Slaughtering meat goats

[patandchickens]

We did stun, and then slit the arteries.

Can I ask what method you used to stun him, and how exactly it was done?

I am interested because I anticipate that in future years I will probably be having some lambs that I want to process and would really rather avoid sending them on a scary trip to commercial processor, but we do not (and are not going to) own a gun for various reasons. So I am in search of a way of reliably rendering the animal temporarily unconscious before an incompetent beginner slits its throat With the turkeys I whacked them on the back of the skull with a hammer but dunno if that'd work for lambs.

Thanks for any info,

Pat

 

[miss_thenorth]

First, bring the lamb in as close to the place you are going to slaughter as possible. (We slaughtered in our shop, and hoisted him up on an engine hoist.)
Put a rope around a back leg, and be as ready as you can be to hoist the lamb up. Prepare the area underneath, so as to collect the blood (as opposed to letting it drip out all over the floor-we used a wheelbarrow)

Then, hubby used a mallet--it was a rubber coated metal one, and apply swift blow(s) to the head. Immediately, hoist the lamb up and slit his throat, as he will not be out for that long. the draining of the blood will take a bit of time.

Then we used this pictorial on how to make the different cuts of meat. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2008/nov/19/foodanddrink?lightbox=1

If you need help on how to strip off the hide and gutting it, I can fill you in on those details too, just ask.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

All for the grand total price of $120. I will take the two bucks to auction in a couple of weeks and make more than that on just the two, making the does essentially free.

excellent score, Buster! great work!

MTN - great use of a wheelbarrow... do you compost the blood??

 

[miss_thenorth]

do you compost the blood??

No, after it congealed, the dogs ate it--gross, I know

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

nah....not too gross
;-)

at least you didnt make blood sausage! everyone has a line and THATS mine
;-)

 

[freemotion]

We are considering the use of a nail gun for stunning....any opinions?

 

[miss_thenorth]

We watched a movie a while back ( suspense movie, wish I could remember the name of it,) but in the movie, there was an actual tool used solely (?) for the stunning of lambs. Not sure about a nail gun--the animal needs to be alive while bleeding out-- so all the blood will pump out. Would the nail gun leave the animal alive? I'll ask hubby when he comes home from work what his thoughts are on it.

Up until the time of actual slaughter, I thought we were going to use the .22. But hubby did research and said it's best for the animal to be alive during bleed out.

 

[Mackay]

Why stun the animal? You risk pain and nonconsciousness, if even for a moment your animal suffers it is flooded with toxins of terror.

The Halaal method is not only a Muslem thing it is in the Bible, as I understand it and have been told, in Jewish law, in the Torah. It is the way of Kosher slaughter. This method has been time honored by many cultures and the most expedient method.

From Torah teachings "Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Chet-Tet, meaning to slaughter. The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible."


Slitting the artery is absolutely the fastest with out any shock.
If one can reach into a gut and pull its innards out I don't know why one cant slit the artery. Although the USDA permits stunning the amimal to unconsciousness it leaves much room for error and if you hear the stories from the meat packing industry you know this method fails a percentage of time, requiring repitition and hence torture.

I could not bear using a hammer or a nail gun. Did you know that people have survived nail gun accidents with the nail fully piercing the brain? And how many whacks to the head will be needed to do the kill with a hammer? A gun I guess could to it but kinda messy. Yuck. Talk about horrific scenes and it can alert fear into those animals waiting on line.

Yes, the animal is alive during bleed out but its brain becomes devoid of blood almost instaneously rendering it fully unconscious. The heart continues to beat for a few moments pushing more blood out. One of the goals is to drain of blood. If you just shoot the animal the blood starts to become stagnant. By the time you get it in postion and slit its throat the heart is stopped.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Have you killed an animal?

Well, in our case, the act of stunning gave us time to get the animal up on the hoist and in position to slit the throat. And we DID slit the throat. The animal was alive while he bled out, and I don't believe he suffered any fear or discomfort. The point of the nail gun again would be to stun the animal--not kill it, probably for the same reasons we chose to stun. And hubby applied two blows to the skull. the first one did it and the second was to be extra sure.

We can argue to stun or not to stun, but this is the method we chose and I'd really rather not argue about it. It worked for us. I think it would have been more stressful on the animal to wrestle with it than the way we chose to do it, in our case.

this was our first large animal slaughter, other than deer, moose or bear, which were shot with either a bow or a rifle (bear). I have personally processed many chickens, rabbits, quail etc., and those I did not stun, as they are much easier to handle.

When you slaughter your animals, please choose whatever method is best for you. We chose the best method for us. I promis I won't pass judgement on you for your method.

 

[freemotion]

My dad always used a gun and delivered a bullet at the spot where an x would intersect if drawn from right ear to left eye, and vice versa. The animal would go down instantly. Then the arteries were cut while the heart was still pumping. Gravity would take care of the rest.

I have never killed an animal, but I would imagine that the throat slitting would be challenging for a large, strong animal such as a pig. How would you restrain the head well enough to get the job done? Seriously?

I did see my dad slit the turkey's carotid arteries, and it was quick and looked relatively painless (papercut at most) and stress-free. But they are more managable and can be restrained easily.

The idea of the nail gun (he has one for cement and it used the same charge as a .22 gun) is the same idea as using a bullet, but does not require the permits needed in my state, the safety classes, and the expense of aquiring a gun for a couple of uses a year.

I think OFG said they put corn on the ground and when the pig went for the corn.....pow. Died happy.