Saving money by not raising critters

[shooterdon]

Did it again this weekend. Saved a bunch of $$$ with no effort.

Bought 30 Smithfield pork lions. These are 23 oz packs that sell for over $7 each at Walmart. Got them at the bargain grocery store for $1.99 ea. Plus used our “discount card”. We bought $1200 of discount cards for $1000 this summer. Comes out to about $1.10/ lb.

Put one on the barbecue last night and yum yum. The last pig my buddy raised came to $4/lb. Of course his meat is organic, and mine is full of poisons.

They have beef strip loin for $3.99/lb this week. Might only be able to fit 10-15 lbs in the freezer.

Love our Freddie’s Market in Atlanta MI.

 

[MossRoad]

...., and mine is full of poisons....

Delicious, juicy poisons.

We pick up pork loins and tenderloins on sale, too. But not at that good of a price.

 

[Eagle1]

yeah but I get to enjoy watching my meals grow up and live. Not any cheaper by any means but I know how they lived and died. Also have full control how the meat was butchered and treated every step of the way.

 

[shooterdon]

yeah but I get to enjoy watching my meals grow up and live. Not any cheaper by any means but I know how they lived and died. Also have full control how the meat was butchered and treated every step of the way.

Been there, done that, and not going back.

It is so much fun to get/grow critter food and feed them. And what goes in must come out. Talk about ****ty work. Killing them adds more fun but it does not end there. Gutting, skinning and butchering awaits.

Last piglets a few years back cost $75 each. Got two and one died just before it was time to “harvest” them. Bummer.

We already had about 40 lbs of pork chops, loins and butt, so adding another 45 lbs was enough. That should last the two of us a year. Our average cost is about $ 1.50/lb.

The previous week we bought brats at the same store for $2 per pack and chicken leg quarters go for $6 for a 10 lb bag.

Not for everyone, but works for us.

 

[Eagle1]

Been there done that but prefer the ****ty work.
Of course I don't buy stock to raise, just have them born/hatch on site.
I don't disagree with you but we prefer this way.
A big steer is a lot work but so are multiple deer. We normally sell enough stock to recover feed costs and all processing is done by us.
What ever works for you is cool but we all have a way we want to live.

 

[shooterdon]

Agree Eagle1

Age factors in for some. I am 72 and working hard is good exercise but I don’t want to do as much as I did 20 years ago. So I do things that save me a few $$$$ or I enjoy doing around the homestead.

Raising critters did not make the cut for me as I never really got into it. Same with the garden.

Getting that way about hunting too and I love to shoot. But I get about 35 lbs of meat off a deer and wonder if it is worth it. Plus I am getting soft. I would rather watch them than murder them. And yes, for me it is murder. I used to shoot competitively and a deer is a huge target. I think I have killed enough of God’s creations.

 

[Eagle1]

All good , I respect other opinions just fine.
I found I hate shooting targets but love to hunt. I get a lot more meat than most from any animal, we process them way down and trimmings become dog food. I have 6 and most are well over 100# with the biggest well over 150. Gives them food that is way better than kibbles all the time. I treat the deer like my cattle not abusing the resource and growing the herd.
Still love to squirrel hunt with a 22, keeps me in aim small and quick frame of mind.
What the dogs won't eat goes to compost and chickens. We have clay and rock so to grow anything we make our own soil.
I don't hunt for trophies and won't waste an animal (or any other resource) if possible, even the vermin can feed something on the homestead. I really believe in fair chase, no stands or blinds, no cameras, no camo, no bait or scents, mostly hunt with arrows. Spend more time watching and learning than even trying to kill anything,
I'm no spring chicken and want to live this way as long as possible, maybe I'll drop in the woods one day and go back to nature myself.

To me it feels better than farming out my murders to some meat processing plant........ Again just my take on corporate farming.

I do not think there is a "right" answer for everyone, just what works for each of us.

 

[Jstpssng]

I really believe in fair chase, no stands or blinds, no cameras, no camo, no bait or scents, mostly hunt with arrows.

I never got into bow hunting although I've always wanted to. One thing that I am starting to consider is some type of no-lead bullets for hunting... apparently they really do cause collateral damage for birds feeding on the gut piles in the woods.

 

[Eagle1]

I've never left a gut pile, goes from deer right into a tractor bucket and then into the compost. I tend to shoot heart/lung but not shoulder to avoid spoiling meat. I did spine my last buck with my bow, misjudged distance. Completely paralyzed and I had to finish the job. But I can't remember having a bullet left in the animals other than steers that are brain shot with pistol caliber. I have seen a few fragments if you hit heavy bone. Still no reason to not switch if you sight your weapon for the distance you will shoot with none lead ammo. I live in lead county and the only place in the USA where batteries are recycled, plenty of lead background levels around here. They are still cleaning up contamination all over the region. But the eagles, vultures and all other birds of prey are thriving here.

Using a crossbow the bolts always goes 50+ yards after exiting the deer, the new compound bows are just as fast, 400 to 450 ft/sec.
My old long bow will not do that, so the arrows are easier to find but often destroyed.
If I do gun hunt it's 30-30 or 35 Rem, and still mostly less than 50 yards these days.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've never left a gut pile, goes from deer right into a tractor bucket and then into the compost. I tend to shoot heart/lung but not shoulder to avoid spoiling meat. I did spine my last buck with my bow, misjudged distance. Completely paralyzed and I had to finish the job. But I can't remember having a bullet left in the animals other than steers that are brain shot with pistol caliber. I have seen a few fragments if you hit heavy bone. Still no reason to not switch if you sight your weapon for the distance you will shoot with none lead ammo. I live in lead county and the only place in the USA where batteries are recycled, plenty of lead background levels around here. They are still cleaning up contamination all over the region. But the eagles, vultures and all other birds of prey are thriving here.

Using a crossbow the bolts always goes 50+ yards after exiting the deer, the new compound bows are just as fast, 400 to 450 ft/sec.
My old long bow will not do that, so the arrows are easier to find but often destroyed.
If I do gun hunt it's 30-30 or 35 Rem, and still mostly less than 50 yards these days.

I understand what you're saying but that doesn't work for everybody.
I've shot a lot of birds (grouse) in fall and leave the remains in the woods. Usually it's with a .22, but sometimes with #6.
Also, if I shoot a woodchuck I leave it for the ravens and fox.
I've dragged deer as far as a 1/2 mile out of the woods in the past, so have no plans of going back to get the gut pile.

Supposedly even a clean shot will leave enough lead residue on the way through an animal to kill an eagle.