I've got the hog and the finicky bastard should have finally gained sufficient weight by December 29th to put him out of my misery.
(As an aside, this pig has taught me that just because a hog might can eat anything, don't mean he will eat anything. This pig is an intact male that was intended to be fattened on tree crops, primarily acorns but also pecans and hickory nuts. As such, his 20,000ish square foot pen is situated under four heavily producing live oaks and a pecan tree. And the floor of his pen is littered with uneaten acorns, pecans and hickory nuts (the later of which were supplied from an outside source.) But the fool got to where he wouldn't eat anything. I have no clue what the Blankety-blank lived off of for sometimes weeks on end as we each tested the resolve of the other. I was the one that finally caved and put him back on store-bought feed. First serving he devoured like a hog possessed. Thereafter . . . he nibbles at it. Lesson: NEVER raise just one pig at a time. I heard they would gain weight more slowly if raised along but until seen first hand, the difference, to me at least, is unbelievable. But I'm a believer now.)
So now you know why, on December 29th, he'll be put outta MY misery!
For his grand departure, we'll be doing something that hasn't been done in our family for approximatly 30 years - having a hog killin at home!!
Between now and then, I have to make all the necessary arrangements. Towards that goal, I asked all the old men whose help I've solicited about any preparations that I need to make. Their reply, to a person, went something like, "Well, you need a big table and a long knife and it helps to have a .22 rifle. Oh, yeah, bring your Daddy's big wash-pot."
"Anything else?"
"Nah, that's about all I can think of."
While I'm sure the whole process CAN be done with nothing more that the above mentioned items, I'm also sure that, the day of, after the hog is laid up on the table, one of them old fellers is gunna look over at me and say, "Now what we need is a/the _____________. You did bring a/the ______________?"
"Actually, when I humbly inquired your majesty's advice, your majesty said nothing of bringing a/the ____________."
"Cuss words, cuss words, cuss words . . . "
And there I'll be, . . . a-runnin by buttocks off all day!
So, to avoid as much embarrassment as possible, I would like to avail myself to the collective wisdom of those here that might know of such things. If you were faced with a similar set of circumstances,
What preparations would you make to kill a hog at home?
Here's my list so far:
Sausage grinder
Source of running water, hoses, nozzles
Scrapers to remove hair
.22 rifle with standard velocity, solid lead nosed bullets
Table with impervious surface (will likely get more than the one we currently have)
Bone saw
25 Gallon iron kettle
Propane bottle with back-up
Will be constructing a smoke house in the near future
Lots of pecan and hickory wood
Single tree and tripod of sufficient strength/height to hang a hog
Several of what we can "wash-pots" and "foot-tubs"