[Hillview Farm]

Booked a lamb in for slaughter. Its just dawned on me that I have no idea what to do when I get there!!

I know they must be all different but what happens? Do you find someone first or just go to the unloading bay?

Feeling very sad  as this is my first home kill

[lachlanandmarcus]

Well done for feeling sad, I feel like that, well somber really, it's a serious thing to send an animal to slaughter and if it's easy you've lose a bit of humanity I think. The best way of getting over it is to make best use of every last bit and savour how delicious a happy well treated animal tastes. 


We just go to the loading bay with ours, usually someone appears, if they don't you can leave them in the trailer and go and find them.

[Shropshirelass]

It's never a nice feeling even when you rear loads for the table, I always feel sorry for the lambs when you see the sheep lorries go past to our 1 local abattoir that's quite large that just does sheep approx thousands every day. We use a smaller 1 & take approx 20-50 at a time & have maybe 1 -2 back for us. The best bit of advice I'd offer is to never send 1 animal on its own due to stress & to just find a small local abattoir you trust x

[shygirl]

we usually drive in and then try and find someone round the back which is often a bit of a wild goose chase as you guess where to go, take your documents with you so you can get them signed off first. its quite an eye-opener seeing the sheepskins piled up etc but interesting.
im never sure how to close their gates so i do like to find the man first. as im a girl, usually a few men come out to help, thank god as im always worried the sheep may jump 6ft up in the air and i lose them, as they are more than capable of leaping like that if they want.
i find sheep arent as keen as pigs to go in. a single sheep might need a bit more persuasion.

our pig abattoir is much easier to do as the layout is different, and seems busier so more staff are visible.

[twizzel]

I'm feeling the same as you, I've booked 5 of ours in for next Tuesday... I can't look them in the eye at the moment now I've picked out which 5 are going and booked them in! Ours last year were home kill so taking them to the abbatoir is totally new, but I think I've got everything sorted, just make sure they are clean and dry so best to keep them in the night before if you can, all got the right tags in (we realised 24hours before sending our old bull to market he'd lost his metal ear tag!) and the right paperwork... and like someone said before don't waste a scrap when they come back and you eat them 

[shygirl]

dont forget to trim their bellies (where the knife runs down) as we never knew we had to do this and got told off.

[Bionic]

I've only taken pigs but guess it will be much the same.
I found there we a couple of trailers ahead of us in the queue so we just watched what they did and followed that when it was our turn. I didn't find it too bad although it will definitely be more difficult if we take any lambs. We got the pigs as weaners but the lambs we bred ourselves so are more attached.

[lachlanandmarcus]

dont forget to trim their bellies (where the knife runs down) as we never knew we had to do this and got told off.

Ooh we've never done this and have never been told off? Maybe it varies by abbatoir?

[Fleecewife]

dont forget to trim their bellies (where the knife runs down) as we never knew we had to do this and got told off.

Ooh we've never done this and have never been told off? Maybe it varies by abbatoir?

Or by how woolly your sheeps bellies are.  We don't clear the bellies either, but we do make sure they're dry and empty - usually by taking them in the afternoon before, so they're on dry straw and have only water - except being Hebs they eat the straw  .
 
To find someone, the OH reverses up to the loading door (there is a high bit for lorries but obviously we go for the one without the ramp).  I go in and yell Coo-ey up the slope to the killing bit and someone comes down.  If there's no-one then I go round to the office.  We don't start unloading until there's someone there - a friend had Hebs which escaped and had all the abattoir workers trying to round them up for an hour 
 
I agree that sending a lone lamb is best avoided.  They don't like going in at the best of times as they can't see a way out, so sometimes I lead the way.   It's sad when they go, but I'm quite sure sheep don't have a clue what's about to happen, unlike pigs which seem to know what the smell of blood might mean.

[Hillview Farm]

sadly I don't have anything else to go with him as all my other males are sold. He is going straight from mum to the slaughter house so I'm hoping it'll be less stressful than being weaned then going.

[Possum]

Can you pay a quick visit to the abattoir before you take the lamb? Then you will be familiar with the layout and will be able to ask the staff what the routine is.


Our abattoir has an office at the gateway. You stop there to sort out the paperwork and they direct you to the pen where the lamb is to be left.

[smudger]

Ask to book in when they are quietest so they can be more patient with you! 


Otherwise key things are tagged correctly / match paperwork; go to the office first and if your really, really lucky the owner will reverse the trailer for you (phew!). Also look at the cutting chart before so you know what you want done with carcase.


(I can reverse but never when under pressure or when stressed or when people are watching me).


Animals need to be reasonably clean, didn't know about the belly wool however but I would dag/ crutch if needed.


You couldn't keep the lamb till next year and have him as hogget, so he can go with some other lambs? I did that with mine last year and he was company for my ram over winter.

[Hillview Farm]

The reason he's going so early is because he still has one ball left and he is being a pest to all my females. He is almost at my target killing weight. I'm only keeping 2 ewe lambs so he cant go with them and I don't have a ram as my ladies go on holiday to see the ram.

I am going to visit before I go and I've spoken to the office lady and shes told me whats what and who's who and where to go.

Still feeling very sad and I'm sure I wont be able to look at him in the eye on the few days leading up to it nor on the day. I will shed a tear that day and next year I'll be having at least 3 lambs for slaughter.

[Fleecewife]

They sound very helpful and understanding at your abattoir     If he can't go with a chum, ask them if you can take him in just before he goes for actual slaughter.  That way he won't have long to wait on his own.  Our sheep are always put in a separate pen away from the other sheep for some reason, but if they put yours in a holding pen next to other sheep he will have a great time getting to know his neighbours, which will make things less stressful for you both.  Abattoirs are usually hot on welfare

[shropshire_blue]

I've been to a couple of abattoirs now, and I think they can suss out us smallholders, no matter how businesslike you try to be.  Prepare for a bit of ribbing...


The first time I went was with a steer who looked mean but was as daft as a brush.  The guy was there to help unload and got a big stick ready.  I opened the trailer, said 'come on Arthur' and he trotted out after me and into the holding pen.  I'd have done well with him at Crufts!  Any way, the guys from the abbatoir had all gathered round and were in stitches of laughter.


In general the process seems to be:
1) reverse up to unloading bay
2) wait for/go and find vet, hand over movement forms/passports
3) vet checks animals and gives you go ahead to unload
4) people from abattoir take over once your stock are out of trailer
5) close up your trailer and go and fill in paperwork to say you'll clean your trailer out
6) have a cry on the way home


HTH
SB