I have two more pigs due to go in October/November. Might try a different slaughterhouse next time with a better lairage arrangement and this time go the week before to watch how they handle the animals.

Oh, and to the women who got involved? If you are on this forum, mind your own fecking business next time. I don't care how many animals you have or how often you take them to slaughter, it's not your concern. Killing animals is never pleasant and will never be stress free, but you made a bad situation worse. I'll never forget the look on my pigs face in the lairage thanks to the stress you inflicted on him.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: harmony on September 04, 2017, 12:39:48 pm
What a nightmare and nobody wants that for their animals especially when you had put in the time to get prepared  :hug: I assume you didn't take the pig on the trailer on your previous dummy runs though?


There is always going to be noise at these places and pigs can squeal for England without you doing much to them. However, the process should be made as calm as possible for the animals.


It would be quite hard I think to keep on top of the lairage mucking out through the day but I assume the pigs are not in there long. It isn't uncommon to keep feed and water from killing pigs for several hours before slaughter as their guts should be as empty as possible at kill to minimise contamination of the meat during the process.


All that said clearly the woman who got involved with your unloading despite thinking she was helping made the whole thing far worse for you and your pig. I would have politely asked her to get out of my trailer. Some people might not have been so polite!


I always take a board to help unload. It is far more effective than apples. You don't have to be rough with it but it is by far the easiest way to stop a pig turning back.


If you aren't happy then look for another place but I guess you have to decide whether it was the whole experience or the unhelpful woman who made it what it was? You said the lairage man was very calm once your pig was off.


I hope you enjoy your pork  :eyelashes:




Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Jukes Mum on September 04, 2017, 01:21:40 pm
Sorry to hear this. Hopefully it will work out better next time  :hug:
This is the main reason that we home kill. I couldn't bare for our lambs' last day to be stressful for them.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 01:27:51 pm
No, we didn't do dummy runs with the trailer, just practiced getting the pigs on and off with feed and had it down to pat. We did drive the route by car once, to see where the awkward corners and bumps were, and thankfully 90% of it was through quiet country lanes all the way.

I'm aware of the reasons for not feeding pigs before slaughter and did try to stick to that - this pig was fed at 5pm the previous day and had only had a small palmful of pellets scattered that morning to get him up the ramp and into trailer. All lairage facilities should have clean water for the animals.

Part of me was so surprised and outraged by her actions I couldn't speak and the other part of me realised I would have to shout above her noise, the pig screaming and the noise of the machinery to get her to hear me, which would have stressed the pig out further. He's never heard me raise my voice. Then I realised I was the only one nearest the trailer side door so would have to be the one to rush and shut it.

We had no reason to have a board with us to prevent turning back, as a interfering sod leaving a trailer side door wide open was not even a contingency we remotely planned for! We were aiming to have a calm and quiet unloading of a hungry pig occupied by a feed bucket. The abattoir told us it had a board if we needed it. We were not under time pressure. There was no need for rough quick handling.

The large man was calm and quiet, he seemed to know how to maneuver the pig, however, getting him was more luck than anything else. He came out as we pulled up. All I can hope for is that it was him taking my pig on the final walk and not Mr Whistly Yelpy man.

I'm going to try another abattoir anyway just for experience, as there is another the same distance from us in the opposite direction.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 01:30:08 pm
Sorry to hear this. Hopefully it will work out better next time  :hug:
This is the main reason that we home kill. I couldn't bare for our lambs' last day to be stressful for them.

Do you have someone come in with a mobile unit or just do it yourself?
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Victorian Farmer on September 04, 2017, 01:36:23 pm
DO THEM AT HOME a lot better we always did it that way
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 01:40:56 pm
To add to the emotions of the day, when we got back we found the remaining two boars lying in separate pens refusing to get up. This is very unusual, as they usually rush around when we go into the paddock. Thinking they were probably stressed at seeing their friend taken away, I spent some time stroking them and talking to them.

That's when I discovered they'd had a fight. They were covered in bloody wounds and teeth scrapes. All three are litter mates and did not fight, there was always lots of playing, so I can only think the stress of today made them turn on each other. So I've cleaned them up, fed them some apples and plums, and now they are lying about three feet from one another, instead of cuddled up and snoring.


Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Jukes Mum on September 04, 2017, 01:41:44 pm
Sorry to hear this. Hopefully it will work out better next time  :hug:
This is the main reason that we home kill. I couldn't bare for our lambs' last day to be stressful for them.

Do you have someone come in with a mobile unit or just do it yourself?

We just do them ourselves. It does mean that you can't sell the meat though so obvioulsy its not for everyone!
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Marches Farmer on September 04, 2017, 01:59:48 pm
That's when I discovered they'd had a fight. They were covered in bloody wounds and teeth scrapes. All three are litter mates and did not fight, there was always lots of playing, so I can only think the stress of today made them turn on each other.
With one of the pecking order out of the way they may have been scrapping to decide which was going to be the underdog of the new order. 

It might be helpful to practice being assertive for next time.  If you've heard yourself say "Please let me get them out of the trailer quietly," or "Please stand aside, I'd like to unload them myself," it will trip off your tongue much more easily in any stressful situation in the future.  Do consider getting a board - you don't have to use it to shove, just to direct, as they do when showing a pig.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 02:15:37 pm
With one of the pecking order out of the way they may have been scrapping to decide which was going to be the underdog of the new order. 

Good point - I hadn't considered that. I was going to take the larger of the three originally, but changed my mind last week and ended up taking what I thought was the middle of the order. Over the last few weeks he had become very bolshy and loud, and had also started nicking the food of the smaller one. He was the first to everything and was becoming a bit of a nuisance to be honest. Getting anything done was a problem if he was around. So I thought I had left the top and bottom of the order, but that order may have changed without me realising, and I left the second and third, which was too close in the order for comfort.

It might be helpful to practice being assertive for next time.  If you've heard yourself say "Please let me get them out of the trailer quietly," or "Please stand aside, I'd like to unload them myself," it will trip off your tongue much more easily in any stressful situation in the future.  Do consider getting a board - you don't have to use it to shove, just to direct, as they do when showing a pig.

Good points again, thank you. I'll make my feeling known in advance. I'm generally an assertive person and have no problem saying 'no', but the situation escalated and just floored me.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 04, 2017, 04:39:38 pm
One thing I did hear I wasn't sure about.

I overheard someone say that we had picked a good day as trading standards wasn't there, and they are often around making a nuisance of themselves.

What was that about? Did they mean making a nuisance with the smallholders or with the abattoir?
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: greenbeast on September 04, 2017, 08:06:29 pm
I really feel for you, we have a good place and, taking 3 a week that have been raised well, i'm glad for it.

There aren't many around these days so hopefully you have better luck at the other place.
Also it would be extremely unlucky to meet the same interfering woman (at the same stage of unloading) again.

I don't take a board because the lairage guy alwasy has one to hand if i occasionally need to direct pigs the right way....
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Marches Farmer on September 05, 2017, 09:42:51 am
Trading Standards can look at pretty well anything they want, including the condition of the trailer (correct lights, etc.), paperwork, handling, abattoir process and so on.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: harmony on September 05, 2017, 01:58:14 pm
There is an abattoir guide on here so could be worth looking at that for your location.


One of the reasons I take my board and don't use someone else's is that it doesn't smell of everyone else's pigs which with a boar can make a problem. Rarely do I need it but it is there if I do. Food isn't always enough to distract a pig from the situation. If they feel unsure the last thing they are going to do is relax and eat when they think there is a monster out there.


It can be very useful to get your pigs used to moving around with you close to them with your hand tapping on them and getting used to your voice telling them to walk on. I can get most of mine where I want doing this.


If a pig is stressed prior to slaughter then the meat wont set. Hitting a pig will potentially bruise the meat.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: waterbuffalofarmer on September 05, 2017, 03:03:20 pm
OUch! That sounds really bad and I am so very sorry that, that happened... What slaughter house was it? Couldn't you file a complaint at all?
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 05, 2017, 07:39:11 pm
OUch! That sounds really bad and I am so very sorry that, that happened... What slaughter house was it? Couldn't you file a complaint at all?

On reflection (and after consuming a humongous bar of Galaxy slid around the door of my study by DH, who knows how these things can help) I don't think the abattoir did that much wrong. Yes, the gates should have been shut and yes, there should have been water, but it was nearing the end of the drop off time and I don't think he was in the lairage for long. He was on his own there when we left and it had been a good 15 minutes since the last lot went in (the previous trailer, belonging to nosy lady, unloaded them straight in I think) so he probably went in quite soon after that. He wasn't foaming at the mouth, which they can do when dehydrated and I know that it had been just over an hour since his last drink and pee as I watched him in the pen before he went in the trailer.

For my part I should have padlocked that damn side door and been more verbal in my requirements for a quiet off-loading. You live and learn.

DH said he thought Mr Whistly was quite a cheerful sort of bloke and making noises you usually make to animals when you want them to hurry up, and that the pigs were very wriggly. 

He said he thought our pig was ok in the lairage when we left and looked like he was exploring it. I didn't see that, but then I was filling out the cleansing sheet etc at one point while he was outside so he obviously saw something I didn't.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 05, 2017, 07:46:10 pm
There is an abattoir guide on here so could be worth looking at that for your location.

I did, and it didn't have a great write up to start with a few years ago but then based on the feedback collected the abattoir improved and had good feedback.

One of the reasons I take my board and don't use someone else's is that it doesn't smell of everyone else's pigs which with a boar can make a problem. Rarely do I need it but it is there if I do. Food isn't always enough to distract a pig from the situation. If they feel unsure the last thing they are going to do is relax and eat when they think there is a monster out there. It can be very useful to get your pigs used to moving around with you close to them with your hand tapping on them and getting used to your voice telling them to walk on. I can get most of mine where I want doing this.


Good idea. I'll give it a go over the next couple of months

If a pig is stressed prior to slaughter then the meat wont set. Hitting a pig will potentially bruise the meat.

I've emailed the breeder (who is collecting and cutting the carcass for us) and asked him to give me some feedback on the carcass. He actually has a meat business, uses that slaughterhouse himself and has great feedback on his meat products, so part of me thinks that if an abattoir affected the meat quality he wouldn't use them. His livelihood would be at stake.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: YorkshireLass on September 06, 2017, 08:15:14 am
Sorry it went a bit wrong, but it sounds like the main problem was the interfering woman.
My understanding of boards is that they are to block a potential pathway and redirect pig, not for hitting or shoving (unless it's critical that they not go where they are trying to go!)


Whistling is a funny one, I chatter and whistle (badly/quietly) to let the animals know where I am behind them, and to encourage them to keep walking on. If I'm closer in I often lay a hand on them as we're walking again so they know where I am.


If the other abattoir is equally close, no reason not to try it and compare.


The trading standards comment could be a bit dodgy or it could be like perfectly good teachers grumbling about Ofsted inspections. Noone likes being studied at work!
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: harmony on September 06, 2017, 08:44:36 am
Quite right about the board YL. If pigs can see through something they will try to go through. You stand more chance with a solid board which should be pressed down against the floor. No gaps for noses to get under and push. It can be used to push along too.


I always encourage talking to animals and also being assertive. That doesn't mean using force but taking control and being firm. Force usually creates force in a negative way.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: 3county farm boy on September 10, 2017, 08:13:06 pm
I work in an abattoir and I breed pigs, I have on many occasion reversed trailers for nervous smallholders to the unloading gate, it's not easy to drop your animals off  I've been doing my own for years and I'll tell you it doesn't get much easier I think I've just learned to deal with it better by being in control,  I also jump up in the trailer with my board and guide a pig/pigs out, if that's not what the smallholder wants then I advise them to bring their own board or use ours, whilst you have the board you are in control of the situation (or should be) I have witnessed first hand  what you endured with the lady, we have a sign in place that states no one is to unload without a member of staff present , this puts us in control of a situation like that and also gives you the chance to advise us you have a lively animal or you may ask for help unloading I hope you get better luck next time
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: devonlady on September 11, 2017, 08:21:48 am
At the abattoir I always used (Langs of Ashburton) there was never any harsh noises, just the soft grunting of pigs in the lairage and the quiet voices of the abattoir staff. certainly no shouting or pigs screaming!!
I would try the other place and better luck for next time. :hug:
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on September 11, 2017, 09:41:13 pm
Mr Piggy is back. Well most of Mr Piggy. His legs are being done as gammon at the moment. Hanging my head in shame as Mr Piggy was 100kg deadweight at 7.5 months. Oops. He has one brother that is bigger (and one smaller) not due to go off until end of November. We have brought the date forward to October and have put piggies on a diet, less pellets and much more fresh stuff. We have six full size bramley trees and a pear tree, which should help. Really need to get them out and around foraging more to work of some of the fat. Big pig is destined for bacon and ham, smaller pig will be a mixture.

Lovely backfat. In fact all of the fat is lovely. My grandmother would have had that off me straight away  ;D she was a lover of lard. Sausages were fab last night, the butcher did 23kg of them so they should last a little while.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: greenbeast on September 12, 2017, 08:49:11 am
Hanging my head in shame as Mr Piggy was 100kg deadweight at 7.5 months. Oops.


ha ha ha   ;D
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: DavidandCollette on September 12, 2017, 10:08:20 am
I took my two girls yesterday. Abbatoir man refers to them as piggies wiggies! He has his own butchery business. No cuss, no shouting, pig's encouraged down the ramp and into the large. Paperwork completed, discussion about trichonela. Off we went. We are so lucky.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: YorkshireLass on September 13, 2017, 08:20:39 am
Mr Piggy is back. Well most of Mr Piggy. His legs are being done as gammon at the moment. Hanging my head in shame as Mr Piggy was 100kg deadweight at 7.5 months. Oops. He has one brother that is bigger (and one smaller) not due to go off until end of November. We have brought the date forward to October and have put piggies on a diet, less pellets and much more fresh stuff. We have six full size bramley trees and a pear tree, which should help. Really need to get them out and around foraging more to work of some of the fat. Big pig is destined for bacon and ham, smaller pig will be a mixture.

Lovely backfat. In fact all of the fat is lovely. My grandmother would have had that off me straight away  ;D she was a lover of lard. Sausages were fab last night, the butcher did 23kg of them so they should last a little while.


I do hope you'll be keeping and using the lovely lard  ;D
Title: Re: First slaughter experience
Post by: Steel on October 30, 2017, 10:35:33 am
thought I'd just update this thread to bring it to a conclusion on our experiences taking our three pigs to slaughter.

The last two pigs of our trio were slaughtered this morning - both 9.5 months. It went better in many respects than before, in that we took them to the lairage yesterday so avoiding the noise and haste on slaughter day today and we were able to get them out of the trailer on our own without interference.

But unfortunately they did not want to come out of the trailer. Not at all. 300kg + of reticent porkers. In the end we had to turn them around and use a board in front of their faces to encourage them out backwards. Forwards they just put the brakes on, and my husband learnt that a pig with its brakes on is not to be messed with and put his back out trying to push them. They had the brakes on all the way, which made it worse. It took about 20 minutes.

So, unloading them was a bit stressful, and they ended up in a small pen, which I was not happy with. When we left, there must have been 10+ smallholders' vehicles lined up down the street with several animals in each. God only knows how they fitted them all in.

I'm not convinced the lairage facilities at this abattoir are big enough to take all of the animals that are turning up the night before, and our pigs hardly had any room in their pen to turn, so I think if there is ever a next time we'll be trying elsewhere. There was a bigger pen inside the building, which presumably ended up having mixed loads of animals in there.

I can't believe how quiet it is in the paddock. No snuffles or excited snorts any more. Nothing tearing around excited to see me (well apart from the chickens). Had a bit of a cry. I really do miss them, to the point of looking for more pigs this morning just to have something there, but am holding off doing anything for a while as we will have too much pork (we have enough for at least a year), they are expensive to rescue and keep as pets, and trying to rear pigs for other people (either weaners or full grown) is not an avenue we want to go down.

I've loved keeping them but hated killing them and I can't ever see me getting used to that side of things. The guilt is phenomenally powerful.

Does this mean I'm not cut out for this? Not sure...DH doesn't feel guilt - he says they had a great life, much better the majority of pigs get, and they were spoiled rotten.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Louise Gaunt on October 30, 2017, 11:19:18 am
I'm glad things were better this time around. It is OK to feel sad when animals go - they have been a big part of your life, and no matter how you try not to let it happen, they work their way into your heart. They did have a good life with you, and will be very tasty pork! Don't feel guilty, you raised these pigs to be eaten, and gave them the best life possible. Enjoy the pork, let the field recover, and as the freezer empties think about  some more weaners.  :hug:
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Steel on October 30, 2017, 12:56:01 pm
I'm glad things were better this time around. It is OK to feel sad when animals go - they have been a big part of your life, and no matter how you try not to let it happen, they work their way into your heart. They did have a good life with you, and will be very tasty pork! Don't feel guilty, you raised these pigs to be eaten, and gave them the best life possible. Enjoy the pork, let the field recover, and as the freezer empties think about  some more weaners.  :hug:

Thank you. It could be a long time before we have weaners again because of how much pork is going to be in the freezers. Three pigs worth will last a long time but there's already a pig-shaped hole in our lives!

Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Crofterman on October 30, 2017, 08:29:44 pm
Don’t feel bad. I saw a YouTube video where the guy said something along lines of “They have a great life and then one bad day”. You obviously care for your animals and that’s all they could ask.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: greenbeast on October 31, 2017, 08:21:53 am
You could always take them in a little early, say 5-6 months, less pork in the freezer each time but pigs in the paddock more of the year. Of course cost efficiency probably not great this way.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Marches Farmer on October 31, 2017, 09:50:55 am
Can you just get a couple and take them from 8 to 24 weeks next time, then get another 2 ....?  A strong bucket over the head and pushed backwards works if a pig's really being stubborn.  Pigs really don't do backwards very well otherwise.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Steel on October 31, 2017, 05:26:39 pm
You could always take them in a little early, say 5-6 months, less pork in the freezer each time but pigs in the paddock more of the year. Of course cost efficiency probably not great this way.

Can you just get a couple and take them from 8 to 24 weeks next time, then get another 2 ....?  A strong bucket over the head and pushed backwards works if a pig's really being stubborn.  Pigs really don't do backwards very well otherwise.

Due to the proportions that we tend to eat different cuts of pigs, we only wanted one 'pork' pig and the other two as 'baconers' (hence the length of time we kept them). The first pig definitely had the 'head' of the bacon but not the 'tail' so we left them a bit longer to mature. I think that was because they were GOS and take a bit longer.

I think the biggest problem was that I was very fond of one of them but realised as we went along that we could not keep him.  :(

Mulled over various ideas last night over a stiff whiskey, such as pig clubs with the neighbours or maybe rehoming a few unwanted 'micro-pigs' (of which Preloved has a shocking amount advertised), but in the cold light of day with a hangover both ideas seem a bit drastic to cope with what is probably normal feelings of guilt and  loss over making that life and death decision. I also couldn't keep pet pigs and meat pigs at the same time - I'd find that too emotionally complex at such an early stage of having the smallholding.

Anyway, DH suggested I needed a project and to get on with getting the sheep. And no, I still haven't decided which ones to keep. I suspect the decision will be made when an unexpected opportunity presents itself.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: greenbeast on October 31, 2017, 09:01:01 pm
admittedly i have the luxury of numbers changing the emotional dynamic. When i lose sow that is a favourite it does hit hard but i'm taking 1-5 pigs in every week from our grower pens, and i'm not too bothered these days.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Bionic on November 01, 2017, 08:03:31 am
I guess you could say that we have a pig club of sorts. Neighbours, a few mins walk down the road, were envious that we have land and they don't as they always wanted pigs so we decided to go halves. Even then it's a fair amount of pork so we only do it every 2 years which gives the paddock time to recover too.


We share costs of everything but, as they work full time, we mainly do the feeding. When they are on holiday for a few days they do take their turn in looking after them and enjoy it.


Spread the word, you may find like minded people
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: Steel on November 01, 2017, 08:17:48 am
I guess you could say that we have a pig club of sorts. Neighbours, a few mins walk down the road, were envious that we have land and they don't as they always wanted pigs so we decided to go halves. Even then it's a fair amount of pork so we only do it every 2 years which gives the paddock time to recover too.


We share costs of everything but, as they work full time, we mainly do the feeding. When they are on holiday for a few days they do take their turn in looking after them and enjoy it.


Spread the word, you may find like minded people

I only have four neighbours and I know two will not, but the other two might. I also know there are a couple of people at work who want to do 'the Good Life' but circumstances dictate they can't do it for a few years yet. They might be interested.

Just had another large chest freezer delivered this morning for the pigglies when they come back.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: susie100 on February 06, 2018, 04:29:06 pm
Hi, I kept my first livestock last year and had two Gloucester Old Spots.  Everyone kept telling me how I would fall in love with them and never want to be parted and, as I love animals, I was very apprehensive but we bought a house with land and it seemed criminal not to put it to use.  I had so wanted to go down the line of a mobile slaughterman but they really don't seem to exist. I dreaded the whole abattoir thing but, weirdly, I was fine with it all. Not the nicest, cleanest place.  No soft music and beds of hay as I had hoped for.   I think for me the key was not to get too involved with them emotionally.  I didn't treat them as pets. I was kind and careful and I even scratched their heads and tummies occasionally but I never 'cooed' to them or really talked to them and tried hard not to look them in the eye.  When I was getting them used to going in and out of the trailer I just put a trail of food, stood back and waited, no coaxing as that would have entailed communication and I couldn't do it or I knew I wouldn't be letting them go and would have expensive pigs as pets. The only names they had was Mr Pork and Miss Bacon. They saw me as a being that fed them and they were relaxed in my company. To be honest, they want their own kind, it is us who think they want to be looked after like a human baby, it fulfills some desire in us.  My advice is perhaps to follow suit??  You are left with the knowledge they were well looked after and treated with respect.  I am not a cold person but falling in love with them doesn't help your situation.  I am loving the respite from looking after them (I am not cut out to be a full-time farmer) and looking forward to repeating the experience later this spring, perhaps another rare breed.  Good luck and enjoy it
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: sabrina on February 13, 2018, 04:02:55 pm
i have always taken my pigs in myself. Think the guy is a bit sacred as the very first time I made it clear he was not to bully or shout in any way . I handle them every day, just me  so they know I am the person who feeds and takes care of them. They load easy enough for me, come out the other end and follow me in. Its not until we are on our way back home that I show I am upset. its my job to make my pigs feel happy right up to the end and if anyone thinks they can do better god help them.
Title: Re: First slaughter experience UPDATED WITH SECOND
Post by: honeyend on February 13, 2018, 06:12:31 pm
i have always taken my pigs in myself. Think the guy is a bit sacred as the very first time I made it clear he was not to bully or shout in any way . I handle them every day, just me  so they know I am the person who feeds and takes care of them. They load easy enough for me, come out the other end and follow me in. Its not until we are on our way back home that I show I am upset. its my job to make my pigs feel happy right up to the end and if anyone thinks they can do better god help them.
This is pretty much me. I do not eat meat but I am pragmatic that most people do and that's what most farm animals are there for.
  They have a lovely stress free life, they get the odd back rub, but they are not pets. They sleep in the trailer over night and I took them to the butchers. There is not need to get aggressive with them as they will follow  a bucket.