processing hog

[outsideman1]

i am carrying my first to the processor tomorow . does anyone have any pointers about what to expect their . any input would be appreciated.

[Misty]

Have you made them a cut list? How thick you want your chops etc? How many to a pack, how much sausage to a pack, italian/breakfast or both...You will unload the pig, and that should be it...
www.geocities.com/gonzalesshowpigs

[highlands]

If you have dogs, ask for the skin, organs and other 'wastes'. It costs the butcher money to dispose of these things in most cases and he'll be glad to save the cost.

We cut the skin into long strips and then snip off foot long sections and roll them up. Stick them in the freezer. Put them on a tray to freeze solid and then you can put them together in a bag so you don't get a solid block.

Feed the organs, bones and other wastes to your dogs. We have big guardian dogs to protect our livestock. The butchering 'wastes' is an important part of their diet and they earn their share. And no, eating pig will not make a dog attack pigs. Ours eat pig all the time and they are perfect guardians and herders.

[GeorgeK]

Highlands is right, at least regarding our Pyranees, she knows the difference between a live pig to be guarded and parts of pig served to her as dinner/treats. I butcher our potbellies myself, and bake the whole head for the dog. She loves them, and they keep her healthy

Originally Posted by highlands

Feed the organs, bones and other wastes to your dogs. We have big guardian dogs to protect our livestock. The butchering 'wastes' is an important part of their diet and they earn their share. And no, eating pig will not make a dog attack pigs. Ours eat pig all the time and they are perfect guardians and herders.

[Kazahleenah]

anyone process their own hogs at home?

Kaza

[highlands]

We have. It saves a lot of money as the butcher costs about $100 to do a hog. I also get more meat when I do it since he doesn't include the head. On the other hand I don't make nice pork chops and bacon, yet. Last lamb I did I did follow standard meat cutting directions. Usually I just debone to minimize the bones going into the freezer. The bones then go immediately to soup and then to the dogs.

Dealing with the butcher, transporting the hogs, etc is all quite a bit of work. About the same as doing it myself. On the other hand, I am not interested in doing butchering for other people so when we have hogs to sell I deliver them to the butcher who will make all the standard cuts, is licensed, etc. I think that is the best way to deal with the retail and wholesale market. We sell live animals, the butcher turns it into cuts. It works.

[GeorgeK]

one of the tricks is to thoroughly chill anything that is to be ground, and semi freeze anything that is to be sliced

[TerryJ]

We have been cut & wrapping pork for 10 years. We smoke the hams the only thing we don't do is the bacon. Making sausage is very easy, you will be amazed when processing your hog or beef on how much more meat that you get and you get your meat back.

[djuhnke]

I'm not going to do mine this year but prob. next year. The question I have for those that butcher their own is how do you bleed them out? I can drop it with a head shot but my concern is after I shoot it, I'd have to raise it up (in a gambrel I assume) and drain it. Won't the heart stop before I'm finished? Doing chickens is easy in the cone and off comes the head. 225lbs is abit harder (and I'ma big guy). Not to mention if I want to scald it.

[BobK]

Don't worry about the heart stopping....unless you use too big of a caliber to drop the hog. A head shot with a 22 long rifle...don't even try a short it won't penetrate the skull...experience here...will drop the hog and then you 'stick' the pig severing the ascending aorta.....the heart pumps the blood out all on its own...no need to hoist or do anything except wait for the hog to die so it can be handled safely.....a clean stick is all it takes....depending on gravity won't work out for you.

[RedneckPete]

I'm doing two pigs in two weeks, for the first time at home. Will a .22 hollow point cut it or do I need to pick up a box of jacketed rounds.

Pete

[agmantoo]

Redneck
Use a standard 22 long rifle bullet. Scatter some corn on the ground near the animal, drop down on one knee and visualize an X on the hogs forehead with the X going from the left eye to the right ear and from the right eye to the left ear. Shoot where the lines of the X cross. In dropping down on the knee the angle of the bullet will be higher and better placed as the brain is higher in the head than you might expect plus the animal will have its head lowered and this will compensate. Have you knife ready and sever the artery and at all times beware of the animals feet. Approach the animal from the nose end. You can get kicked or hurt by the knife if the animal moves unexpectedly even though it is stunned and down. You will get a gush of blood when the artery is severed and the animal will bleed profusely so you will know when the task is done correctly.

[BillHoo]

Would a nail gun work?

[GeorgeK]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Use a standard 22 long rifle bullet..
..

Depends on the age, gender and breed of your pig. A 22 will simply ricochet off one of our boars' heads and ---- him off. I use an SKS and plan on an exit hole, so make sure he's off by himself a little ways or the exiting bullet might hit something else, therefore be sure to do it on dirt and not concrete

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Scatter some corn on the ground near the animal, ..

yes, this keeps their attention

Originally Posted by agmantoo

drop down on one knee

whatever is the most confortable and stable shooting position for you

Originally Posted by agmantoo

visualize an X on the hogs forehead with the X going from the left eye to the right ear and from the right eye to the left ear. Shoot where the lines of the X cross. In dropping down on the knee the angle of the bullet will be higher and better placed as the brain is higher in the head than you might expect plus the animal will have its head lowered and this will compensate.

Again, depends on the pig, I've found this method to be unreliable, but again I have a different breed of pig with a much thicker skull most likely. I get at between 45 and 90 degrees from the front axis of the pig so it's somewhere between facing me and me being at the side of it's head and aim midpoint between the inner corner of its eye and the base of its ear, I also do it standing so the bullet trajectory is more down. This way from about 4 feet away the bullet disrupts both hemisphere's of its brrrain and exits often through the area of the contralateral carotid, thus bleeding it with the kill shot.

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Have you knife ready and sever the artery and at all times beware of the animals feet. Approach the animal from the nose end. You can get kicked or hurt by the knife if the animal moves unexpectedly even though it is stunned and down. You will get a gush of blood when the artery is severed and the animal will bleed profusely so you will know when the task is done correctly.

Definitely watch out for those kicking/jerking hooves! I prefer to stick the arch of the aorta and or heart itself, stabbing in at the top of the sternum, this requires a lot less strength than cutting through mature boarhide to get to the carotid. A good sticking knife needs to have a non-slip handle, needs a guard, should be double edged and very sharp and pointy, and have a sturdy blade at least a 9 inch blade. I've tried a bunch and my favorite is the "Stag Bone Toothpick made by bud-k"
http://budk.com/search.asp?start=50&ss=bowie&t=ss

[GeorgeK]

Most likely this would simple make it very angry with you. Your shot needs to drop it, and keep it stunned long enough for you to bleed it. If you dont have a rifle, I've heard of people getting a pig so drunk it passes out, and then sticking it, but this sounds very dangerous to me, from what I understand pigs have a very high tolerance for alcohol, and tend to be mean drunks

Originally Posted by BillHoo

Would a nail gun work?

[BobK]

LOL I can agree with the potential dangers of a intoxicated pig(s). Quite a few years ago I had a couple of batches of beer go bad....not completely rancid but I did not want to bottle it....in any case I fed the beer out to the pigs (3) and it was about 6 gallons. the pigs were about 200 lbs each and got ripped......they seemed to enjoy themselves racing around the pen in a drunken melay with many staggers and falls. The next day they were the meanest pigs I've ever been around........had a real nasty attitude about things....do not reccomend being in a pen with a drunk pig.

I use a bit of milk mixed with water and grain in a medium size bowl to get our pigs into killing position. When the pig starts drinking that head stays rock solid with plenty of time to pick a spot, aim, and fire. When you stick the pig drive the knife into the hog right at the top of the sternum, line the kinfe up with the backbone and once you've gotten into the chest cavity continue working the knife down with a bit more angel to the heart, once the knife is in to the hilt start bringing the tip of the knife forward and you'll sever the artery and continue until the knife is vertical and you've opened a slit up about 2-3 inches......you should get a gush of blood.

[RedneckPete]

All right. I don't know if I should put this in writing, but here goes.

I have a golf course in behind my property, and would like to kill my pigs as silently as possible. I have planned to shoot them with a .22 and then stick them. My butcher (who will be present to do the sticking and gutting - this time at least) said this is not needed. He said he can hit them on the head with a sledge hammer, and then stick them. This sounds like a bit much for my nerve.

Has anyone experienced this? Is it cruel, more so then killing the pig with a .22?

What do you butchering folks think? My butcher (a Croatian immigrant) was the second person to recomend this method, the last was a crazy newfie who watched pigs butchered as a kid.

Pete

[quailkeeper]

I don't get what everyone is talking about noise for?? They don't make a sound when they've been shot in the head. We use a 22 rifle and shoot standing up at a distance of 5 ft. Pour out a little grain outside their gate, they walk out of the generally messy pen and on clean grass. We shoot, then slit throat, and then hang to bleed out completely. After being shot, they do not move or make a sound. They just keel over and thats it. Maybe my husband is just a dang good shot

Then we gut, remove head, and then skin in one big piece. Hold the skin stretched tightly in one hand. Use a small knife to cut the connective tissue, especially along the spinal cord (this is where they seem to be more difficult). Then cut down backbone. Hams and shoulders are removed. Ribs, tenderloin, and back loin are removed. Loin is later cut into boneless pork chops. The shoulders are cut into two roast: boston butt and picnic. There are little pieces of meat everywhere, save for sausage. Also the jowls can be used for sausage or spare bacon.

[GeorgeK]

depends on whehter you slit the thraot or stick the heart, when you stick the heart you will irritate nerves and to pig will start to grunt

Originally Posted by quailkeeper

I don't get what everyone is talking about noise for?? They don't make a sound when they've been shot in the head. We use a 22 rifle and shoot standing up at a distance of 5 ft. Pour out a little grain outside their gate, they walk out of the generally messy pen and on clean grass. We shoot, then slit throat, and then hang to bleed out completely. After being shot, they do not move or make a sound. They just keel over and thats it. Maybe my husband is just a dang good shot

Then we gut, remove head, and then skin in one big piece. Hold the skin stretched tightly in one hand. Use a small knife to cut the connective tissue, especially along the spinal cord (this is where they seem to be more difficult). Then cut down backbone. Hams and shoulders are removed. Ribs, tenderloin, and back loin are removed. Loin is later cut into boneless pork chops. The shoulders are cut into two roast: boston butt and picnic. There are little pieces of meat everywhere, save for sausage. Also the jowls can be used for sausage or spare bacon.

[jonesjp]

what is the deal with scalding pigs... I've heard it mentioned a few times, and John Seymour mentioned it in one of his books I have but not in detail... Why do you scald the pig? Can yo skin it without scalding it?

As for bleeding... how do you guys go about catching the blood for sausage, or to mix with grain for the other pigs... or do you just let them bleed out on the ground? which seems like quite a waste.

Great site by the way this is my first post..