I missed yesterday’s post as it was a big day. Yesterday was processing day for the pigs. So first thing in the morning I loaded them up and got them dropped off. It was bittersweet, but overall a pleasant experience and something I am happy we elected to do. Depending how we are with the meat we get back, I could see it being a recurring thing.
Once I got back home my wife, daughter, and I ran and got breakfast. Then it was right to work dismantling the pigs stall and cleaning up the barn.
Now, it may seem silly to have dismantled the pigs stall if we were potentially going to look at raising more pigs for meat. However, if we do decide to go down that route, we will be likely doing something completely different. We would separate them completely from the mini horse and the goats - as part of the reason for our decision to butcher them was that they had become aggressive at times with the other animals. I also think that I would like them to be on grass all the time. Kune Kune pigs are great grazers and ours were certainly easy keepers that ate a bit of grain morning and night, but were on grass for about 5 to 6 hours a day. I think that if I was just raising them for meat, I would let them have grass access all day.
Now, as for the processing: so I would be interested in processing my own meat in the future possibly. I could not do it this time, as I had a relationship with these pigs. However, I have a “workable” setup for my own deer processing, and I think Kune Kunes would work better with my setup given they would be shorter than deer and in the same general weight range.
For this round, though, I found a highly rated local processor with a knowledgeable and friendly fellow that I interacted with. As for cuts, since we only have the two pigs (and Kune Kune pigs don’t yield as much) we went with the butt roasts, ham roasts, and tenderloins, then are having the rest ground. Fiscally it makes more sense. Plus we aren’t big bacon or cured ham eaters. In the future I would definitely be interested in getting the bellies and making my own bacon. I also would probably do puddin’ and pon haus.
I am looking forward to getting the meat back next week, hopefully enjoying it, and then looking into future plans to expand what we do here on the homestead.
Take care,
-Trevor