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When I grew up we raised a few pigs each year until I was 14. I don’t recall the cleaning being too demanding at all, and it was done by my siblings and I after

When I grew up we raised a few pigs each year until I was 14. I don’t recall the cleaning being too demanding at all, and it was done by my siblings and I after school. What I remember as a distinct challenge is the horrible experience of killing them and then butchering them. That was the worst “clean up”. Pigs are really wonderful animals when given the right treatment and environment. They’re very sweet, excitable, intelligent beings. They’re also maybe the hardest thing to catch when they inevitably escape their pens.

dsego 5y ago
When I was a kid we had one that loved to roll on its back and get a tummy scratch. That one had a distinct personality. We were all very sad when it was time to butcher it. Then there are all the anecdotes every year when the pig would run away and my father or uncle would chase it with the hammer or axe to knock it out. Around here all the slaughters traditionally happened in a few days in November so the whole village would be echoing with squeals. The smells were intensive, images of intestines, scalding and scraping... It was really overwhelming for me as a child. (more context on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_slaughter#Former_Yugoslavia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_slaughter#Former_Yugoslavi...)
- igetspam 5y ago
  Wow... It's so weird to read "we were all very sad when it was time to butcher it." I've raised three pigs. One of them passed, due to a fatal illness that was likely a genetic defect. All of them have personalities and their interpersonal engagements are fascinating. I had to put down an aggressive rooster and it had me in tears. I can't imagine how disturbing it would be to put down a pig (I still feel sad about the one who passed. she was incredible). Do you still eat pork?
  - dsego 5y ago
    I don't eat meat except for fish, but my family still does very much so. It's just not economically sound to keep the animal if you don't intend to kill it for meat. Especially for older generations here who grew up in poverty and experienced real hunger.

dsego 5y ago

When I was a kid we had one that loved to roll on its back and get a tummy scratch. That one had a distinct personality. We were all very sad when it was time to butcher it. Then there are all the anecdotes every year when the pig would run away and my father or uncle would chase it with the hammer or axe to knock it out. Around here all the slaughters traditionally happened in a few days in November so the whole village would be echoing with squeals. The smells were intensive, images of intestines, scalding and scraping... It was really overwhelming for me as a child. (more context on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_slaughter#Former_Yugoslavia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_slaughter#Former_Yugoslavi...)

igetspam 5y ago
Wow... It's so weird to read "we were all very sad when it was time to butcher it." I've raised three pigs. One of them passed, due to a fatal illness that was likely a genetic defect. All of them have personalities and their interpersonal engagements are fascinating. I had to put down an aggressive rooster and it had me in tears. I can't imagine how disturbing it would be to put down a pig (I still feel sad about the one who passed. she was incredible). Do you still eat pork?
- dsego 5y ago
  I don't eat meat except for fish, but my family still does very much so. It's just not economically sound to keep the animal if you don't intend to kill it for meat. Especially for older generations here who grew up in poverty and experienced real hunger.