Most butchers book out months (or years) in advance! So if you don’t want to pay for any unnecessary extra feeding, you’ll need to plan this part out long before your animal is “ready” for butcher.
Generally speaking, butchering just around maturity is ideal for most animals. You utilize the full size of the animal, at it’s younger point in life for more tender meat (and less investment).
Your first place of reference is your breeder. Whomever you purchased that animal from likely has experience with that breed, specifically that blood line, can tell you approximately when they’ll reach maturity.
If you did not buy your animal from a breeder, you’ll be basing it off of breed standards and how you intend to feed it. Keep in mind, animal growth time will be higher in grain fed animals and slower in grass fed animals.
Don’t know your breed? Ask. There are so many resources here on social media and local to you that will help you determine what you have and approximately when it should reach maturity.
However, you may find yourself with an animal that isn’t in that “ideal” age range to butcher that you still need to send to freezer camp. I’m here with a little secret: they are all edible.
The reality is, when to butcher is entirely based on your needs and preference. You can butcher a suckling pig just as you can butcher a 5yr old sow at 600lbs. Are these going to yield two completely different products? Of course they are. Are they both valuable protein? Of course they are.
Whether it’s your sons first show critter perfectly timed for a butcher date, an old breeder that no longer serves you, or just an asshole escape artist that needs to go, we’re here to help time your butcher date perfectly for you!
