Rearing your meat

Twizzel

Twizzel

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Anyone ever done it? Could you do it if given the opportunity?

The winters for me are fairly quiet (equestrian work) so I have a lot of spare time. The cows on the farm start calving from Sept/Oct onwards and are housed inside from October, so it gets busy with them. I rear my own lambs, they come from the farmer at 48hrs old and are normally one of triplets (a ewe can only sufficiently feed 2 lambs) so the 3rd is taken off and raised on the bottle. This year we've had 12, lost 2 fairly late on so have got 10 lambs to take through to killing. Last year we had 6 and the meat quality was top notch.

I took the first 5 off to slaughter yesterday, and get the meat back tomorrow, time for a bbq I think :cool: Just wondered if anyone else does it or would you be able to, I know it's not for everyone but the quality of the meat is exceptional and we get to stock our freezer with a whole lamb every year- not something we'd be able to afford to do if buying from a butcher. I know what every lamb has eaten, drugs have been administered, I know what fields they have grazed and how old they are... tracability doesn't come better than that! Thoughts anyone?
 
I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm a bit jealous actually :) i bet it tastes divine. If you can eat it you should be able to do all the things before that too in my opinion.
 
I grew up in that environment and whilst I personally don't keep any livestock at the moment (apart from poultry) I'd be more than happy to do it again if I had the time or inclination.

PS

I get venison and lamb from my brother (Gamekeeper / sheep farmer) and pork off a mate (pig farmer) so I'm quite lucky not having to buy the bigger stuff.
 
Yes that is my opinion too. Last years lambs were killed at home by a mobile slaughterman (for our own consumption) and I held them through out the process. Not easy, but peace of mind that they had a dignified, stress free ending. Felt quite proud at the end of the afternoon that the great quality carcasses in front of me were thanks to our hard work, and this year is no different.

The taste is nothing like you've ever tasted before, I love lamb but this home reared lamb is just something else. It's hung for a minimum of 2 days (whereas supermarked lamb is normally killed and cut the same day) for full flavour, fed good quality grass and it really shows in the taste.

I'd like to keep pigs but there just isn't any money in it at the moment and our farm butcher has superb half pigs for a very reasonable price. We have a bullock to kill for the freezer come autumn, that will keep us going in beef for a while...
 
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i am Greener than the hulk at the moment. i wanted to keep chickens but the family said no. now i live here there is no way i could.
 
norters said:
I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm a bit jealous actually :) i bet it tastes divine. If you can eat it you should be able to do all the things before that too in my opinion.
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100% agree.
If you want to eat it you should be prepared to accept everything that goes along with bringing it to the table.
When I was a child, my grandmother always had rabbits and small game birds hanging in the pantry so I grew up knowing where food comes from.

If I had the time, the land and the expertise I'd happily do it.
As it is I'm lucky enough to have friends who farm beef cattle and lambs so I know exactly where at least some of my meat comes from.
 
SarahLee said:
100% agree.
If you want to eat it you should be prepared to accept everything that goes along with bringing it to the table.
When I was a child, my grandmother always had rabbits and small game birds hanging in the pantry so I grew up knowing where food comes from.

If I had the time, the land and the expertise I'd happily do it.
As it is I'm lucky enough to have friends who farm beef cattle and lambs so I know exactly where at least some of my meat comes from.
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Totally agree- OH's neice lives next door to us, and quite often comments on the rabbits hanging on the washing line after a night's shooting with "uncle J, bang bang" and makes a gun with her fingers :D and knows all too well that the lambs on the farm are on her dinner plate 6mths later- she is only 3 :D
 
yep. easily.. have "rehomed" orphan lambs before and no probs in sending to the butcher to make sunday roast...
 
Used to work as a stockman for a farmer who supplied Mum's butcher who home killed and butchered his product. Delicious!!! Grandparents also used to keep chickens and again, these were despatched on site and were delicious! The only advice I would give is not to name any animals destined for the pot - #9182-3746-5a is easy to kill and eat - Daisy might be a bit harder!
 
Nod said:
Used to work as a stockman for a farmer who supplied Mum's butcher who home killed and butchered his product. Delicious!!! Grandparents also used to keep chickens and again, these were despatched on site and were delicious! The only advice I would give is not to name any animals destined for the pot - #9182-3746-5a is easy to kill and eat - Daisy might be a bit harder!
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Yes agree on the name front! I don't name my lambs, however this year named our only jet black one Moses after one of our friends, and well... he should have gone this week but had a repreive ;) I'll be gutted when he goes... never name animals reared for the table people! :bang:
 
You'll be gutted? How do you think Moses will feel?!!!!!!!!!!
 
Twizzel said:
Yes agree on the name front! I don't name my lambs, however this year named our only jet black one Moses after one of our friends, and well... he should have gone this week but had a repreive ;) I'll be gutted when he goes... never name animals reared for the table people! :bang:
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You could always keep him! The one that got away ;)
 
My mother recently bought the plot of land next door to her house (to stop a property developer putting 90 houses on it). To keep the land under control she bought some rare breed Jacob sheep and a ram.

The ram did his job and in early 2012 about 17 lambs were born of which about 9 were male. In March this year and just now, these were slaughtered and butchered and the who family has a freezer full of lamb. The taste is much better than shop bought lamb, and I know the origin (I helped feed them), and the 'food milage' is minimal.

The new lambs born this spring are maturing nicely and will be ready next spring.

Since then a couple of highland cattle have been bought...

My parents also keep chickens and ducks as well as having a small veg plot, and were pleased to have an entirely self sufficient meal the other day.

Some friends think its horrific eating something you've met - and can't see the counter argument that they were bred to be eaten, never named or cuddled, and because you know everything about them from birth to butcher, its better than eating something you buy in the supermarket which in view of what happened recently, may be horse and not beef.
 
Eddzz!! said:
You could always keep him! The one that got away ;)
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Oh don't tempt me... no he's got to go in the next lot. He keeps escaping overnight so he's got to go! :'(


I picked up our lambs from the butcher today, he commented that they were great lambs and are lovely and lean with a small amount of fat running on the top of chops etc. Well chuffed!
 
Yep, have had turkeys, chickens and rabbits - also did the butchering myself ;)
 
very interesting thread.

Although I couldn't watch the slaughter, I'd love rear my own animals for the same reason. Do you mind me asking what method was used during the slaughter? Don't worry, I don't have any views on the subject, just curious to know what methods are used in small scale slaughtering. I personally only buy hand slaughtered with no stunning due to religious beliefs.
 
I thought this thread was about something else altogether.
 
I would love to but the wife and kids aren't. The kids know where may comes from etc etc the wife isn't an animal or come to that much of a meat fan.
 
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Id like to think I could, however, if I fussed it and petted it and gave it a name...
I know it's life would be so much better than being reared on a meat farm, but... I don't think I could eat it if I loved it :(
(and no, I'm not squeamish, the first time I saw a pig being killed was on my grandmothers farm and I was only 4 or 5, and I even helped make the black puddings!)
 
Dave, I hope your "wide" doesn't see that typo!!!
 
Thought I'd entered the wrong forum for a minute :eek:
 
I've probably mentioned this before (I still claim the hole in me heed as an excuse for memory lapes!) but not in this thread that one of our favourite tavernas on holiday has a small petting zoo for the kids where they can cuddle cute little bunnies and look at fluffy little chicks. Oddly they have no problems with being overrun by the adults - their kounelli stiffado (and krassato) and kotopoullo is absolutely first class. Food miles? Food metres! (The owners live about 100m from the tavern and deal with the messy bit at home!)
 
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