Looking for some advice from people who hunt and/or kill stuff (mostly deer)

[disintegratus]

I have some questions for all you people who hunt stuff etc, as I've noticed there's a few of you here:

So my boyfriends landlord/housemate type person has decided he wants to get a deer (from a farm) and kill/dress/butcher it at home with our help (we're mostly in it for the free venison)
He's never done it before, and neither have either of us, so I'm basically wondering if the three of us being novices would be able to do a reasonable job of it. It SEEMS fairly straightforward, but what is the likelihood of us completely destroying it and rendering it inedible, and are there any tips you could throw our way?
Honestly, it'll probably end up either being mostly me and the boyfriend (I don't think the housemate/landlord person has a very strong stomach), or mostly me (sometimes my boyfriend's got a surprisingly weak stomach, but I won't stand to see the thing killed for no reason)

Also, can I feed the offal to my dogs/are there any parts I should avoid feeding to my dogs?
If it's okay to feed to them, how long would it take 3 large dogs to get through a deer's worth of offal? (This I ask because I'm fairly certain my sister would not be keen on a fridge full of deer guts)
Again, how long do you think it would take 3 large dogs to get through what's left of the carcass/would it stink up my yard?

Really, any advice (except "don't kill Bambi coz he's cute") is more than welcome.
I have an idea that this is going to go ahead with or without my input, I'd just like it to go as smoothly as possible. And no, I don't know why they wouldn't start with something more managable like a rabbit.
Thanks,
Shell

 

[Jeannine]

i dont know about anything else but i do believe you cant feed 'offal' to your dogs, there is a risk of tape worm (think thats it) being passed on?

 

[Raddy318]

its not as easy as it looks. if you dont do it right it can end bad hahah

 

[oOLaurenOo]

It is easy. First, dont feed the offal to your dogs. There is a worm that they can get that we (humans) can then catch. They will form cysts through your body (including your brain) and have to be surgically removed, really bad zoonosis there. Second, if you do it correctly there shouldnt be many off cuts, so it won't take your dogs long to get through them. lol. It's to hard to explain over the Internet, I would advise googling "how to break up a sheep carcass" exact same principle and you should be able to find some diagrams to show you exactly where to make your cuts. Just remember you need to hang it for a few days in a cool room before breaking it up. (skinned and gutted of course) Good luck with it!

 

[Justdragons]

its farirly cheap to get done by a farmer if you know any that have a kill floor. my old boss used to buy full cows and lambs and get them chopped up and i dont think it cost much at all. There is a fair bit of blood and mess for my backyard?? Imagine if a kid kicked his ball over your fence and jumped to get it... bahahh the look would be priceless

 

[Nephrurus]

its not as easy as it looks. if you dont do it right it can end bad hahah

Agreed! Get someone with a hoist, knives and know-how. You may even want a cool room to hang it for a few days as well.
It's extremely easy to stuff it up and much harder than it looks (especially to do a good job).

 

[Timmeh103]

Firstly, this is a crazy thought, not only do you have to understand and know the location of all cuts of meat, but then the process and steps taken in removing the certain cuts. Let alone the storage of a whole deers worth, it can dress more than a 100kg of meat(if done professionally).

Do I think it can be done by a novice, well no, not at all. It's not straight forward, not something that can be simply winged and see how it goes. In saying that I'm sure someone learnt this way at some stage. Also where do you plan to get said deer, do you live on a property, do you have deer roaming, or are you buying from a farm? If its wild then there is the risk of parasites within the offal and meat. It takes a trained eye to spot disease within meat, and should be tested.

Are you aware of the processes needed to butcher a deer, well firstly you kill it, which is hard enough for some, then slit the throat(at this point I personally stab the heart also) then the beast needs to be strung up by the feet(I use a winch crane) then gutted(which will be like a bathtub full) head and hoves removed and skinned(this step too me years to learn) then the animal is quartered with a chainsaw and hung in a cold room for a few days for the meat to set. (fun part) then your up to the stage of butchering it, removing the various cuts which if not done properly you will end up with alot of mince

So this is no novices task nor do I think a reasonable job can be done of it with out strick supervision and guidence of a trained profesional.

Hope this helps, and if you do for some reason go through with it, pm me some photos please

 

[thomasssss]

just curious how do you intend to kill the animal in melbourne ? from what i know you need more than 25acres to discharge a firearm so that kinda rules that out if you live in the suburbs

 

[oOLaurenOo]

It's not rocket science. I was shown once and had no problems after that.

 

[Radar]

Seriously, The best advice I can give you is if this is the first thing they have butchered, take it out bush along with everything you could need and do it there, not in your own back yard. Even with small animals, things get messy quickly. You should see the looks I get from my neighbors when I boil a set of tusks out, let alone gut a deer.

 

[apprenticegnome]

I did one for the first time 2 weeks ago. If you check on you tube for "how to field dress a deer" you will find several american abotoir/butchers videos on there. Main key points are to bleed the animal as soon as possible and let the carcass cool likewise. depending on the deer you will most likely need very large eskys or styrofoam cooler boxes and several of them. We did a red deer and it took 5 large eskys and several plastic bags. We also took a large amount of esky ice blocks (I prefer them as they don't leave water in the bottom of the esky for the meat to sit in. We skinned, gutted and cut into seky sized portions on site then did the butchering back at home (4 hours drive away). We didn't worry about cutting rumps, sirloins etc. I took the hind warters and back straps, cut them into steaks and crumbed and seasoned. Any portions with fat throughout either got diced into stewing meat, kebabs or dog food. portions between ribs became dog food also. (These were just my personal preferences). I was told by the farmer to watch not to overcook the meat as it will become tough and that he prefers to do medium rare. The thin steaks crumbed came out real tender. A good thing I learnt from the you tube videos was to tie off the bum and the oesophagas so no contaminants enetered the body when gutting.

I did one for the first time 2 weeks ago. If you check on you tube for "how to field dress a deer" you will find several american abotoir/butchers videos on there. Main key points are to bleed the animal as soon as possible and let the carcass cool likewise. depending on the deer you will most likely need very large eskys or styrofoam cooler boxes and several of them. We did a red deer and it took 5 large eskys and several plastic bags. We also took a large amount of esky ice blocks (I prefer them as they don't leave water in the bottom of the esky for the meat to sit in. We skinned, gutted and cut into seky sized portions on site then did the butchering back at home (4 hours drive away). We didn't worry about cutting rumps, sirloins etc. I took the hind warters and back straps, cut them into steaks and crumbed and seasoned. Any portions with fat throughout either got diced into stewing meat, kebabs or dog food. portions between ribs became dog food also. (These were just my personal preferences). I was told by the farmer to watch not to overcook the meat as it will become tough and that he prefers to do medium rare. The thin steaks crumbed came out real tender. A good thing I learnt from the you tube videos was to tie off the bum and the oesophagas so no contaminants enetered the body when gutting.

- - - Updated - - -

Watch several of the you tube videos and look for consistency in the methods between them that way you can eliminate some of the lesser used. Good luck.

 

[oOLaurenOo]

One other thing that's worth mentioning is if you are after quality meat you really need to kill the deer at the farm. Deer aren't like cattle or sheep and it will
most likely smash itself around during travel. Stress also effects meat quality. Perhaps you can organize with the farm to kill, prepare and hang the carcass somewhere near the farm, and then Esky it and cut it all up at your place?

 

[wylie88]

If you take the deer to an abattoir they will do all the dirty work for a small fee, as a few people have already said it can be difficult to do....I find slitting the throat the hardest, it requires a fair bit of effort to do and is not pleasant at all, it also has to be done as soon as you kill the animal. It is a hard and very messy job and I would advise you to watch a video online of what it involves so you are prepared.

 

[disintegratus]

Thank you very much everyone for your advice. So far, I have managed to convince them that killing a deer in a suburban backyard is a ridiculous idea... so they're going with a goat instead. I think they should probably start small, like a couple of rabbits or something, but they won't have a bar of it, and at least a goat is more like stock, probably won't throw itself around so much during transport. Also, significantly less mess to deal with. I assume the basic principles are the same in terms of slaughter/dressing, I have watched a few videos of field-dressing deer, so while it's no substitute for having someone who knows what they're doing there, at least it's a start.

Not that they've said as much, but I think part of the reason they've opted to go for a goat instead is because if they back out and can't kill it, a goat is a much more managable animal to keep on a suburban block.

 

[Daryl_H]

Thank you very much everyone for your advice. So far, I have managed to convince them that killing a deer in a suburban backyard is a ridiculous idea... so they're going with a goat instead. I think they should probably start small, like a couple of rabbits or something, but they won't have a bar of it, and at least a goat is more like stock, probably won't throw itself around so much during transport. Also, significantly less mess to deal with. I assume the basic principles are the same in terms of slaughter/dressing, I have watched a few videos of field-dressing deer, so while it's no substitute for having someone who knows what they're doing there, at least it's a start.

Not that they've said as much, but I think part of the reason they've opted to go for a goat instead is because if they back out and can't kill it, a goat is a much more managable animal to keep on a suburban block.

as an ex butcher i would suggest not buying the cheapest old goat you can find buy one thats about 15 monts old and female it will give better meat and yeld.
also its not something for a weak heart. you have to be prepared to do what needs to be done in the worst case senairo
ie say you dont knok it properly ive seen animals wake up from a stun half way through a bleed out and try to run away. not trying to put you of the idea just warn you that you need to take this seriously as to end the pain as quick as possible. if ou are realy serious about doing this pm me and ill send you my phone number and get your b/f to call me and pick my brain
Cheers Daryl

 

[disintegratus]

Thanks Daryl, much the offer is much appreciated, I will PM you shortly when I'm off my phone (my phone doesn't like PMs apparently). Apparently he's getting a milking goat, and going to keep it for a few weeks before doing the deed.
I have said that I would like to be there, because to be honest, I don't trust either of them to not panic and leave the poor bloody thing flailing, whereas I know damn well that I'll do what needs to be done if I need to.
That said, I have a feeling that he's going to get a milking goat, keep it for a couple of weeks, wuss out when push comes to shove, and end up with a new pet goat
Honestly, either way doesn't faze me, the only part that bothers me is if they start the job and don't finish it.

 

[Magpie]

How are you going to transport the goat? You can't just stick them in the car.
It's not hard to do a rough job but it is very hard to do a professional job of butchering a carcass. The killing / gutting / skinning is the easy bit.
Have you ever bought a side of lamb? An awful lot of it is chops - very hard to make without a bone saw. Easiest way to do it is to make 3 or 4 roasts out of each side and use the rest as dog meat. Goat roast is quite diferent to lamb roast though, I'm not a big fan myself.
If it's just the killing / gutting process they want, I'd suggest a small pig would be a better option. Then either portion it and roast or do a whole pig. Rabbits are also good as you can cook them whole.
The offal is fine (not the guts though) as dog food if you cook it first. Can smell during cooking though.

 

[thomasssss]

Thanks Daryl, much the offer is much appreciated, I will PM you shortly when I'm off my phone (my phone doesn't like PMs apparently). Apparently he's getting a milking goat, and going to keep it for a few weeks before doing the deed.
I have said that I would like to be there, because to be honest, I don't trust either of them to not panic and leave the poor bloody thing flailing, whereas I know damn well that I'll do what needs to be done if I need to.
That said, I have a feeling that he's going to get a milking goat, keep it for a couple of weeks, wuss out when push comes to shove, and end up with a new pet goat
Honestly, either way doesn't faze me, the only part that bothers me is if they start the job and don't finish it.

you havent mentioned how your intending on actually killing the animal? like i said earlier if your in suburbs of melbourne than that rules a fire arm out , legally anyway , that only really leaves you with a knife , are you guys prepared to kill a goat with a knife , pretty gory rambo kinda stuff so just be ready , youve already said they both have weak stomachs , ive got a reasonably good stomach when it comes to things like this , but killing a live goat with a knife , just the thought of it makes me cringe ,

 

[disintegratus]

you havent mentioned how your intending on actually killing the animal? like i said earlier if your in suburbs of melbourne than that rules a fire arm out , legally anyway , that only really leaves you with a knife , are you guys prepared to kill a goat with a knife , pretty gory rambo kinda stuff so just be ready , youve already said they both have weak stomachs , ive got a reasonably good stomach when it comes to things like this , but killing a live goat with a knife , just the thought of it makes me cringe ,

I'd assume it'll be knocked on the head then bled out, at least that's the impression I've been given. Although your post made me visualise all three of us done up in camo and face paint, jumping out of the bushes screaming at this poor unsuspecting goat with massive knives. Made me chuckle.
As I said though, Worst comes to worst, if they start it and can't do it, I'll finish it. Neither of them will ever hear the end of having to get a girl to finish their dirty work, but I'll do it if I need to.
I haven't had a chance to ask my boyfriend if either of them have access to all the necessary tools, but considering neither of them have ever done this, I'd say they don't. The housemate is Indian, I think he's more after chunks of meat he can stew/make curries etc out of, not so much after chops, so roast style parts should be fine.

Also Magpie, I have ready access to a horse float, that'll do Good to know about the offal. Depending on how much of it there is, we may just dump the offal and the dogs can have the carcass when we're done.

 

[thomasssss]

I'd assume it'll be knocked on the head then bled out, at least that's the impression I've been given. Although your post made me visualise all three of us done up in camo and face paint, jumping out of the bushes screaming at this poor unsuspecting goat with massive knives. Made me chuckle.
As I said though, Worst comes to worst, if they start it and can't do it, I'll finish it. Neither of them will ever hear the end of having to get a girl to finish their dirty work, but I'll do it if I need to.
I haven't had a chance to ask my boyfriend if either of them have access to all the necessary tools, but considering neither of them have ever done this, I'd say they don't. The housemate is Indian, I think he's more after chunks of meat he can stew/make curries etc out of, not so much after chops, so roast style parts should be fine.

Also Magpie, I have ready access to a horse float, that'll do Good to know about the offal. Depending on how much of it there is, we may just dump the offal and the dogs can have the carcass when we're done.

better make it a good knock to kill a goat properly , what daryl said can happen and you dont want a goat running around trying to escape whilst blood spurts from it throat

maybe see if the owner of whatever farm you get it from has a gun , and if he does id get him to give it a nice clean shot before you leave

what you gonna hit it with anyways a sledge hammer ?