A Lesson in Farm Fortitude
A lesson in farm fortitude today (any vegetarian friends stop reading here!)
Evie and I were flying a kite in the east pasture and as we walked back, I glanced in the pig pen and saw one of the gilts laying in a weird position next to the fence. I hopped in and found that she wasn't moving...she was newly dead.
She had been alive not 30 minutes before and from what I can deduce, while rooting in the pen she somehow got her head stuck between the fence panel and the cement ...and suffocated with her nose stuck into the ground.
Evie and I were flying a kite in the east pasture and as we walked back, I glanced in the pig pen and saw one of the gilts laying in a weird position next to the fence. I hopped in and found that she wasn't moving...she was newly dead.
She had been alive not 30 minutes before and from what I can deduce, while rooting in the pen she somehow got her head stuck between the fence panel and the cement ...and suffocated with her nose stuck into the ground.
It had happened so recently, she was completely warm to the touch. I tried everything I could to revive her--yes, I totally did CPR on a PIG. But nothing was going to bring her back.
Thinking quickly (and like a cheap German that wastes nothing on the farm), I ushered Evie to the house and went back out for the pig. She weighed probably 80-90lbs or more and it wasn't easy to get her out.
And then, well, I field dressed her right in our yard.
I had never butchered anything in my life besides fowl and had no idea what I was doing but I got the job done and saved a good 24+ pounds of meat. A big thanks to my Uncle Dave Dringman for walking me through the worst of it on the phone.
On a farm (and anywhere really) it is waste not, want not. It certainly wasn't what I had planned for this Sunday afternoon and I hated to lose a nice pig, but I happy that I was able to make the best of it. It is a strangely empowering feeling knowing that I can successfully butcher a large animal and provide meat for my family. I feel kind of super badass right now.
Thinking quickly (and like a cheap German that wastes nothing on the farm), I ushered Evie to the house and went back out for the pig. She weighed probably 80-90lbs or more and it wasn't easy to get her out.
And then, well, I field dressed her right in our yard.
I had never butchered anything in my life besides fowl and had no idea what I was doing but I got the job done and saved a good 24+ pounds of meat. A big thanks to my Uncle Dave Dringman for walking me through the worst of it on the phone.
On a farm (and anywhere really) it is waste not, want not. It certainly wasn't what I had planned for this Sunday afternoon and I hated to lose a nice pig, but I happy that I was able to make the best of it. It is a strangely empowering feeling knowing that I can successfully butcher a large animal and provide meat for my family. I feel kind of super badass right now.
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