Does anyone else butcher their own meat?

[sumi]

I haven't been able to butcher or eat my chickens, so we sold or gave away extras, but over the years we have raised and butchered more pigs than I can count. We used to sell the meat, so we butchered regularly. It's an unpleasant procedure, but the meat and knowing where it came from and what went into it, is great! Not to mention it is so much cheaper compared to buying meat at the shops!

We also butchered sheep, but on a very small scale.

We did not have the facilities to process and cut the meat ourselves, so the carcasses went to the local butchery to be hung and cut for us, at a minimal fee.

 

[Poka_Doodle]

I personally feel like it would be harder to butcher your owwn animals anyways. I might get to help the 3 guys that went our over the weekend butcher their 2 elk today. Usually we would have more help and more elk to butcher after this family anual trip but people ha thigs and not everyone got a tag this year unlike the past

 

[Denim Deb]

When I have time, I do my own chickens. It's not my favorite thing to do, but there's no place around here where I could take them.

 

[Mini Horses]

I don't anymore. Gave 3 beautiful roosters away today to a guy with 100 hens! Free range, sells eggs. So these 6 mo old guys will have a great life and I just didn't want to butcher them. Besides, it's really messy to do and if I need to do this, want more than 3. Have done it in past, been a long time.

Larger animals, I take to a butcher.

 

[Poka_Doodle]

Had a fun time doing it yesterday

 

[goatgurl]

back in the day we butchered all our own meat, beef, hogs, lambs, goats, deer and chickens but that was a couple of years ago. now i send everything do the butcher shop except the rabbits, chickens and ducks. makes life so much easier.

 

[Poka_Doodle]

Probably does, it takes all night to do the chickens

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Its been a while, but I need to decrease expenses here and I have been given 10 broilers, I need to tend to on a 50/50 basis. They really aren't ready, but I will do the 50% that is leaving today or tomorrow and finish off my share when they have more weight to them in a few weeks.
If I'm well into it, I might even hire out my services to hunters and farmers to get a little cash or meat without getting a 9 to 5.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My dad is a hunter and fisherman. I grew up eating squirrel, rabbit, grouse, fish and venison. I was also my dads helper in the butchering process as soon as I was old enough to actually help. It was a skill set that he taught me, that I am truly grateful for. I have taught more than one boyfriend how to gut a deer or fillet a fish, lol.
DH and I are talking about getting a couple of steers to raise for our own use and for family. But those will be taken to a local butcher for processing as we do not have the tools we need to do the job properly for an animal of that size. We like our venison boneless, but beef is a different story. DH skins and quarters the deer, then brings it into the kitchen for me to piece out, vacuum seal and freeze.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I know it wouldn't be ideal, but if I had to slaughter beef, I'd roll it onto a tarp for cleanliness and then begin by skinning one side and cutting off the limbs and beginning to remove some of the mid sections, then rolling it over, onto the other side and repeating the process. Naturally I'd want it to be winter and to have a very cold location to hang the limbs and large pieces, until I had time to finish all my work.
I just have a feeling, whatever I'd have to pay the butcher might be steep. I know how long it takes me to do my birds and pretty sure he'd want a lot for his trouble.