# Winter Home Butchering



## pasotami (Jun 1, 2006)

I thought I'd ask where home butchers here actually DO the butchering in the wintertime? I have circulation problems in my hands and the cold and the water envolved with butchering and washing outside makes it just about impossible for me. Any ideas would be welcomed.


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## cowgirlone (May 9, 2002)

I butcher hogs either hanging from the bucket on the tractor, or hanging from a pipe sitting between two tree branches. (depends on what they weigh)
I/we do the skinning and gutting there.............divide the hog in half, use an outdoor table to cut the meat into quarters and move it to the kitchen for the rest.

Deer I can do in an outside shop/building....I have access to water and I can hang the deer from the rafters of the building. I still finish the job in my kitchen.

If you have access to an outdoor building that you can heat, would that help? Once you get the animal skinned and quartered, the rest is easy to do in the house.


I believe it was r.h. a year or so ago talked about building an outdoor butcher station..........wonder if he ever did this? Sure would be nice to have.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I know this don't help but my wife helps me a lot.But together with what I can do we get it done.

big rockpile


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I do all mine outdoors. If its really cold , wear some knit gloves underneath a pair of rubber surgical gloves. For REALLY messy work I have plastic gloves that reach my shoulders.


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## pasotami (Jun 1, 2006)

I have a heated garage and a heat area in one barn to wash horses in the winter. Wonder what I would have to "install" to be able to use one of these places. Have lots of small aniamls (rabbits and chickens) to butcher, I will have several lambs later and in a month I will have a beef (smaller one - weaned and grain fed for two months). I could use the washroom for the horses for it has both hot and cold water, a drain in the floor but I am not fond of the thought of anything getting close to the floor 0 even though I can pressure wash it, it is still quite dirty. I would like to come up with something that would come from the ceiling or freestand for the rabbits. I have over 30 to butcher this next week and I understand the temps will be in the 40's or colder.... 
I have tried gloves but I have Renard's (mis-spelled). When my hands get wet and then cold, they turn bluish-black, then when I get them warm, they go bright red and hurt like the devil.... I can't hold anything - I just sit and sweat from the pain. Once it os over I am able to use my hands again but this may happen 4-5 times in an hour of butchering..... makes things go real slow.
On another note - if I wanted to make a table to be able to cut up the meat in large pieces say quarter or to cut the chickens up so it would make the job in the kitchen faster, what could I use that would be sturdy enough but yet I could take it apart for easy storage? I thought about saw horses and maybe 3 - 2x10's but how would I get them to say on the saw horses short of nailing them....?
I also thought that maybe a plastic wash bin (not sure what one really calls them) the kind that look like the older metal ones that one would wash cloths in.... I believe that would make a good rinse sink and would be easy to keep clean but light enough to pick up and move..... 
if anyone has an ideas of an indoor butcher area - I would appreciate the input. I hate hurting while trying to work.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

My main thing is Pinched Nerves.I go to pulling my Hands lock up and hurt really bad.Then I might think I have a good grip on something,find I don't.

Just not fun as it use to be.

big rockpile


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Put your boards on the saw horses. Tie them together with a strip on 2 X 2 on the bottom Then run a couple of screws in the corners if youre worried about it moving around. Or just tack them to the saw horses with nails leaving the heads exposed. I use 5/4 X 6 decking boards for my table and cover it with plastic. Its lighter than using 2 X 10's and is still sturdy enough to do deer sized animals

To do the lambs buy a roll of Visqueen at Lowe's or Home Depot. You can use it to cover your floor so you wont have to worry about getting blood stains out of the concrete. If its not too big of a space you may be able to just use a plastic painter's drop cloth. If your ceiling joists are exposed rig up a winch or pulley and use a gambrel to hang them while you work


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

pasotami said:


> I have a heated garage and a heat area in one barn to wash horses in the winter. Wonder what I would have to "install" to be able to use one of these places. Have lots of small aniamls (rabbits and chickens) to butcher, I will have several lambs later and in a month I will have a beef (smaller one - weaned and grain fed for two months). I could use the washroom for the horses for it has both hot and cold water, a drain in the floor but I am not fond of the thought of anything getting close to the floor 0 even though I can pressure wash it, it is still quite dirty. I would like to come up with something that would come from the ceiling or freestand for the rabbits. I have over 30 to butcher this next week and I understand the temps will be in the 40's or colder....
> I have tried gloves but I have Renard's (mis-spelled). When my hands get wet and then cold, they turn bluish-black, then when I get them warm, they go bright red and hurt like the devil.... I can't hold anything - I just sit and sweat from the pain. Once it os over I am able to use my hands again but this may happen 4-5 times in an hour of butchering..... makes things go real slow.
> On another note - if I wanted to make a table to be able to cut up the meat in large pieces say quarter or to cut the chickens up so it would make the job in the kitchen faster, what could I use that would be sturdy enough but yet I could take it apart for easy storage? I thought about saw horses and maybe 3 - 2x10's but how would I get them to say on the saw horses short of nailing them....?
> I also thought that maybe a plastic wash bin (not sure what one really calls them) the kind that look like the older metal ones that one would wash cloths in.... I believe that would make a good rinse sink and would be easy to keep clean but light enough to pick up and move.....
> if anyone has an ideas of an indoor butcher area - I would appreciate the input. I hate hurting while trying to work.


i been looking at the plastic tables that fold up for a place that i can do butchering on.they have some at lowe's if you got one close by to take a look at.i also seen them at target.you might look into some of the gloves that water trappers use to set and work traps with???...maybe a set of gaunlets...not sure but maybe thay are insulated.....haggis might know.also i like to have alot of nice dish pans to put my butchered parts into and use to take inside to do final packageing and clean-up.


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## pasotami (Jun 1, 2006)

elkhound said:


> i been looking at the plastic tables that fold up for a place that i can do butchering on.they have some at lowe's if you got one close by to take a look at.i also seen them at target.you might look into some of the gloves that water trappers use to set and work traps with???...maybe a set of gaunlets...not sure but maybe thay are insulated.....haggis might know.also i like to have alot of nice dish pans to put my butchered parts into and use to take inside to do final packageing and clean-up.


I use an ice chest to my butcher parts in. The kind that has wheels so I can just roll it into the house - I'll put ice water in it to cool the smaller butcher animals like chickens or rabbits if it is hot outside - just reagular water if it is cold. I'll have to look at the tables - every plastic table I've seen I do not feel they are strong enough but I'll check Lowe's, there is one about 30 mins. from me. Thanks for the ideas - I'm going to butcher tomorrow the rabbits.... it is getting way too cold to keep the waterers to them now and they are big enough for good frying. Some are roaster size and I think I'm going to can those this time - let you know who that works out. I will check on my beef this week also - need to check the weather temps. for hanging....


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

My outdoors work is normally just the gutting, skinning and quartering. 

At that point the quarters come inside for cleaning in the bathtub and freezing in the freezer. Semi-frozen cuts nicer.

Take a quarter out, go into the heated kitchen and do the final butchering on the kitchen table and counter.


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