Our Angus heifer Mignon has a new home as of this morning: The freezer.
At two years old, she was of prime butchering age. Unlike when we butchered her mother, Filet (who was about ten years old and tough, so we turned her into pretty much nothing but hundreds of pounds of ground beef), Mignon should yield some tender and delicious high-grade cuts.
Butchering day is always tough, at least on me. The older I get, the less I like killing things, and I'm grateful Don is here to make sure things go smoothly. That said, we live on a farm for many reasons, and one of those reasons is to strive toward food self-sufficiency. Raising our own beef is part of that plan.
Unlike butchering days at our last home, however, here they're a lot less stressful as far as logistics go. That's because of one of the better purchases we made shortly after moving here: Horse panels. We got what we call a "screamin' good deal" on these beauties back in 2021, and they have proven endlessly useful.
We set some of them up to be a kind of "chute" on the south side of the barn, right off the corral. It's a sunny place the cows can hang out in winter, so they're used to it. But it's also proven useful as an escape-proof area to isolate an animal to be butchered (emphasis on escape-proof). We've had absolutely chaotic butchering days at our last place when animals escaped our admittedly ramshackle corralling attempts, so these horse panels have been a game-changer for us.
In both instances of butchering animals here at our new place – first Filet, now Mignon – it was a simple matter to scoot the animal into the chute, distract the rest of the herd by filling the feed boxes in the barn, and voilà. The local butcher can drive right up to the gate, dispatch the animal, and be off within minutes.
We're also impressed with the dispatcher. He's a crack shot. It's literally one bullet and wham, the animal is down. No pain, no fear. Mignon had her nose buried in a flake of oat hay at the time, so she never even saw it coming. This was the only remnants of Mignon's passing: A sprinkle of blood on the rocks.
During the two years we raised her, Mignon was a nice-enough animal. She had a decent temperament and let me scratch and brush her. She had a good life for as long as it lasted. If we're going to eat meat, this is the kind of conditions under which we like to obtain it. Thank you, Mignon.
Work done, plans realized, mission accomplished. Clean meat in the freezer. You're blessed. I wish!
ReplyDeleteYou're correct about a nice life. I still don't think I could do it. I cry when one of my dogs catches a bird. (Their yard is fenced and the local bunnies know not to enter. They were surrounding a poor possum a few weeks ago but I dragged them in while the possum played dead.)
ReplyDeleteMe too Krab. I have trouble killing anything. Even bugs. The killing is the worst kind of creepy.
DeleteSigh. I do eat meat. Just can't stomach killing.
Yeah. I feel like a hypocrite and a wimp, but this wouldn't be the first time. Heh.
DeleteA friend of mine raises ridiculously expensive heritage breeds of pigs who, of course, go to Porcine University eventually. (Taken from the Simpsons priceless Bovine University sketch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR_4h5A5z_A )
DeleteDoes he use a .22 behind the ears? Kinda curious because I get deer here hit by cars dying in ditches and was curious the most humane way is to end their suffering. Without making more of a mess than needed.
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of hard to answer without knowing you. So I will tell you what I would do. I would cautiously approach the animal while not getting within the range of the hoofs (Because I've seen more than one downed deer lash out.) I would then shoot the animal in the brain, either from the side, just in front of the ear or directly between the eyes. I would certainly be using a weapon with a higher caliber than a .22 if at all possible, although I've seen others use a .22 successfully. Brain death is certainly instantaneous. Be advised that even after the lights have been put out, there can (and likely will) be additional twitches and jerky motions of the head and legs. Don't worry about that. The animal is gone and only the nerves are firing. - Don
ReplyDeleteBack in the early 60's when I was in high school, the FFA club had a steer put down and butchered. He used a 22 right against the front of the skull and the steer dropped like a rock. If the animal suffered it was short.
ReplyDeleteMy son's FFA class uses a captive bolt gun here in San Diego for their demonstrations for the hogs and steers. Very quick. KinCa
DeleteThe local slaughter guys use a .410 with slugs for pigs and beef. They go for between the eyes, then hurry to bleed them out. The distance can be further than a .22 shell would be effective, it works extremely well.
DeleteI like you blog
ReplyDeleteShoot a critter in the top of the head, middle of the skull between the eyes and ears. Imagine an X drawn right ear to left eye, and left ear to right eye. Shoot where the lines cross, through the skull, tilted slightly back toward the neck. I like to use a 45ACP rather than a 22LR. Works for any animal.
ReplyDeleteThat's the ideal. Often with an ornery cow, you just try to get one in the head. I prefer to let my rancher friends shoot the cows, they do it a lot more often that I would.
I tried to eat a chicken I raised to eat. I killed her, butchered her and put her in the freezer. When I tried to eat her I became so nauseous I just couldn't do it. Too many sweet memories. If I love it, I just can't eat it.
ReplyDelete