HELP my 1st Pig

[CrealCritter]

I decided to leave Mr Chopper's balls alone.

 

[sumi]

It's perfectly normal and o.k. to look at an animal kept/raised for meat and think about meat! And like NH Homesteader said above, happy, well cared for animals taste good. Give them a good life, they give you a good carcass.

 

[Britesea]

Pigs are way smart, which is why hunting wild boar is one of the more dangerous of big game. I would make sure no small children EVER go into a pig yard unsupervised, as they have been known to kill and eat children. They are adorable when young, but can become very dangerous as they grow older. ( I know I'm gonna get slammed by all the people that have adorable pet piggies, but seriously- they aren't ALL sweety pies)

 

[CrealCritter]

Phew he's back YES!!! I heard him barking off in the distance out back in the Shawnee and I hollered real loud for him. After a few mins he came running back with a bloody front dear leg in his mouth. I think there are at least two cats out back because I heard two scream at the same time off in the distance in the Shawnee. Pretty spooky actually... but now that my guard dog is back up by the house, he'll let me know if something comes back around. I'm happy again but my rifle is right next to me just in case.

 

[CrealCritter]

Mr. Chopper must be like a dinner bell to the wildlife here in southern Illinois. Tonight more commotion... Mr. Chopper going nuts, chicken alarm went off, turkey tom gobbling like crazy. My outdoor gaurd dog cornered a freaking Bobcat. The bobcat was not backing down nor was.my guard dog. I tried to call my guard dog off but nothing doing.... So I grabbed the 12 guage and fired into the air and that broke them up but my dog is pretty tore up I'll see what he looks like in the morning but I suspect he's gonna need to visit the vet.

The bad thing is now there is a Bobcat kit hanging out by the chicken yard crying for it's momma that I scared off.i can't see it but I can hear it and honesty it sounds pretty dogone mean. Spiting and growling. My guard dog now that he got some sense about him, and only get so close to it. Momma Bobcat hasn't come back for it yet. I suspect momma bobcat is pretty tore up also.

Edit...
Just great... now my guard dog has the kit treed in the grand daddy maple tree not far from the front door. I really don't want to have to shoot it - It's just a little kit. But I sure am not gonna go pick it up either. I think I'll just go to bed and see what the morning light brings.

 

[CrealCritter]

Eek! How's everyone this morning??

I put my guard dog up and the little kit was gone this morning. All the animals are ok. My guard dog ain't as tore up as I initially thought.

My wife seemed to think it was a little tabby cat kitten. I didn't tell her it was a bob cat kit, but I'll break the news to her later today.

 

[baymule]

Well, your name is CrealCritter. Looks like they know it too!

 

[CrealCritter]

Bagged, tagged & in the deep freezer got hocks in fridge for smoking in the morning to be made into ham hocks and beans for dinner tomorrow

He was good and healthy on the inside. All organs had great color, no worms, no spots what so ever. He was not near as fatty as I thought he would be. The only real deep fat was on the back. I guess that why the call it fat back but other than that not all the much fat really. I could stand a lot more practice buthering for sure.

Anyways what a great experience. I'll surely be looking to get a few piglets come spring.

Thanks everyone for all your pointers and helpful words. What a great group of folks. And now my wife won't have to chase chopper up and down the road anymore

 

[NH Homesteader]

Glad the experience went well for you! One parting piece of advice for next time- you really want to hang or otherwise age (jn a cooler with ice if too warm) for at least, well we do at least 24 hours. It gets the carcass past the rigor mortis stage and the meat will be more tender.

Yay for no more chasing pigs around the neighborhood!

 

[baymule]

Better build a darn good pig pen! Don't want your wife mad at you! I'll send her a six pack of Texas Whup-A$$ to open up all over you!