# Cow



## Finger_Mullet (Aug 19, 2005)

If this belongs somewhere else, please move it.

My buddy calls today and ask if I can get off work early. I said yes. He has a cow that was down for a couple of days and he had been trying to get her up. He pulled her calf and the calf was alive but her insides came out and she was going to die. The slaughter house won't take them unless they can walk off the trailer. He needed some help butchering her.

I called my other buddy and we gathered our skinning stuff and headed over. He bled her out and lifted her onto a tarp in the field. We had no where to hang her. She weighted over 1000 pounds. We skinned her and quartered her.

I have never seen so much meat. We hung the hams for the night and packed the rest into coolers for processing. I will never butcher another cow. I figured it would be like a big deer. WRONG!!!! It was like 20 deer.

Anyone ever butchered a cow??

Darin


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

*Have butchered several steers[600/800 #]*

Without a gambling pole, we used a rtactor to hoist up. Skinned first, then used a sawzall to split down the backbone. Then to a processing plant to hang 14 days. One of the crew was a part time butcher so we had it made to cut it up. A bunch of work for shore.


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## WV Cobbmullet (Dec 2, 2008)

wdbrand said:


> Without a gambling pole, we used a rtactor to hoist up. Skinned first, then used a sawzall to split down the backbone. Then to a processing plant to hang 14 days. One of the crew was a part time butcher so we had it made to cut it up. A bunch of work for shore.


A bunch of work for sure but always enjoyed butchering day. Dont do it any more the slaughterhouse is so much cleaner and anymore most dont want you to bring in home slaughtered animals.


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## TimKan7719 (Apr 4, 2008)

Yup yup lots of work there. I worked in one in MD and We butched by 1/2 a cow. Its lots of work. Would have been easier if you had her hung up.


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

*MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!*

Bill:fishing:::fishing:beer:


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## Finger_Mullet (Aug 19, 2005)

*Hamburger*

I just got thru grinding hamburger. Ground up 26 lbs of fresh hamburger. 

Nothing like hamburgers right out of the grinder.

Darin


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

Back in the recession of '80-82' five of us,includiing a former butcher, went together and purchased three steers,penned'em,and fed'em grain/fresh corn right outta da field for about 8 weeks.'Bout the size of WDs' we had a slaughter house put'em down,halve'em,and hang'em for a couple weeks.Took all five of us,most all of a cold February day to butcher'em.Former butcher had all the tools,including a grinder.Also had scales so when the butchering was done each of us got 20% of each pile.Would do it again in a heartbeat 'cause those steers didn't get to move around building muscle and releasing lactic acid.Don't git no better.


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## Bobmac (Oct 11, 2008)

Used to do the steers every fall. 
There would be as few as a dozen or as many as 30, it just depended on what the economy was like. What we didn't sell and butcher was sold on the hoof. We had a meat house built right beside an ice cold stream to hang it in. It's a job that takes some doing especially when you do it by hand.


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

Sawed more than one down the back with a hand meat saw. The electric sawzall revolutionozed the process. In fact, on the scale of importance, I'd rank it #3. Right behind fire and the wheel.


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

wdbrand said:


> Sawed more than one down the back with a hand meat saw. The electric sawzall revolutionozed the process. In fact, on the scale of importance, I'd rank it #3. Right behind fire and the wheel.


That some funny sh#!, when we (city folk) were first turned onto the hog killing thing them mounteen boys wazn hakenze themze hougz ups witns az asked thats right I said an axe! RLMAO Remember my dad looking at me and saying I recon they aint heared of a meat saw before, well next year my dad had one of them hi tex hand operaded meets saz and them mouteen boys arz still tallking about that thing. LOL


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## WV Cobbmullet (Dec 2, 2008)

wdbrand said:


> Sawed more than one down the back with a hand meat saw. The electric sawzall revolutionozed the process. In fact, on the scale of importance, I'd rank it #3. Right behind fire and the wheel.


Its a fer piece from neck to tail with a handsaw.


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

*Obx,*

an axe is still how we work up a hog.


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

wdbrand said:


> an axe is still how we work up a hog.


So ya use a saw to split a cow down the backbone and wack off the feet but you dont use a saw to do the same thing on a hog???opcorn: alright then


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

*There's a reason for that.*

Way back when, folks had to can everything. That meant no porkchops. Since the loins were stripped out and canned, the easiest way to do that was to use an axe and chop thru the rib cage on both sides of the backbone. This allowed one to make a cut down thru the the back of the hog and lay it out in two halves. The loins could then be stripped out. The backbones were eat fresh. Feet were ringed off, not chopped or sawed. Same with the knuckles. A sharp axe in the right hands was a work of art.


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