Home slaughter - worth it?

[FarmChiq]

Our home-kill guy just got shut down!!! I am at a loss - it was so great having him come here and kill our steers, then process them to the point they were ready to hang. He'd then take them to our butcher of choice. It was nice because it meant no transporting the live steers.

So we may be faced with a choice next year. We can trailer them to the processor (about 40 minutes away) or we can learn to kill and dress them ourselves.

We have a tractor and can probably figure out the rest, but I thought I'd ask your advice, those of you who have done this. We never have, and because we sell most of our meat to friends, I wonder if we're putting them in danger because we're new to this?

Just how stressful is it to drive 3-4 steers in a big trailer to the processor? Am I over-reacting?

I should add that half the reason I'm even considering doing this myself is in "protest" over the stupidity of this fellow having his operation shut down. He had a clean set-up and knew his work. I can do the same and drive my beef to the butcher in the back of my pickup, or worse, and this is considered legal and preferable???

[Cotton Picker]

Hi FarmChiq,

Sorry to hear about you loosing your local farm-kill guy. Bureaucracy sucks.... don't it?

If I were you I wouldn't be overly concerned about hauling the live steers to the processor. Unless you would be saving a lot of money by DIY, I would let the processor do it. That way you don't have to be concerned about how you are going to get 3-4 dressed carcases there without contaminating them with dirt, manure, etc. You also won't have to invest in a means to keep the carcasses clean and cool for the trip to the processor.

Hope this helps

[sammyd]

Will your processor accept dead meat from anyone or do you have to have some sort of license?
I prefer our home kill processor but there's nothing wrong with hauling them in either.
If I was selling the meat and had never done any home kill myself I wouldn't attempt it on the stuff I was selling. I'm a little skittish about such things...even make family butcher their own chickens.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Hey FarmChiq,
I am here in BC with you and yeas the change in the laws SUCK! We used to have a choice of 4 slaugter houses in our area, with the new laws all but one has shut down! I think that despite the government trying to help out agruculture they are killing it! So many small scale hoby farms that raise enough beef to keep there farm staus just cannot do it any more! We used to pay $75 for a kill and dressing of a beef. NBow if we can find someone to do it for us, it is going to cost $120. It is rediculous!

We no longer raise beef to sell anymore because of it, we are seriosly thinking of doing it for our selved. We have a big tractor, my hubby spend a day working in the kill floor of one of our slaughter houses a few years back to know where to shoot and how to dress them out.

I feel for you! and as much as I would say yeah do it all your selves, I woudn't want to do it your selves if you are selling the meat, just to risky

Where are you in BC?

[sammyd]

That's funny around here we've had a few start ups. More now than there were 5 years ago. Only one will come out and kill though. 25 bucks!

[Ken Scharabok]

As noted it would be difficult to age the beef properly in a home set-up. Essentially the longer it hangs at the proper temperature the more tender it becomes. Was watching a program called Steak Paradise. If I recall corrected one popular restaurant, know for 'melt-in-your-mouth' beef, aged theirs 2-3 times longer than normal.

I've never dealt with an animal that large, but with your not having done it before, I suspect you should go the processor route.

Perhaps the only difference is the kill process. Some say they can taste the difference between beef which was killed with its head in a feedbucket and one which has gone through the stress relating to a processing plant kill.

[Ronney]

Some probably nearly 20 years ago the government tried to go down a similar track here with homekill - they would like to get rid of it altogether - but they ran into such resistance from farmers, slaughters and butchers they had to back off. Your last paragraph is quite correct too FC and shows that too often the law is an ass.

I have no doubt whatsoever that a beast slaughtered on farm is going to be far superior eating to one that is stressed by trucking and unfamiliar handling and environment. I always run my killer with the milking herd for a week or so beforehand. This is so that when the slaughterman arrives the beast is going to be in a paddock that is accesible to him and his vehicle. The last one was done in the morning while I was still milking. The beast was standing under a tree chewing his cud when the slaughterman arrived at the gate. I came to the cowshed door, he got out of his ute with the rifle, pointed at the beast, I nodded and seconds later it was on the ground. No stress, no trauma and he was brilliant eating. The slaughterman had the beast skinned, gutted and quartered in 45 minutes and was on his way back to town with him to the butcher and chiller.

I've been involved with the slaughtering and dressing of beasts many years ago and it took a lot longer than 45 minutes when nobody is skilled at at. I would flag that idea - they are big and heavy to handle and it's going to be slow going on top of which you are left with the clean up afterwards - head, guts, feed etc to get rid of - as well as the problems that Cotton Picker has mentioned. While trucking isn't the best option it's the only one you've legally got that is going to be viable for that number of animals.

As an afterthought, I can see this type of law pushing everything underground i.e. people will start doing it on the QT which will be far worse than doing it legally. Poli's need their heads read

Cheers,
Ronnie

[steff bugielski]

Well we did ours for the first time not long ago. She was a Holstein heifer. It was 18 months old. We were able to hang it in the barn for three weeks. Man is that some tasty meat. We did shoot with head in the bucket. it was only two of us. We killed hung skinned and gutted in one day. The processing took four only because we had no reason to rush. Did I mention were had no idea what we were doing. I am not sure the cuts are correct but they taste real good.
I figure that cow cost us $1,500.00. We came away with 400lbs of meat. defiantly worth it for us.

[Ken Scharabok]

I suspect most of the new regulations have to do with the goal of having a 100% (not 99.9%, but 100%) safe food supply. To do it they want foodstuffs tracked and inspected every step of the way.

What degree of risk is acceptable?

FarmChiq: Why did your farm kill guy get shut down?

The small processing plant nearby closed a couple of years ago. They spent something like $125,000 on upgrading it and still couldn't meet inspection standards. From what I was told they would do what they were told, then told they still had to do more. They only killed one day a week. Yet the inspectors insisted on their having a separate break room with a separate bathroom. Now you have to go to one plant which is about 50 miles away or another which is about 80 miles away. At the later you typically have to book six weeks in advance and if you missing your appointment you go to the back of the line.

[Oakshire_Farm]

I am guessing that her farm guy did not get shut down for any bad reason. In BC, Canada where we are the only leagal slaughtering that can take place now is in a GOVERNMENT inspected facility with a governement inspector watching the WHOLE process!!!

It is a huge problem for any small hobby farmers here, the new laws have jacked the price up to a almost rediculous price! Because of the rules most of out provincialy inspected facilities have closed down instead of doing the upgrades that do nothing for food safety! The slaughter house that I have been using for YEARS, has to make no upgrades to his killing floor, but he must suply the government inspector a seperate office, as well as his own personal bathroom,, with a shower. For some reason the inspector is above using the staff facilities????? They must swich all of there processing equipment to stainless steel. They can not use the the galvnized meat grinder that he has been using for years? He has to upgrade all of his cooler and freezer units to stainlesss steel walls and floors rather than the painted metal??? The upgrades are not going to save any lives. They are not allowed to process meat that has come in dead. All animals must walk in off the trailer(I do agree with that).

I think changing the laws the way they are is going to do nothing but make people sick in the long run. Because people are going to start to process there own meat now, and it will not get kept cold enough when it is hanging. I know that we are considering doing our selves now. We are lucky enough to have a walk in cooler! My parents have a berry farm and we have a big tractor. And we have a friend of the family that has a meat grinder and a meat saw that we can use!

[FarmChiq]

Yes, that's it exactly - the mobile guy was unable to provide a stationary office and restroom facility for an inspector, so he was kaiboshed. Sort of defeats the whole mobility aspect of going mobile.

I don't like any of it. Sure, some people will say progress is progress, but when something isn't broken - show me statistics that prove that these small practitioners are producing inferior, or dangerous products - why fix it? The government just wants their...god I hate to even sound like I'm making a joke, it's SO NOT FUNNY!!!...pound of flesh.

It's really hard for me to accept.

[Cliff]

Ugh - the drive to your processor is nothing compared to trying to do it yourself. Just took me 1/2 day to kill, gut, skin and quarter 2 steers, and that was with the help of a friend who does processing. Done home butchering for most of my life too, so no newbie here.

[FarmChiq]

Originally Posted by Cliff

Ugh - the drive to your processor is nothing compared to trying to do it yourself.

I'm sure you're absolutely right...but it's not easier for the steers that way. I am convinced though that the drive is what I will have to do.

Thanks everyone for your input. If you want to keep this thread going as a b!tch session about government regs, FEEL FREE. I could still use a good vent.

Have any of you ever embarked on a protest letter-writing campaign? Where would one start, living in BC, Canada? My local MLA? The Premier? Olson on Your Side? lol

[Oakshire_Farm]

The slaughter house that we use, we take the animals in and they are not donw untill the next day. I don't know if it does, but I think they are less stressed if they can just hang out in the individual pen for the night they get to calm down and are not so stressed.

[Cotton Picker]

Originally Posted by Cliff

Ugh - the drive to your processor is nothing compared to trying to do it yourself.

And the drive to Whole Foods is nothing compared to tending and raising a garden. And that bottle of Maple Syrup is easier to pick up at the corner grocery, than boilin' down the sap. And calling the Propane/heating oil company is easier than cutting, splitting and stacking cordwood....... Shall I go on?

No offense meant, but doesn't paying someone else to do everything for you, put you on the same par of helplessness as your average urbanite? Money doesn't grow on trees, neither does experience. And it surely is a lot harder to come by money rather than experience, out in the sticks.

Economics 101 deals with, if you have to pay someone for goods and services, you have to have a means to produce said coin. If you are earning $25 per hour and you are able to get someone to chop your wood for $5 per hour, I would say hire it done. If on the other hand you make $5 per hour and you pay someone $25 per hour, I would say that if you don't do something to reverse the negative cash flow..... You won't last long, no matter where you live.

Aren't homesteaders supposed to be self-reliant? Unless I miss my guess, isn't this site is here to equip and facilitate one another to DIY? Yeah, I know.... There's only so many hours in a day...... Well...... Whatcha got more of...... Time or money? Myself..... I can usually afford to loose a little sack time.

As for home kill of any kind of meat animal... From a button quail to a beef critter. I would advocate learning how to DIY. There is no rule that states that you must raise a steer to 1000lbs before you butcher it. Work your way up. Assist a neighbor. See if your local "Abattoir" (Fancy.... Huh?) will allow you to observe. Start small, learn how to skin by butchering a few vealers, goats, lambs, or 100lb pigs.

From what I've seen there are lots of folks here that would be more than glad to council, advise or point you in the right direction. They'll help you to make up for any deficit that you may have in your knowledge base regarding time/money/opperational scope management, efficency, technique or equipment needed.

As they say..... Just do it.

Any Questions?

[sammyd]

There's so much arrogance in that post it positively drips.

Sending your beef off to the processor because you don't have the time to monkey with it in no way makes you helpless or less self reliant. Just in case you missed it the poster you were replying to does do the deed him/herself but stated that it would be easier to haul it in.

Ever heard of work smarter not harder?

I'd say
If you feel that your time is better used for something other than messing around with a beefer feel free to send it out to be done.

[Cliff]

[QUOTE=Cotton Picker;3650264]And the drive to Whole Foods is nothing compared to tending and raising a garden. And that bottle of Maple Syrup is easier to pick up at the corner grocery, than boilin' down the sap. And calling the Propane/heating oil company is easier than cutting, splitting and stacking cordwood....... Shall I go on?

No offense meant, but doesn't paying someone else to do everything for you, put you on the same par of helplessness as your average urbanite? Money doesn't grow on trees, neither does experience. And it surely is a lot harder to come by money rather than experience, out in the sticks.

Economics 101 deals with, if you have to pay someone for goods and services, you have to have a means to produce said coin. If you are earning $25 per hour and you are able to get someone to chop your wood for $5 per hour, I would say hire it done. If on the other hand you make $5 per hour and you pay someone $25 per hour, I would say that if you don't do something to reverse the negative cash flow..... You won't last long, no matter where you live.

Aren't homesteaders supposed to be self-reliant? Unless I miss my guess, isn't this site is here to equip and facilitate one another to DIY? Yeah, I know.... There's only so many hours in a day...... Well...... Whatcha got more of...... Time or money? Myself..... I can usually afford to loose a little sack time.

As for home kill of any kind of meat animal... From a button quail to a beef critter. I would advocate learning how to DIY. There is no rule that states that you must raise a steer to 1000lbs before you butcher it. Work your way up. Assist a neighbor. See if your local "Abattoir" (Fancy.... Huh?) will allow you to observe. Start small, learn how to skin by butchering a few vealers, goats, lambs, or 100lb pigs.

From what I've seen there are lots of folks here that would be more than glad to council, advise or point you in the right direction. They'll help you to make up for any deficit that you may have in your knowledge base regarding time/money/opperational scope management, efficency, technique or equipment needed.

As they say..... Just do it.

Any Questions?[/QUOTE

Yeah, rather insulting. I've been in a place where it had to be done at home. Dirt poor and no other choice.

Now it is a choice. For us depends on the quality of the end product. If we couldn't have it done where we knew it was clean and we were gonna get good meat out of it we would do it ourselves despite the huge PIA it is.

We grow it and it's on grass from birth to death.

As to Whole Foods, imo even their organic produce will never be on par with our own, so no contest there.

Do you grow all your own feed? We do, where feed is used, except for dogs which we'd have to have fewer of if we did. Use only natural fertilizers? We do. I figure we are more self reliant than most ppl here.

[Cotton Picker]

Originally Posted by sammyd

There's so much arrogance in that post it positively drips.

Sending your beef off to the processor because you don't have the time to monkey with it in no way makes you helpless or less self reliant. Just in case you missed it the poster you were replying to does do the deed him/herself but stated that it would be easier to haul it in.

Ever heard of work smarter not harder?

I'd say
If you feel that your time is better used for something other than messing around with a beefer feel free to send it out to be done.

I would most humbly say that you missed the point of the post.

I was/am fully aware that the poster I quoted was experienced in DIY. If Cliff or you feel that I was running him down personally, please accept my apologies.

A person is entitled to do or not do most any chore or task associated with their daily lives. My purpose was to draw a parallel between being an urbanite with limited options and hiring the majority of your work done for you when you have before you the option of learning how to DIY.

IMHO, one of the major benefits of rural living is that for the most part you are free to experiment with and implement cost saving DIY practices. To do away with paying the middleman. There have been more than a few posts regarding keeping a few rabbits or chickens, in an urban area on the sly. Trying to raise a few 'maters in a flower bed, etc. etc...

In the event that you didn't understand my economics illustration about positive and negative cash flow. I believe that I left the door open for exercising the option of better use of ones time. There again, my point was to illustrate that IMHO, if one hires another to either do the "Dirty Work" or to provide goods and or services that they could provide for themselves, it removes nearly all economic incentive for small farming/homesteading in the first place.

I for one would not see that it was working smarter to expend all the labor, money, absorb all of the risk involved and subject myself to the inconvenience of growing my own, if in the long run it costs me twice as much (in an area where wages are half as much) than just purchasing said product outright at the time of immediate need. Or better yet, by watching for and advance purchasing said item on sale.

Originally Posted by Cliff

Yeah, rather insulting. I've been in a place where it had to be done at home. Dirt poor and no other choice.

Once again my apologies if I offended your sensibility's

My question to you would be.... Wouldn't it be better to DIY and save your coins, rather than being forced into a nearly total lack of options because of economic reasons? To me it kinda takes the joy out of life when you have to do something to survive, rather than want to do it to survive.

Just sayin'

[FarmChiq]

*ahem* gentle men and ladies - MY original post and query was in regards to stress on the cattle, and safety of the finished product. I agree with a lot of what is being said here (albeit not the down-the-nose tone of it) but for me, though I visit this forum frequently to gather good information, my life is a far cry from a Homesteader's life.

To paraphrase you, Cotton Picker, I am not forced to do anything - I don't need to save a few coins because I sell my beef to friends and co-workers who aren't in my lucky position of owning a small farm - so it's got nothing to do with DIY or perish, I think that's how you put it. Perish being the opposite of survival. For me and the people who buy from me, it's about making a choice to grow my own food (or buy it from the market farmers who do a WAY better job of that than I ever could) which grows happily, or is tended to by someone who makes their living at it, while I'm off at work every day for longer than I'd like. It's about kicking back at the end of a long summer day and firing up the bbq, knowing where my meat and potatoes come from and what's in (and more importantly NOT in) them. And call me a sissy, but my original concern is that I treated my former four-legged meal with dignity and respect, and that I took his well-being into consideration in appreciation of his sacrifice for me, and future role as my dining pleasure...

It has very little to do with economics for me. Though if it was, yes, I have more money than time, when I think about the work it takes to maintain a coop full of chickens, when I'd rather be at the lake, or moving hay bales when I'd rather be reading a book and relaxing on my one day off...when it would be soooo much easier just to buy from a neighbor, or even the grocer.

But I am really enjoying the conversation. It's just got a bit snarky and off-track, things forums are wont to when we're not f2f.

[Cotton Picker]

Hi FarmChiq,

Thank you for the enlightenment about your situation. Having the coins necessary by maintaining a job that allows you to not be troubled by economic necessity gives you, IMHO, the best of both worlds.

I will offer my appologies to you as well. It was not my intention to flame or inflame anyone.