Pig slaughter at home and at meat processing plants

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Keeping pigs is troublesome, but at the same time quite profitable. One of the most complex operations of all performed on home mini-farms is, of course, the slaughter of piglets. This procedure must be carried out correctly. Strict observance of the technology eliminates the suffering of the animal and at the same time provides a good taste of meat.

Slaughter time for pigs on farms and homesteads

Piglets can be fattened by two main methods. In the first case, meat-fat carcasses are obtained at the output, in the second - bacon. It is on what technology was used in cultivation that the timing of slaughter depends. Meat pigs are usually slaughtered at the age of 7-8 months. The fact is that at this time, intensive fat deposition begins in animals. Piglets raised for both meat and lard are generally kept a little longer before slaughter.

Actually, the fattening cycle itself in household plots and small farms usually ends in late autumn. It is at this time that piglets are most often slaughtered. On large agriculturalenterprises, this procedure can be performed periodically, as different age groups of young animals grow up.

Basic home slaughter methods

On farms and household plots, pigs are most often slaughtered with a sharp knife. In this case, a rope is used as an improvised means. At the beginning of the last century, a method was also practiced in the villages, in which the pig was first stunned with a weapon (a blank shot in the ear), and then finished off with a double-edged dagger.

Nowadays, on mini-farms, in addition to a knife, a pig can be slaughtered using a sledgehammer. Using this tool, the piglet is stunned with a blow to the back of the head. In this case, a fracture of the vertebrae and instant paralysis of the nervous system occur. That is, the slaughtered animal does not suffer. However, this method of slaughter has one rather serious drawback. The fact is that when using a sledgehammer, the blood from the carcass subsequently cannot be completely drained.

Home gardeners usually slaughter their own pigs. Farmers, on the other hand, who keep a large number of animals, often delegate this unpleasant work to specialists from meat processing plants.

Preparations

Before the slaughter, of course, the pig should not be fed or watered. Food is not given to the animal for 12 hours. Water is removed from the machine 4-5 hours before slaughter. For the last time, the animal should be given a sugar solution to drink. In this case, his meat will be tastier.

It is desirable that the pre-pig alsoexamined by a veterinarian. Of course, in a small household plot, if the meat is not planned to be sold, domestic pigs are usually slaughtered without inspection. After all, calling a veterinarian is quite expensive. But on farms and meat-packing plants, inspection of animals should be mandatory.

How to cut properly at home

On household plots, pigs are usually slaughtered as follows:

• A hungry animal is lured out of the barn with some food.
• Tie a strong rope to his right hind leg.
• Fix both right legs together. As a result, the pig falls sideways.
• The animal's jugular vein and carotid artery are cut at the same time with a sharp knife. A blow to the neck should be applied as sharply as possible. At the same time, it is undesirable to make an incision that is too long. Otherwise, in the subsequent process of singeing the carcass, a large amount of meat will be burned, which will have to be thrown out or fed to the dogs.

During the agony, the pig usually kicks its legs a lot. If the animal is large, the impact of its hoof can cause serious injury. Therefore, the pig must be cut with care.

Sometimes pigs are slaughtered at home by a blow not to the neck, but to the heart. This method is also quite effective and humane. However, this technology requires some experience. After all, to get into the heart of the animal must be the first time. Otherwise, you may have to chase him around the yard, listening to a wild screech. BUTthis, of course, is extremely unpleasant.

How little pigs are slaughtered

These pigs can also be slaughtered in many ways. Most often, dairy piglets are cut on a stool alone. The most humane in this case is the method of puncture in the neck. With a sharp thin long knife, the pig should be hit at a point located about 1-1.5 cm from the left ear.

Helpful tips

In order for the slaughter procedure to be successful and without incident, it is worth following the recommendations of experienced farmers:

• You should not make the pig nervous - urge it, kick it, yell at it, etc. Otherwise, it will be much more difficult to deal with it later. Moreover, frightened piglets often behave even aggressively.
• Pig should be slaughtered in a suitable place. It should be such that in the future it can be easily removed and washed. Of course, the place should be chosen so that the actual slaughter itself is as convenient as possible.
• Pig should only be slaughtered with an assistant. If the animal weighs more than 80 kg, there must be several assistants. In any case, the legs of the piglet (sitting on them or stepping on the rope) must be held by someone.
• Before starting the procedure, it is desirable, among other things, to wash the pig. In this case, it will be much easier to process the carcass in the future.

Before slaughtering, among other things, a bowl should be prepared. It will be needed to drain the animal's blood.

Slaughter technologypigs used in meat processing plants

At home, therefore, pigs can be cut in many ways. At meat processing plants, the slaughter procedure is usually also performed using a knife. However, in this case, the animals are suspended by the hind legs on the crossbars (using a special winch). To keep the incision as minimal as possible, specialists usually cut only the carotid artery in the piglet. The jugular vein remains intact.

Often the slaughter of pigs in meat processing plants is carried out using a different technology. In this case, a special device is used - a metal stylet. Two electrodes of 1-1.5 A and 70-90 V are suspended from it. The current is created either using a step-down transformer or using a rheostat. The stylet is fixed on a special strong shaft.

During the slaughter process, the sharp part of the tool is placed on the back of the animal's head and held in this position for about 7 seconds. The method is very simple. But at home, using any such technique, and even more so with the use of home-made devices, is highly discouraged. For obvious reasons, this can easily lead to an accident.

Sometimes a stun gun is used for large boars in private farms. Such a technological slaughter of a pig, of course, saves a lot of time and effort. However, this method is considered not very humane. And therefore it is used quite rarely.

What to do after slaughter

The carcass of a pig must be processed firstblowtorch. In this way, virtually all of the bristles can be removed relatively easily. Sometimes straw is also used instead of a lamp. The whole carcass is wrapped around it and set on fire.

After the heat treatment, the skin should be thoroughly scraped off with a knife from soot and rinsed. It is better to clean each scorched area immediately. Therefore, removing bristles with a lamp should be done with an assistant. When processing the peritoneum, care must be taken. The skin of a pig in this area is very thin and can be easily burned.

The slaughtered pig is gutted as follows:

• In the middle of the abdomen, an incision is made from the chest to the back of the carcass.
• They pull out the liver, stomach, intestines.
• Carefully separate the gallbladder.
• Remove fat from the stomach and intestines and wash them after squeezing out the contents.
• Cut out the diaphragm, take out the lungs and heart.
• Thoroughly wipe the inside of the carcass with a clean cloth.
• Separate the legs and head of the pig.
• Saw the carcass along the line of the spine into two parts.
• Carry out cutting according to the scheme.

What you need to know

In no case should you wash the carcass from the inside when cutting. Otherwise, the meat will not be stored for a long time. Cutting is recommended only after the carcass has cooled down. That is, approximately 6 hours after slaughter. At the final stage, chopped meat is sent for sale, for making stew, etc.

What are the cutting schemes

Cut the carcass intopieces can be made using different technologies. Professional cutters usually cut them according to American, Moscow, German or English methods. English is considered the easiest. In this case, after cutting off the head and legs, the carcass is simply divided with an ax into three parts - back, middle and front.

This is how procedures such as slaughter and processing of pigs (their carcasses) are carried out at home and at a meat processing plant. Of course, both of these operations should be performed correctly, using humane methods and observing safety precautions.