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Nothing says we got this right than repeat customers! We love getting to see folks again, visiting again, and providing them with even more of their very own home grown meat. Last time we went, we did a collection of pigs and some sheep for these families. This time, we processed a large bull for them, producing a lot of beef. This bull went to many different families for food. One family grew the bull. The other family paid for the slaughter. They split the bull in half, right down the middle! And then those halves were split even further between siblings, children, etc, the meat going to many different households. This is what cowshares can do! Nobody had to have a huge amount of freezer space. Nobody had to shoulder the entire cost all by themselves. And everybody got some awesome, delicious, healthy food. Hats off to y'all, you got this figured out!

We also got the opportunity to drive this living legend, a rolling piece of art. Fabulous, I hope she keeps going for many more decades! The old man drove the tractor to pick up the bull, and we got to drive the jeep to pull the bull from the pens to the slaughter wagon. We are told it is a 69.

After everything was all said and done, we all sat down for a wonderful lunch made of home made bread from a recipie we shared (and they made it better than we did!) and some pulled pork from the pigs we did last trip. It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful visit. Clients aren't just clients. More often than not, they become like family.

Today we traveled to the Luling area to a fascinating old ranch that was filled with ancient trees, old buildings, and some really really old tractor equipment. It was a blast from the past and really cool to see everything. This ranch had a cow that came up lame. She had a banged up knee but could still get around. She was turned mostly into ground meat, with the briskets, fajitas, and a few chuck roasts saved out.

Weight: 1185 lbs

Travel: 70 miles

Total job cost: $878.50

We love happy clients! So far, all of our clients have been happy. But we admit that we love it when they are happy enough to put us on blast! This family even shared this wonderful post to a state-wide homesteading group.

1115 LBS live weight

110 miles travel

25 lb sausage

Total job cost $1100.50

Stop the unwanted feeding of wild pigs

The wild pig population here in Texas has been a growing concern for many years. Pigs are quick to breed; most females are developed and can start carrying a liter at six months of age. When you add a litter size of six to eight piglets with half being female it is not hard to figure out the wild pig population can get out of control fast. 

As a mobile slaughter unit for Texas, we travel to many parts of the state. We see first hand the damage these wild pigs cause to property. Their rooting can destroy fields and wipe out gardens in hours with sounders up to thirty pigs; it doesn't take long for the armies of pigs to cause plenty of havoc.  

Land ownership is changing here in Texas. Property sizes are getting smaller, the ranches that once were hundreds of acres  are now being divided to smaller five to twenty five acres ranchettes for homesteads. This is great. I enjoy seeing people coming back to rural settings. They are bringing new commerce to many of the small Texas towns. People are getting back to knowing where their food comes from and taking interest in how it is being raised. But this is also benefiting wild pigs as well. 

Now instead of having one landowner that could put in place a pig management  for this property, there are twenty to thirty land owners. It can be a bit of a challenge to get thirty people to agree on anything, but I think we can all agree on the importance of a wild pig management program. I don't think it takes us all but if every landowner will take some small steps the wild pig population can be held in check. 

One of the best things every Texas landowner can do to help control the wild pig population is to stop the unwanted feeding of wild pigs.  I have included a video from Texas Ag Extension on how to build a feed pen around a game feeder.  Just about every property we go to in Texas with a mobile processing unit, we see game feeders. Of course, part of the reason is to have rural property to see natural wildlife. But would you believe that I have never seen one with hog panels around it?  

We are on site processing cows, pigs, goats and sheep four to five days out of the week and see game feeders all the time, never not once have I seen one with panels around it. 80% of corn that is broadcasted to feed wildlife goes to wild pigs. They will dominate the feeders have no problem running off other wildlife. Placing panels around those feeders to change that. Deer and other wildlife have no problem jumping over to eat, so the feeder will still have the desired effect of attracting wildlife but now we are not feeding the pigs. 

If your neighbors have had sufficient damage to his property by wild pigs many times they will call in a trapper to remove the pigs. By having your game feeders pen off, you are helping trappers by not supplying that food source to distract their efforts. In the long run you're really helping yourself, if you can get them trapped before the damage is on your property. 

The biggest advantage by not feeding the wild pigs is it does make it harder for them to stay in a condition for breeding. A lack of nutrition will affect their reproductive rates.  Don't stop with game feeders, look at all food sources that wild pigs could get a bite to eat. Like gardens. I have even heard of landowners paneling off water sources like ponds. Wild pigs do carry some diseases and they want to make their property as unattractive to wild pigs as possible.  

I like the metal wire hog panels that are used in the video below because they last for years and years and are easy to set up, but one could use wooden pallets. The advantage of pallets is that you could come across some for free and they will have the same effect. But you will have to continue doing maintenance checking for bad boards often. I could see this working around gardens and compost piles, but maybe not for game feeders for deer. 

I personally have been using hog panels around my game feeders for years. The deer love it. They don't have to compete against the pigs for food. Basically, I just want to make my property as unattractive to wild pigs as possible.

-Jim Loos
Cearbhall Home Slaughter

(Licensed Custom ExemptTexas Mobile Slaughter Unit)
(830) 263-2200

Today we went out to the country around the Devil's Backbone to do a young bullcalf. At 700 lb he cut into some beautiful steaks, mountain oysters included!