[suzi]

It sounds like you should return to abattoir and complain .....  taking meat with you for them to try cooking .

Maybe time to name and shame and see if anyone else uses this abattoir?

it could be me thats done something wrong. i dont want to name them and it be my fault. the last thing i want to do is cause a business any harm when it could be me thats done something wrong.

[SallyintNorth]

I've had sheep meat hung from 0 to 9 days all been fine. 

I *have* experienced poor butchering making meat tough.  I don't know the mechanisms but I think it is a thing. 

the lamb is tough more than anything else. it cooks up like mutton!

Mutton isn't tough if cooked moist, long and slow/low.  Maybe worth trying?

Lamb/hogget meat that's eaten lots of cake does have a different texture to grass-fed, and considerably less flavour.  But I haven't experienced it making meat tough.

Stress can wreck meat, 100%.  Both texture and taste.  From the gathering, being kept in overnight (if they are), handling at sorting and loading, the travel, what happened at the abattoir overnight, everything.  We work hard to minimise all stresses and generally get awesome meat.  We do sometimes take them to the abattoir a day early, and ask for them to be penned together and not mixed with others if possible.  It's a small rural abattoir and usually a very nice, gentle atmosphere pervades. 

Years ago, ex-BH kept getting some loin and leg meat condemned.  I looked into possible causes, and realised the lambs were climbing over each other in a narrow offshoot in the overnight pen.  We switched things around so they'd overnight in a larger, square pen, and we took our time letting them potter through the race to the loading area so they didn't jumble in the race either, and only ever had one condemned leg after that.  (Which we think might have been a dog gripping a recalcitrant lamb as we gathered them.)   

You may well be the very best transporter of livestock in the land, but just in case...  I see a lot of newbies / inexperienced folks driving a trailer full of livestock the same as they'd drive with a load of hay.  The livestock will be stressed and bruised to hell if driven like that.  I ask new-to-it drivers to imagine they have a bucket full to the brim of slurry in the passenger footwell and don't want it slopping over the side  .  No sudden changes at all, decelerate don't brake, oh so gentle around bends, long slow acceleration, etc. 

I have to say that in this case, my money's on stress (quite possibly before arrival at the abattoir), or that not being your meat.  My predecessor here always slap marked all the pigs on both shoulders as she was sure she'd had someone else's pork once. 

[twizzel]

Could it be that the pigs stressed the lambs and vice versa? I don’t know if that would happen, it’s just a thought if they were transported in the same trailer.

[suzi]

I've had sheep meat hung from 0 to 9 days all been fine. 

I *have* experienced poor butchering making meat tough.  I don't know the mechanisms but I think it is a thing. 

the lamb is tough more than anything else. it cooks up like mutton!

Mutton isn't tough if cooked moist, long and slow/low.  Maybe worth trying?

Lamb/hogget meat that's eaten lots of cake does have a different texture to grass-fed, and considerably less flavour.  But I haven't experienced it making meat tough.

Stress can wreck meat, 100%.  Both texture and taste.  From the gathering, being kept in overnight (if they are), handling at sorting and loading, the travel, what happened at the abattoir overnight, everything.  We work hard to minimise all stresses and generally get awesome meat.  We do sometimes take them to the abattoir a day early, and ask for them to be penned together and not mixed with others if possible.  It's a small rural abattoir and usually a very nice, gentle atmosphere pervades. 

Years ago, ex-BH kept getting some loin and leg meat condemned.  I looked into possible causes, and realised the lambs were climbing over each other in a narrow offshoot in the overnight pen.  We switched things around so they'd overnight in a larger, square pen, and we took our time letting them potter through the race to the loading area so they didn't jumble in the race either, and only ever had one condemned leg after that.  (Which we think might have been a dog gripping a recalcitrant lamb as we gathered them.)   

You may well be the very best transporter of livestock in the land, but just in case...  I see a lot of newbies / inexperienced folks driving a trailer full of livestock the same as they'd drive with a load of hay.  The livestock will be stressed and bruised to hell if driven like that.  I ask new-to-it drivers to imagine they have a bucket full to the brim of slurry in the passenger footwell and don't want it slopping over the side  .  No sudden changes at all, decelerate don't brake, oh so gentle around bends, long slow acceleration, etc. 

I have to say that in this case, my money's on stress (quite possibly before arrival at the abattoir), or that not being your meat.  My predecessor here always slap marked all the pigs on both shoulders as she was sure she'd had someone else's pork once.

this is why i wont name the abittior. if its not their fault it just not fair.

it was actually a transporter that took them not me. he has great reviews. moved goats for me beforehand and they arrived happy. i honestly dont think it was that. but, it could have been slamming the brakes on that caused issues. to may different things

im trying to rule out whats in my control for next time. i dont want to cause any issues to a place that may have done nothing wrong

[Backinwellies]

Naming the abattoir doesnt have to shame it ..... it allows others who use that abattoir to give their experience....  if they have no issues then yes it maybe something you have done .   

[Richmond]

Could it be that the pigs stressed the lambs and vice versa? I don’t know if that would happen, it’s just a thought if they were transported in the same trailer.

We send pigs and lambs off together, never had any issues. In separate sections of the trailer obviously.

[SallyintNorth]

You know, with everything else you had going on in your life at the time, the best of us could've made a bit of a hash of the gathering, sorting, storing and loading.  And it may not have been anything you did or didn't do anyway! 

You won't be using that abattoir again because you're moving anyway.

So I would say, put it all behind you, know that many, many of us produce fabulous meat time and time again, and you can and will too.   

But, a few thoughts to feed into your setting up when you've moved :-

• Take a bit of time choosing your system and process.  Think about what you want to achieve, why you are doing it.  Plumb the hive mind here for thoughts, cautionary tales, "this works well for me"s and so on
• Ditto all the above with each species of livestock you decide to try.
• Maybe don't try to do everything at once, especially if new to it all (which you aren't, now) or your confidence has been a bit shaken (which it has).
• Consider sending older animals in a different load from younger.  That way you can be sure neither butcher nor abattoir muddles them up, and you can cook older meat in a way that suits it.
• Don't feel obliged to use the abattoir as the butcher, unless you know they make a great job of the butchering too.  Lots of us book our animals through our chosen butcher, we take 'em to the abattoir (or send 'em, or some butchers can do the transport too) and collect the meat from the butcher (or some will deliver), and the slaughter fees are included in the invoice from the butcher.  (They usually get a good rate because of their volumes, and some of them pass that saving on to their butchery customers.)

[sheeponthebrain]

Just out of interest what grade were the lambs on your kill sheet?  Being fresian x it's possible they were lean even if they looked big and fluffy.  Really lean meat can be stringy chewy and not very pleasant.

[suzi]

i have no idea what grade they were tbh. they took after the cheviot more than fresian. i get the icelandic x fresian being a bit crap. id asked for him to be kept aside for the dogs. he wasnt. everything was mixed in. i do blame me for this not the abittior. at the end of the day i was suppossed to collect a few days later. it took over a week with my mum dying.

i will try less grain next time and more grass fed.
i was greener than grass trying to do it right. its all learning isnt it.

i think we had 1 mangalitsa pork chop. it was marbled. nothing else was. my son said it was the nicest pork hed ever had! so a win.
thats the only chop that looks different. when i get to the lamb chops ill grab a photo and you can see how its torn not cut. thats the only bit thats made me go that isnt my fault. i cant control that at all

[Steph Hen]

Is there a lab that will do a dna test on the meat. If it’s not your animals and is all horrendous you’d surely be able to sue for the whole sum of keeping and slaughter of your pigs and sheep?

[BenBhoy]

Could it be that the pigs stressed the lambs and vice versa? I don’t know if that would happen, it’s just a thought if they were transported in the same trailer.

It certainly happens with cattle. We tried loading cattle onto trailer with pigs behind partition & they were very reluctant! Combo of noise & smell I think. Never done again.