Free's piggie thread...new pics p 19

[ohiofarmgirl]

so tuesday is the day?!!? whooot! yay!!!

go meat!

ps you'll be just fine! have your dad review Bourbon Red's instructions on shooting carefully
pss do you need my axe?

 

[freemotion]

Do I need your axe? Only if you come with it!!!

 

[TanksHill]

Tuesday huh??

I can't wait.

 

[freemotion]

Dad and I stomped around out in the pasture today, trying to plan for the big day. Which tree will we use? We were going to skin on the ground (notice the liberal and inaccurate use of the word "we" ) but with the thaw we've been having, it is a sea of mud out there. We chose the two small pines I left for shelter when we cleared the land for pasture originally. All the lower branches were cut off years ago and one can easily stand underneath its branches. We also had to consider the view from the neighbor's houses. I think we will be ok, since it should be a little colder on that day and they will be hung only for skinning.

Tomorrow I will clean a space in the garage underneath were we will hang the four halves, and we will put lots of saved paper feed sacks there to catch drips. Tomorrow after work, Dad and I will put some screw eyes up in the ceiling and collect our tools and supplies. Eeek. I don't feel ready.

Dad went in with the pigs today and pointed a stick at their heads, practicing aiming for the right spot. They kept trying to bite the stick or get away from it. They are not extremely interested in corn, so I decided to save all of the last three pumpkins for Tuesday morning. I need some food that interests them, but that doesn't make them fight and try to flip each other, either! They get their last meal tomorrow morning, then nothing on Monday night to get them good and hungry for Tuesday morning. We are both getting nervous about this part. They won't be too hungry, because there is still a lot of food on the ground out there for them to find and eat....So it will be pumpkins cooked in milk for their last meal. Sigh.

I'm anxious, nervous, and excited, all at the same time!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

you are gonna do great!!!!!

* dont overstress (i know, easy for me to say)
* have a back up plan for the shot, as in, you might need two shots.... and make sure you include in the plan
- take your time
- no hurry
- they probably wont immediately stand there correctly for the shot.. so take your time
- make sure Free and poodles are BEHIND and out of the way of dad
- there is gonna be some flompin' around so get in there to 'stick' as soon as you/dad can
- stay out of the way of the flompin'
* consider getting a pallet and using that to get off the ground if you arent gonna hang, use 4x4's to keep them from rolling around... if they are very heavy its easy peasy to get them up on a pallet
* dont put the guts in a bucket (we all know why)
* they wont drip as much as you'd think, we use straw
* pray for courage, be in thanksgiving for such a harvest!

did you see my pal VRT's hog harvest?
http://vrtlarica.blogspot.com/2010/12/pork-harvest-kolinje.html

a butcher came on site to help them but i learned a lot from her pix

and i'll be totally cheering you on! but you'll do just fine.

btw, its ok if you have a shot of makers mark handy for after the shootin

;-)

 

[freemotion]

Um....why don't we put guts in a bucket? What do you do with the straw????

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

because if you try and hurl the guts OUT of the bucket into the 'pig gut fire' they will get tangled up in the handle and you will stand there slimed in pig guts! sheesh!

;-)

use a feed sack to put them in then you can do what ever you like, including torment your garbage guy

composted the straw. easy peasy.

and um.. the chickens will come and clean up whatever was left on the ground.

and dont loose the heads. dang! what did i do with mine?!?!

 

[freemotion]

Hee-hee! I plan on tormenting the garbage guy. Oops, that is dh. He brings all our trash to the dump. So it will be feedsacks inside of contractor bags, I guess. I don't want to deal with a fire...I'm saving my dry pine trunks for making maple syrup, don't want to waste 'em on pig guts!

Yup, those chickies sure are good maids. They'll turn it into eggs, too....

The poodles will be securely locked up (pork gives Gunnar bad Hershey squirts, and I'm not taking any chances with Biscuit!) and the goats will be confined to the paddock if I can. The chickens will come over the compost pile fence, though, and start the clean-up early, I'm sure.

 

[freemotion]

How long should the sides hang before cutting and freezing them? Do they need to age, or should they go pretty much straight into the freezer?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

let 'em hang over nite. it doesnt matter if its early morning or late afternoon. i'd do it earlier in the day so you dont have to rush - and it might take longer than you think. plus your arms will get tired.

honestly we were so worked up about the shooting (and we shouldnt have been and neither should you)... that we didnt even know what Step 2 was! ha!

anyway

no aging wont do them any good like with beef. plus if you arent below freezing you dont want them hangin' around longer than necessary...and you also dont want them to freeze solid (but if they get almost frozen its ok).

our garage was like a meat locker (HA) b/c it was so cold so we didnt rush and we did our sides over a couple days.