Dang Beau, that sounds dreadful 😳! I only had one bad butcher out of many. It was so tramatic I stopped raising Pigs 😢. I'm so proud of you for sticking to it and getting freezers full 🎉. Ben is an Ace , maybe he will come to you 🤞. Thats even better👍. JO JO IN VT 💞
I’m super hyper and I always wanna do a home project..but I’m getting older I’m not in my 30s and I feel it now…but I don’t wanna slow down (Houston) is hot hot 🥵..I have garden goals but I need to pace myself..I over did it yesterday..and it kicked my butt.i have to redo a garden space TODAY..🌱🌱🌱🥒💚
Great job!! You do deserve a new badge. ❤ 🐷 we raise IPP in N-NE Texas. I am sorry that you did not have an amazing experience with your gilt/sow. Her personality should be like your boar. Listening to your numbers, the hanging weight is small. We shoot for 180-200. We like to focus on the longer bodies IPP. We also raise ours to 12-14 month. If you want to try another gilt/sow, let us know and will send you details on a new one. You did a GREAT job! Love that you make your sausage as you go. Wonderful tip!
I watched @Justin Rhodes and his sons do it then sent it to the butcher. Maybe connect with him. This was such a fantastic watch! You guys are hilarious 🤣 ❤ much love
WOW I have never seen no fat like that. Had she recently weaned her babies? Your other meat looks great. We raised breeding Kune Kune for years. We are out of raising breeders this year. 18mo to 2 years till process is too long. And then considering the amount of meat you get, nope. We have a Kune Kune/Meishan/Berkshire gilt we are raising out to process. But the thought of scheduling when we want pigs to raise and when we want a break is what we are looking forward to. Also being able to look for different breeds and crosses to try will be nice. Also we want to try to raise them when we are in milk, and then be able to not have milking or pigs going on at the same time and do some vacationing. We need a better balance of being able to experience things outside of the farm and still having the farm.
It's so funny how "people say this is easy" and I find it's NOT. like radishes are supposedly are easy to grow, but I have yet to accomplish growing a good radish. 😂 I don't get it!
I appreciate the honesty in this video. Patience and preparation help ensure a proper harvest. Having been at a pig harvesting class that dispatched 2, and then completed 4 pigs at home it feels second nature. And We will be harvesting another batch of glorious bacon in December. Yall can do it. If interested, I would love to discuss how each successive iteration is that much better than the last!
My Father was a pro when it came to butchering. He had a big claw foot tub over a ditch. He would build a fire under the tub, and drop the pig to scald and scrape the skin hair. It always seemed we were butchering in the fall. Around Thanksgiving. Also, he would just buy three weenie pigs in the spring, He never kept hogs or did breeding. You guys did great. Your idea about getting someone to teach you is a great idea. Give yourself a attaboy and learning is a lifelong process. ❤️🌹❤️
@@BetterTogetherLife Sadly he passed in 1989, but, my family (Kerns) homesteaded in Washington State in the 1800's. They still raise wheat. I remember when I was young my uncle plowing the fields with a team of mules. It was always busy around harvest time. We always seemed to butcher around thanksgiving. Never did I ever remember spraying any kind of chemicals on any crops, but, I do remember the honey wagon (from the barnyard) spreading the manure. Wow could I tell some stories. I miss the farm and all the animals. I think you guys are doing great. Especially for being in Central Texas. Your efforts are going to pay off. 🫶🫶🫶
Ya'll are awesome and real! I love watching! Coming up here to NC to be with Ben for a butchering event would be the bomb! Then watching Hand Hewn Farm do their butchering with their special old-school processing of meat would be a real skill to learn and one you would never forget or regret!!!!
🇦🇺The amount of times I came home from school to find a pigs head in the fridge was frightening. Mum would make Braun. It’s the cheek meat and brains in jelly (from cooking the head) sliced on sandwiches.
I’ve never had that type of pig. How does the meat taste compared to like a Hereford pig. I raise Hereford pigs for meat. And it’s amazing. I’ve also raised Berkshire but the Hereford is the best tasting in my opinion. Never tried Idaho pasture
So far it’s tasting good. But I still don’t think it’s a good comparison due to the mom of these being way too lean. But hopefully we can do a better test someday.
@@BetterTogetherLifewe play the apocalypse ‘what if’ in our house too. In our corner we have a mechanic/welder/EMT with a hobby of smoking meats and I’m a seamstress/hairdresser/artist/gardener who loves baking. We both can get chickens and turkeys from chick to freezer and build things. 😂 in all seriousness we want to do pigs next and we don’t have access to a butcher. It’s nice to know that butchering your first pig was a wild ride but you got there in the end.
Every butcher has their own. But things we always get are Chops Tenderloin Ribs Pork belly in 4 pieces (instead of bacon) Ground pork Bones Fat Boston butt and shoulders There are a lot more options but this is what we like most
Living Traditions on you tube raise Idaho Pasture pigs and they love them. They start with 4lbs of feed and increase to 6 lbs of feed as well as have them on pasture. They just did a post the other day. They sold there breeder stock and now purchase feeder pigs to raise.
They didn’t enjoy the breeding and the Winter pig chores as they have many other chores to do daily. They decided to just raise two meat pigs for their family’s. Get them in the Spring and butcher 6-8months later. Long story short.
LTH also said that the very large pigs got very persistent about getting their food which sounded to me like they were bordering on being aggressive and they were no longer comfortable with that.
They are buying their feeder pigs from the same people they sold their breeders to. So they are essentially still getting genetics of the original breeder pigs they had. Not having to take care of them over the winter, extra food, extra hay , the nasty cold season, and still getting those great pigs is a win-win
I think you better check with Ben and Jason about processing larger animals . In fact check with their channels first. I think you will be amazed. Jason made his own cooler and Ben borrowed it.
My wife and I started raising IPPs as well about 2 years ago so I'm no expert but, I personally skip the boiling bit and just skin mine out. Same way I have done wild hogs in the past. We feed our breeders between 2-3 lbs of feed and then garden/table scraps to maintain their weight. For the grow out feeder pig, we increased our first one to 3-4 lbs a day of soaked grain. At 16 months he was over 400lbs. We ended up with 200 lbs of meat/bones and 100 lbs of lard. We got a cheap used fridge and I rested the primal cuts in there before breaking them down. My wife and I absolutely want to build a cold room as well because moving the meat around each day or 2 to make sure it rested properly in the fridge was a pain lol. I personally feel 16 months was a bit too long. He was a bit tough and we ended up grinding the tougher parts into sausage. This year we bread our IPPs for the first time. Our first gilt had 3 but lost them all but we learned alot and a few weeks later when our 2nd gilt gave birth she only had 2 but they are both doing great and growing fast. We are in FL so much like you, it's way too hot most the year to be butchering so we timed it so they would be 10-12 months old come winter and see what size they are. I'm thinking that will be plenty of time for them to reach the 200-250 lb range if not more judging off how fast our first feeder grew. Hopefully butchering younger will give us much more tender cuts as well. Time will tell. Good luck on your journey and don't give up. You got this :)
I live in the UK and despatching your own meat (apart from chickens I think) is illegal. It has to go to a slaugterhouse with the animals "passport" which contains the farms details, what medication, antibiotics etc the animal has had etc. My dream is to own a homesteading property, live off grid and live eating animals that have been loved, and taken care of, eat vegetable I have grown. That being said, I couldn't despatch and butcher an animal myself - not even a chicken or a fish so my feeder steers, pigs, chickens etc would have to go to freezer camp so I guess I wouldn't make a good homesteader 😢😢😢
The fat was a fertility issue, but here may be another? You should not mix your hogs until she is a year old. Her body is undeveloped u til that time and will not recover.
Are you meaning she never got fat because we bred her too early? Which is a fair point. We did. Now I did see her mom when we bought her…..and her mom was even skinnier than she was. So our thought was she should have never been sold as a breeder. Thank you Lisa!!!! Great comment and thank you for your help!!!!! 😁😁😁
Dang Beau, that sounds dreadful 😳!
I only had one bad butcher out of many. It was so tramatic I stopped raising Pigs 😢.
I'm so proud of you for sticking to it and getting freezers full 🎉.
Ben is an Ace , maybe he will come to you 🤞. Thats even better👍.
JO JO IN VT 💞
Oh man. We are looking forward to learning so much!
Y’all did great!!!! Love watching your videos….so much fun to watch y’all interact!!!! 🥰
Haha, this is how we talk with each other all day everyday! 🤣🤣🤣
Live and learn. Smart move taking the pigs to a professional. Enjoy the meat.❤
Thanks Rachel!
I’m super hyper and I always wanna do a home project..but I’m getting older I’m not in my 30s and I feel it now…but I don’t wanna slow down (Houston) is hot hot 🥵..I have garden goals but I need to pace myself..I over did it yesterday..and it kicked my butt.i have to redo a garden space TODAY..🌱🌱🌱🥒💚
Way to go!! Get in that garden!
I would love a podcast with you guys.
That’s awesome, we do have one and going to be recording more episodes soon!
Hire your Boar out to your local Sows a good boar is worth his wieght in gold.
We’ve actually thought about that! Just need to find those “good sows”! 🤣🤣
You might be able to find some on the IPP web site. Then you could get a couple piglets back for payment to raise out.
Great job!! You do deserve a new badge. ❤ 🐷 we raise IPP in N-NE Texas. I am sorry that you did not have an amazing experience with your gilt/sow. Her personality should be like your boar.
Listening to your numbers, the hanging weight is small. We shoot for 180-200. We like to focus on the longer bodies IPP. We also raise ours to 12-14 month. If you want to try another gilt/sow, let us know and will send you details on a new one.
You did a GREAT job! Love that you make your sausage as you go. Wonderful tip!
That is SO helpful! Thank you!
I watched @Justin Rhodes and his sons do it then sent it to the butcher. Maybe connect with him.
This was such a fantastic watch! You guys are hilarious 🤣 ❤ much love
Have you figured out cost per pound taking to butcher? I’m curious how much it is here in Texas.
Not yet!
WOW I have never seen no fat like that. Had she recently weaned her babies? Your other meat looks great. We raised breeding Kune Kune for years. We are out of raising breeders this year. 18mo to 2 years till process is too long. And then considering the amount of meat you get, nope. We have a Kune Kune/Meishan/Berkshire gilt we are raising out to process. But the thought of scheduling when we want pigs to raise and when we want a break is what we are looking forward to. Also being able to look for different breeds and crosses to try will be nice. Also we want to try to raise them when we are in milk, and then be able to not have milking or pigs going on at the same time and do some vacationing. We need a better balance of being able to experience things outside of the farm and still having the farm.
Yup, ZERO FAT! 😕
It's so funny how "people say this is easy" and I find it's NOT. like radishes are supposedly are easy to grow, but I have yet to accomplish growing a good radish. 😂 I don't get it!
Radishes! Now this I can do. Maybe I grow radishes for you and you grow zucchini for me?
I appreciate the honesty in this video. Patience and preparation help ensure a proper harvest. Having been at a pig harvesting class that dispatched 2, and then completed 4 pigs at home it feels second nature. And We will be harvesting another batch of glorious bacon in December. Yall can do it. If interested, I would love to discuss how each successive iteration is that much better than the last!
That’s incredible! Thanks for the encouragement!
Yup, 4 to 5 lbs per day makes beautiful groceries.
My Father was a pro when it came to butchering. He had a big claw foot tub over a ditch. He would build a fire under the tub, and drop the pig to scald and scrape the skin hair. It always seemed we were butchering in the fall. Around Thanksgiving. Also, he would just buy three weenie pigs in the spring, He never kept hogs or did breeding. You guys did great. Your idea about getting someone to teach you is a great idea. Give yourself a attaboy and learning is a lifelong process. ❤️🌹❤️
Oh wow Katherine, I would love to learn from him!!
Could you take the pig butchering class with Ben Hollar?
@@BetterTogetherLife Sadly he passed in 1989, but, my family (Kerns) homesteaded in Washington State in the 1800's. They still raise wheat. I remember when I was young my uncle plowing the fields with a team of mules. It was always busy around harvest time. We always seemed to butcher around thanksgiving. Never did I ever remember spraying any kind of chemicals on any crops, but, I do remember the honey wagon (from the barnyard) spreading the manure. Wow could I tell some stories. I miss the farm and all the animals. I think you guys are doing great. Especially for being in Central Texas. Your efforts are going to pay off. 🫶🫶🫶
@@karenwood8300 I really want to! Just gotta get the schedule figured out. 😁
Ya'll are awesome and real! I love watching! Coming up here to NC to be with Ben for a butchering event would be the bomb! Then watching Hand Hewn Farm do their butchering with their special old-school processing of meat would be a real skill to learn and one you would never forget or regret!!!!
I think beau would walk away feeling like a champ!
🇦🇺The amount of times I came home from school to find a pigs head in the fridge was frightening. Mum would make Braun. It’s the cheek meat and brains in jelly (from cooking the head) sliced on sandwiches.
Lol. Wow.
Oh wow! Hahahaha. But yes I would love to learn all of that!
I’ve never had that type of pig. How does the meat taste compared to like a Hereford pig. I raise Hereford pigs for meat. And it’s amazing. I’ve also raised Berkshire but the Hereford is the best tasting in my opinion. Never tried Idaho pasture
So far it’s tasting good. But I still don’t think it’s a good comparison due to the mom of these being way too lean.
But hopefully we can do a better test someday.
You’re going to want us on your zombie team. 😂😂 ya earned the subscription for that.
🤣🤣🤣 Well we are so excited to have you! And just wait…. Kelly is quite the talker for sure!
@@BetterTogetherLifewe play the apocalypse ‘what if’ in our house too. In our corner we have a mechanic/welder/EMT with a hobby of smoking meats and I’m a seamstress/hairdresser/artist/gardener who loves baking. We both can get chickens and turkeys from chick to freezer and build things. 😂 in all seriousness we want to do pigs next and we don’t have access to a butcher. It’s nice to know that butchering your first pig was a wild ride but you got there in the end.
Probably 1st comment by myself on a video😂
Yay!!
Did you think about contacting "the hollar homestead" for a butchering class? Greetings from Nadine from Berlin Germany
Do you have a butcher cut list? We will be having three butchered this fall/winter.
Every butcher has their own. But things we always get are
Chops
Tenderloin
Ribs
Pork belly in 4 pieces (instead of bacon)
Ground pork
Bones
Fat
Boston butt and shoulders
There are a lot more options but this is what we like most
Living Traditions on you tube raise Idaho Pasture pigs and they love them. They start with 4lbs of feed and increase to 6 lbs of feed as well as have them on pasture. They just did a post the other day. They sold there breeder stock and now purchase feeder pigs to raise.
Yea that’s who we learned about the IPPs. But I didn’t know they sold their breeders.
Do you know why?
They didn’t enjoy the breeding and the Winter pig chores as they have many other chores to do daily. They decided to just raise two meat pigs for their family’s. Get them in the Spring and butcher 6-8months later. Long story short.
🤣🤣🤣
Well, yea that just might be our story someday as well!!!
We just love our boar! 😕
LTH also said that the very large pigs got very persistent about getting their food which sounded to me like they were bordering on being aggressive and they were no longer comfortable with that.
They are buying their feeder pigs from the same people they sold their breeders to. So they are essentially still getting genetics of the original breeder pigs they had. Not having to take care of them over the winter, extra food, extra hay , the nasty cold season, and still getting those great pigs is a win-win
I think you better check with Ben and Jason about processing larger animals . In fact check with their channels first. I think you will be amazed. Jason made his own cooler and Ben borrowed it.
My wife and I started raising IPPs as well about 2 years ago so I'm no expert but, I personally skip the boiling bit and just skin mine out. Same way I have done wild hogs in the past. We feed our breeders between 2-3 lbs of feed and then garden/table scraps to maintain their weight. For the grow out feeder pig, we increased our first one to 3-4 lbs a day of soaked grain. At 16 months he was over 400lbs. We ended up with 200 lbs of meat/bones and 100 lbs of lard. We got a cheap used fridge and I rested the primal cuts in there before breaking them down. My wife and I absolutely want to build a cold room as well because moving the meat around each day or 2 to make sure it rested properly in the fridge was a pain lol. I personally feel 16 months was a bit too long. He was a bit tough and we ended up grinding the tougher parts into sausage. This year we bread our IPPs for the first time. Our first gilt had 3 but lost them all but we learned alot and a few weeks later when our 2nd gilt gave birth she only had 2 but they are both doing great and growing fast. We are in FL so much like you, it's way too hot most the year to be butchering so we timed it so they would be 10-12 months old come winter and see what size they are. I'm thinking that will be plenty of time for them to reach the 200-250 lb range if not more judging off how fast our first feeder grew. Hopefully butchering younger will give us much more tender cuts as well. Time will tell. Good luck on your journey and don't give up. You got this :)
Tx here I’m in please !!
Can you use your male pig as a stud pig for other farmers?
bottom freezer fridges are problematic. side by side fridges are best. bottom freezers break faster.
Maybe. But a side by side won’t fit most of the items or dishes I use with all of the milk and products we make. So this suits our needs.
I live in the UK and despatching your own meat (apart from chickens I think) is illegal. It has to go to a slaugterhouse with the animals "passport" which contains the farms details, what medication, antibiotics etc the animal has had etc.
My dream is to own a homesteading property, live off grid and live eating animals that have been loved, and taken care of, eat vegetable I have grown.
That being said, I couldn't despatch and butcher an animal myself - not even a chicken or a fish so my feeder steers, pigs, chickens etc would have to go to freezer camp so I guess I wouldn't make a good homesteader 😢😢😢
This is fascinating! What about turkeys? It is hard to do, but I prefer to have the knowledge and experience.
You need to take Ben Hollars workshop.
I think so too!!
The fat was a fertility issue, but here may be another? You should not mix your hogs until she is a year old. Her body is undeveloped u til that time and will not recover.
Are you meaning she never got fat because we bred her too early? Which is a fair point. We did.
Now I did see her mom when we bought her…..and her mom was even skinnier than she was. So our thought was she should have never been sold as a breeder.
Thank you Lisa!!!! Great comment and thank you for your help!!!!! 😁😁😁
What age was she bred?
😢
Why so sad?
@@BetterTogetherLifeI'm curious, too. Thanks for sharing your experiences, Beau and Kelly.
You know it! 😁
@@BetterTogetherLife sorry it just breaks my heart. I’m an animal lover and a vegetarian.