Thursday, January 8, 2015

Princess the Pig: Part 3

Part 1 (The Intro)
Part 2 (And She Grows)

We have a trailer that we use to haul our trash and firewood (among other things).  Jamey reinforced the sides but as Princess continued to grow he wasn't sure it would hold her if she became disagreeable. So.  On the scheduled delivery day, he picked up a friend's trailer (that's used for sheep) on his way home from work, stopped in at our house briefly to change clothes and pick up the rest of the family and the precious kitchen scraps I'd been saving for three whole days.

We drove over to our neighbor's and he was kindly ready and waiting for us, opening the gate as we drove in so we could back the trailer right up to Princess' yard.  I hadn't seen her in a little while and was surprised as to how much she had grown.  Again.  We later found out she was 325 pounds.

Using pallets they made a little pig chute, released her into the outer yard and lured her with the scraps.  Princess then proceeded to calmly and mannerly walk right up and into the trailer.

And down the road we went.  A number of people asked how our kids took the whole situation.  It may make them sound like calloused, insensitive children but they didn't seem to bat an eye.  Sam took pictures out the back window as we drove down the road and the kids enjoyed seeing all the other animals in the pens waiting their turn to be butchered, including another pig Jamey believed to have been between 500-600 lbs.

This is a reality of life.  If we eat meat, its good (we believe) for children to understand where that meat comes from as well as the importance of raising animals in humane, clean and natural ways to ensure their health and therefore ours.

behind the butcher's

I hate to drag this out but in the next post I'll show you what we got in return and what we're doing with some of it thus far.  Here's a little preview....

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  1. 6 boxes!!! Oh My Word. And a big high 5 for Jamey. I'm so glad he didn't have to wrestle princess into the trailer. ;)

  2. I commend you for being real with your children. It's important that people realize that meat doesn't just magically appear in the grocery store on styrofoam trays!

  3. My father had an inner city neighborhood grocery and he butchered whole and 1/2 animals (think 1960's) and I still didn't know where meat came from. I worked for him for 5 years, working the register and bagging groceries the entire time. My brothers were taught how to butcher and had a much better understanding of how things actually were. The more naive our children and grandchildren are regarding real life, the more vulnerable they are. How will they ever survive if we don't teach them? Our granddaughter will be spending some time with us on our farm this summer learning the facts of life.

  4. I love the behind-the-butcher's photo! And lucky you, all that meat. Yum.

  5. Can I ask, do you know why the head was behind the butchers?
    When I was a kid, our elementary class had toured a butchers building, so I know and fully grasp where the yummy meat comes from...I just couldn't be there like your family (and I commend you that you can). I guess I am a wuss - but I am ok with that :)

    1. I'm not sure why the head was out there- maybe it just hadn't been disposed of yet...maybe someone wanted it for some reason...I just don't know. But we sure found it interesting!

  6. I think it's great that you look your food in the eye. I'm a huge advocate of that. Once we started raising our own meat, dairy and produce the kids see all the effort that goes into it and make the connection that these are real animals. They choose to eat better and are more appreciative.

  7. love your matter-of-fact approach. We try to take the same approach, although being city dwellers, we will probably never raise the meat we eat. But still. We buy part of a steer from a farmer friend, and our kids know the process of life to meat.

  8. Have I ever told you how much I love pork? I'm very jealous right now.

  9. It looks like a Water Buffalo Head..perhaps a trophy mount?

    This set of three posts is excellent. It is a really good example of making arrangements to get meat if you do not have a huge farm and major facilities. Sharing space is good use of that space! Plus your children have a chance to really understand food and how it all comes about. I bet you will so love the pork! YUM!





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