Farmer failure today *added baby pics 3/07 :)
Nov 27, 2013 8:45:07 GMT -5
Pinevalleydexter and homemilker like this
Post by robynsa on Nov 27, 2013 8:45:07 GMT -5
I had my first farmer failure day today. Yesterday I booked an appointment at the butcher for one of my pigs. This morning I loaded her in the trailer and took her to the farm. This afternoon I phoned the farmer in floods of tears and asked him not to slaughter my pig.
Munsie was one of two meat piglets that we bought at the auction just under 2 years ago. They were our first pigs purchased solely with the intention of turning them into sausage. About 16 months ago we butchered the boar. He was delicious! She would have been done on the same day but we couldn't catch her for love or money, so she stayed. She became a "sort of" pet pig, free roaming around the whole property, though we moved her into a large pen about a year ago. We had every intention of eventually sending her for slaughter but somehow, this morning, I just couldn't do it.
Munsie is a sweet, intelligent pig. She is kind and gentle, has never tried to eat poultry or eggs, walks around with the dogs, has never tried to bite and is really quite eerily intelligent in terms of her problem solving skills. We have 4 other pigs at the moment and none are as intuitive and sweet as she is. I cannot WAIT for the two young boars to grow out so I can take them, and our Potbellies are pets based on a commitment made to their previous owner BUT I could slaughter them quite easily if I was hungry.
So... I am collecting (living) Munsie tomorrow, and I'm going to put her in with the boys we are raising for bacon. They haven't been castrated so all going according to plan we should get Munsie babies. I know I wouldn't have an issue butchering her babies, but Munsie herself - I somehow just can't. We are sending our first calf for slaughter next week, and he was born here and has given us such joy - but somehow I just feel different about Munsie.
Has anyone else ever experienced this? I feel like a real farming failure, but on the other side my heart is happy that my pig is coming home. As another friend of mine said, "She wouldn't have tasted nice".
In the pics below, she is the one with the upright ears. She is now MUCH larger than in the photo with me rubbing her belly - she's over 100kgs now. She has a peculiar smell to her - she always smells like curry powder, but it's not unpleasant. I think, if we had butchered her and her meat smelled like curry powder, I would have cried myself to sleep for months. Even if it didn't, I think I would have developed a phantom taste!
Munsie was one of two meat piglets that we bought at the auction just under 2 years ago. They were our first pigs purchased solely with the intention of turning them into sausage. About 16 months ago we butchered the boar. He was delicious! She would have been done on the same day but we couldn't catch her for love or money, so she stayed. She became a "sort of" pet pig, free roaming around the whole property, though we moved her into a large pen about a year ago. We had every intention of eventually sending her for slaughter but somehow, this morning, I just couldn't do it.
Munsie is a sweet, intelligent pig. She is kind and gentle, has never tried to eat poultry or eggs, walks around with the dogs, has never tried to bite and is really quite eerily intelligent in terms of her problem solving skills. We have 4 other pigs at the moment and none are as intuitive and sweet as she is. I cannot WAIT for the two young boars to grow out so I can take them, and our Potbellies are pets based on a commitment made to their previous owner BUT I could slaughter them quite easily if I was hungry.
So... I am collecting (living) Munsie tomorrow, and I'm going to put her in with the boys we are raising for bacon. They haven't been castrated so all going according to plan we should get Munsie babies. I know I wouldn't have an issue butchering her babies, but Munsie herself - I somehow just can't. We are sending our first calf for slaughter next week, and he was born here and has given us such joy - but somehow I just feel different about Munsie.
Has anyone else ever experienced this? I feel like a real farming failure, but on the other side my heart is happy that my pig is coming home. As another friend of mine said, "She wouldn't have tasted nice".
In the pics below, she is the one with the upright ears. She is now MUCH larger than in the photo with me rubbing her belly - she's over 100kgs now. She has a peculiar smell to her - she always smells like curry powder, but it's not unpleasant. I think, if we had butchered her and her meat smelled like curry powder, I would have cried myself to sleep for months. Even if it didn't, I think I would have developed a phantom taste!