It started out kind of bad. To begin with Phil's back had been hurting last week but for the last few days it had been feeling better until he went to get my brother this morning. He stopped to get coffee an bent over and he really threw out back. We had hoped to have more help with the butchering than just my brother but they didn't show up which meant Phil was going to have to lift but the pig had to be done. When we taped him the pig came out at 365 lbs. That is give or take 5 lbs so he was 360-370 lbs. In other words, entirely too big.
The first shot with the .22 just made the hog shake his head. That was amazing. We waited for him to fall, he just wandered around trying to eat things in the back yard. It didn't seem to phase him a bit. The second shot, didn't drop him either but it stung apparently and then he was wary of us. We had him in the back yard since my brother, Rob, was the only help who showed up and we knew the hog was too big for us to carry from the pens to the back yard with just the three of us. We only had 3 bullets for the .22 that we borrowed from my friend. My brother shot him the last time and finally dropped him which was good because Phil would have had to get the 30 30 after that.
I stuck him and got a good stick and he bled out really well. The hanging was an issue however. We had reinforced the original wood to hang him on with a 2 X 4. That part worked really well but the cable slipped out of its clamp when he was half way up causing the pig to fall. Luckily Phil was not hurt by the pig or the cable.
The cable had a plastic coating on it which probably cause it to slip under the weight so Phil stripped off the coating and put two clamps on instead of one and we tried again.
This time he went up all the way, or as much as we could get him up. This hog was a bit too long.
Phil washed the pig off...
Then it was time for the skinning. It is the part that takes the longest. I wouldn't mind being able to scald the hog but that just isn't possible here at home. So we skinned...
and skinned...
and skinned until he was finally done.
My brother then started the gutting and when he got tired I finished it off by getting everything out and getting the liver and lungs out. Unfortunately I had an problem cutting the bile sack off of the liver and ended up ruining it. No big deal, we still have liver left from the first hog but I was irritated with myself.
We had to lift these onto the butchering table which was still almost more than the three of us could lift. Then I cut them up. Sorry, I forgot to have anyone take pictures of my cutting them up. I was getting tired.
The first cooler:
The second cooler:
Phil took Rob home and I started the digging the hole for the unwanted "leftovers". You don't just take a shovel out and dig, you take the shovel and the pick and you go an inch at a time through this red clay. I got it started and came in to cool off and fell asleep. Phil finished it when he got home.
Fantastic post to read but no good if your a vegetarian
ReplyDeleteLOL, no it is not a good post for the vegetarian.
DeleteExcellent well done. Mistakes and failures of today are the successes and wisdom of tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI think my granddad scraped the hair off and left the hide on. Guess both ways serve their purpose.
ReplyDeleteI would much rather read about a home raised hog being loved and raised and then blessing a family with food than go down to the store and buy a hog that was raised in a butcher farm. :) Good job!
ReplyDeletei know all about that hard red clay..we have it here in n.e.mississippi too..no hole gets dug whatsoever without a pickax-at least between late may and late october. lol, the rest of the time that old red clay is wet and slick as owl &^%$. glad you were able to get some rest...looks to me like you all did more than enough for a day.
ReplyDeleteAnd we have had a decent amount of rain this year but the clay was still rock hard.
Deleteis on red rock clay too(all the way over in australia) find this fabulous to watch thru (I know what you mean about the neg comments, i posted pics of our 1st homekill and got some nasty comments from some folks,whatever i live my life the way i believe is right they live theirs)we are about to get 3 pigs soon..just getting the fencing sorted out first...so i now know don't let the pigs grow out to big..we will be skinning as well(i watch a brilliant video on youtube of a guy scoring the skin first then pulling done the strips leaving all the fat on..go have a little look...anyways i have enjoyed (as has my husband) reading these posts
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I will have to go look for that video on youtube. I will be making lard this morning from much of the fat and trying to get the meat sorted out and the bacon cut into manageable chunks and put the cure on.
DeleteMy fencing did real good until the pig just got too big and the pen just got too wet from all the rain.
I was just so tired that I didn't think I would deal nicely with any negative comments. I don't usually get any but I wanted to put that just in case, lol.
We had a similar experience the first time we did a big pig with a .22. It just didn't faze her. Now we use a 30-06. The next one, I want to try from the back of the head. I hear it makes a cleaner shot without damaging any meat.
ReplyDeleteThat was a ton of work for one day! And still tons to do for the next few days. Good luck with it!
Our second shot was to the back of the head, same results. Yup, a lot of work to do today but at least it is mostly inside unless I get out to the pig pen and start moving manure down to the compost bins, sigh.
DeleteAnother awesome post! I feel that the more we read about other people's butchering experience, the more we'll be prepared when we finally do our own hog (of course, I'm sure there'll always be surprises...no matter how many times we butcher chickens, there are still times when something unexpected happens).
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to write all this, and post photos too, even though you're not feeling well. Hope you'll get better soon!
A lot of work! But all worthwhile. I don't envy you working in that heat. But what an important skill to have! Great Post Becky!
ReplyDeleteIt was darn hot even though we were in the shade, though I think the skinning went better because of the heat. Warm fat is easier to slice. There were times we took breaks just to get our breath back though.
DeleteI remember coming home in the late fall every year and finding a dear hanging in front of the garage. This was so normal to me that I will talk about eating animals as if discussing mowing the grass. I grew up on wild and homegrown rabbit, salmon, trout, shellfish, deer, moose, etc. What I tell others is that the deer population can grow out of proportion to the natural predators. The rabbit had overpopulated an island and was destroying everything. This is good food not trophy hunting and where does plastic covered meat come from; a miserable, cow full of drugs! My arguments were the best but you can't stop people from being grossed out. We lived in the middle of a big city and would also glean berries and fruit off of city owned property.
ReplyDeleteMichelle seldom eats the pork except the bacon sometimes.
DeleteThat is a lot of work. But it's also a lot of meat, so its well worth it. All a part of the cycle of life :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Self sufficient and simple leaving isn't easy. It's dam hard work! Rest now and I hooe your hubby's back gets better soon
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is hard work. Phil has had to miss working yesterday and today. His back is getting better but slowly.
DeleteWe've never butchered one at home but we do process our own meat after the butcher blocks it out for us. Our friends raise both the hogs and their feed so it's nice to know we're getting something that isn't pumped full of hormones. Then we cut the exact pieces we want- some are preferred local cuts like a STL pork steak, cure the hams, bacon, pull the pork, etc. They wouldn't give us the feet, something about MO laws that they are not allowed to. Not sure why.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what STL stands for. I don't do any special cuts. My goal is to get bacon first, loin, ham, shoulder, roasts (butts), ribs, lard and some sausage.
DeleteI love hearing about the twists and turns of your journey! I appreciate your honesty and am in awe of your strength...physically and emotionally! Thanks for your inspiration and continued work!
ReplyDeleteI really think that if you aren't going to tell the truth about your experiences, you won't be helping anyone. They have to know about the good and the bad.
DeleteMy physical and emotional strength comes from my father's teachings. He just wouldn't allow us to be weak in any way. It was a tough way to grow up.
Hi Becky! Wow! What an awesome job ya'll did! In this heat! Sick and hurting! If your Dad hadn't taught you to be strong, there is no way ya'll could have accomplished this huge task! You are such an inspiration! Love reading your posts! Thanks for sharing! Blessings from Bama!
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool, I never saw a hog butchered before.
ReplyDeleteGood learning experience for me. Interesting. Thanks Becky.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, it was very instructive, even in learning from the less smooth parts of the process. We've done mostly chickens and ducks here, some deer and one pig, but we're getting ready to do more pigs. All the advice/experience of others is useful. I really want to scald, and think I might be able to with smaller hogs (AGH), hate to find out it doesn't fit when I have it lowered halfway into a scalder barrel!! Thanks again!
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