[otto]

Hi all, not been on the forum for a while, but am happy to report that my [now not so little] piggies are doing fine (1xTAM 1xGOS). Thoughts are now turning towards planning their demise.....
Now I am not soppy or sentimental, but I really enjoy the pigs, they are almost as good as dogs, (despite their smell!), but when the time comes for them to meet their maker, I, 1) want to ensure that they have as stress free an experience as possible, I owe it to them  2) In achieving that, expect to get much better quality meat.

Does anyone know of any licensed slaughtermen that could come to our small holding and "do the deed" on site? We live in Suffolk BTW.

[Hilarysmum]

I dont know the English way of home slaughter, however here it can be pretty barbaric, if you find a home slaughterman check he uses a humane killer or stuns first. 

[Pigtails]

In Scotland, homekilling has been abolished, I believe, a decision taken by the all seeing all knowing food standards agency.
You see it is all do with the recession!
No farmer nor crofter may kill a beast of his own, for his own consumption nor even for his immediate family,
the FSA, are concerned that the farmer and or others, will stop buying supermarket meat, which is rubbish anyway in favour of murdering their own livestock and on the off chance (slim one as every farmer knows the law) of cheap meat flooding the market!!!

Mobile slaughtermen are scarce on the ground but to my knowledge, any that do still do it (which in my opinion is a far less stressful affair for the animal concerned) do use a humane killer.

Don't know about you, but I feel a return to the traditional farming ways would suit this agricultural world we live in,
it is a well known fact that animals being transported to abattoirs or markets are highly stressed, animals a left in holding pens often without food or water for days on end, I know this, because recently I experienced this.

Welfare standards in this country are supposed to be good, in my opinion  it could be considerably better.

Animals should meet their end in a place where they are comfortable, not a strange place, but a place that is familiar to them.

We might be going to eat them but why should we cause them undue stress?

Sorry for the rant, but this is something I feel strongly about and no one, that I know of has ever challenged the authorities who make these inhumane rules.

I do wish you luck in finding someone.

[The Relic]

just posted a message regarding my thoughts on slaughter. shotgun to head when they least expect it i think is the way forward.

[Paid]

In England you can have a friend with the right rifle and fac do the deed for you ? Or so
I've been led to believe ?

Then just do the butchering yourself ?

This is my plan, please tell me if I'm off on some point of this process ?

[The Relic]

"if a tree falls in the woods and there is nobody around to hear it does it make a sound"

only thing is the butchering total novice here so for the sake of £30 id rather have cuts i can sell rather than lumps of meat i have to eat myself

[Hilarysmum]

There are good slaughterhouses.  Ours have a 10 minute journey we take them in, they go into a pen (water in all pens from automatic drinkers) before they have had time to have a drink they are taken through and finished.  Cheerful slaughter man usually comes to tell me as I am signing the paperwork.  I cant speak for anyone else animals but mine have never been stressed.  Unless during the 4 seconds from pen to stunned which I dont see.  All I ever see is two curious pigs wandering after the slaughterman and going through the door.

All home slaughter is not always good.  Again my experiences are only from here.  My butcher also butchers home slaughtered pigs, he complains of broken hind legs, pigs running around half dead, other stuff that I would hesitate to put on here. 

There is good and bad the main thing is to make sure whichever method chosen for final dispatch we the smallholders make damn sure ours go off gently.   

Totally against all the rules of course, but a couple of bottles of good wine (for the slaughterman not the pigs) always helps.
HM

[otto]

Thanks for that......I believe that we have a (used to be two) good old fasioned small abbatoir/butchers. I am toild they do a very good job........agreeing with some of you, I wold like to use the rifle through the temple..but where does the paperwork go?

Hillarysmum......where abouts in the country are you?

Also another thing I could with some advice on.........we were told to give the piglets as much food as they needed..no problem. They are now getting a lot bigger....but not looking fat.  What is the recomended feed rate? I have one GOS and one Tamworth

Cheers.

[Hilarysmum]

Hi I am in Brittany France so much less paperwork 

Feeding pigs:  adlib until they are I think 40 kgs or 16 weeks whichever comes the sooner, then reduce to 2 kilos of pig nuts plus veg etc.

Personally I feed 2 kgs per day and as much veg as they can eat, but am in the wonderful position of having virtually unlimited veg at the cost of collecting.  On the downside when I cant get veg for any reason have to really increase the nuts to compensate.

All pigs grow at different rates, so a bit eye of the beholder.

[catomell]

I am fairly certain that all animals for the purposes of your / anyone elses consumption must go to the slaughterhouse, paperwork, traceability etc.... However, as someone pointed out, if nobody knows???
We are reasonably lucky in that we have a friend who is a slaughterman at our (not so) local abbattoir, and he will come out and kill on farm, using a large bore rifle straight to the head - normally while the pigs are looking for some nuts that I have thrown on the floor for them. He has never got it wrong yet?? Happily, he is also very good at the butchery side, so comes back after they have been in the chiller for a few days and butchers them.
Our nearest, and least expensive abbattoir is a full hours drive away, and taking into account the petrol consumption whilst towing a large stock trailer, we have generally had to write off £100 before the piggies are even slaughtered. But, rules is rules, and some do have to go to the abbattoir..

[otto]

OK Thanks all......sorry for all the questions, but it's my first time! This forum is a great resource.  Hope you are all enjoying the weather!

[Hilarysmum]

Weather is wonderful,  never apologise for asking questions thats often the best way to learn.

[Muc]

I believe the law in Ireland permits on-farm killing for home consumption (subject, I think, to two truckloads of EU regulations). The problem is that you would need a cold room for hanging the carcass before butchering could even begin. Even so, I know of people who do this but have also heard of horrific mistakes. Killing and butchering are skills that can't really be learned from a Hugh Fearnley video.
I brought my first two (three years ago) to a meat factory and it was a big mistake. There was a terrible smell, a dead pig in the yard, and lorries of pigs waiting. I was so traumatised, that I couldn't eat any meat, let alone my own, for a week.
The next year I found a smashing family-run abbatoir where I had a great chat with the father, who knew his pigs, while the sons shunted the trailer and unloaded the pigs. The pigs were so calm that they strolled into the processing area. A week later I collected bags of frozen pork, trays of sausages, hams, rashers etc all ready for the home freezer.
I would strongly advise any newbie to drive the length of the country if necessary to find a humane and caring abbatoir. In my case the journey (100 miles) was far less stressful on the animals and on me. I will gladly spend the money again this year for this kind of service.
I think many on this forum, like myself, are city folk returning to the land. We can't become peasants overnight.

[sabrina]

We will be taking our two pigs to Elgin to be slaughtered. having used them for lambs before I know they are very good. 

[Mr Pig]

Just think for a moment of the practicalities. There is a huge volume of blood and intenstines in a pork weight pig which you will have to dispose of if you slaughter at home. If you slaughter at home you will not have a health inspection mark on the carcase and if you give away even a single chop to someone outside your immediate household, you open yourself to prosecution and the authorities are red hot on such prosecutions as they relate such practice to rustling of stock, a growing problem.

Phone Clarke's at Hartest (01284 830232) and book your pigs in for both slaughter and butchering and sleep easy at night.