Provision of a consumer basket with meat products directly depends on slaughter and processing of cattle. Delicious dishes of beef and veal - in many respects the merit of livestock breeders who know how to slaughter bulls and cows.
Optimal time for slaughter
Bulls are standardly cut in the first year of life due to daily weight gain without the need for generous feeding. For every kilogram that appears at this age, several times less food is required. Calves born in the spring are not slaughtered, because feeding on summer vegetation allows them to gain weight, and the meat obtained in autumn is more high-calorie and healthy.
They do not resort to castration of the first year with intensive fattening. Without this surgery, livestock gains weight faster. By the exit, the original carcass has a high level of quality.
Training
Preparation for slaughter begins with the performer, and not with the animal. At home, slaughtering cattle is much more difficult than in meat processing plants. For this reason, it is better to drive cattle for slaughter and cutting into factories or meat plants. The profit from this and subsequent dressing of skins will be greater than from self-sale.
Veterinary permit
Slaughter of livestock at home is not possible without obtaining permission from the veterinarian. It is issued after a full examination of the animal for the presence or absence of diseases.
The owner of the cow is required to provide specialists with documents on all vaccinations. This is done to avoid the slaughter of a sick animal and the sale of its meat. Veterinarians stigmatize cattle that have passed all the checks. This designation of animals helps veterinary services to track and control dangerous diseases through an internal database and ensure that a clean and safe meat product enters the market.
Livestock preparation
Pre-mortem exposure of the animal involves heavy drinking and lack of food to clean the digestive tract from the remnants of food. The presence of semi-digested food in the intestines or stomach can lead to problems during carcass cutting and skinning. In addition, undigested food residues can contaminate meat tenderloin.
Other preparations for slaughtering cattle should be carried out at a distance from animals. Domestic bulls and cows feel the mood of a person and can resist. To avoid this situation, livestock should not be kicked, pushed and pushed, otherwise harmful substances released during stress can get into the blood. A prerequisite for high-quality slaughter is a balanced and calm mental state of the animal.
Slaughter methods
Slaughter procedures for cattle in meat plants and at home are different. To avoid unnecessary suffering, animals are stunned before slaughter. At home, a cattle blow in the forehead with an ax or sledgehammer is common. A cow before slaughter is attached by horns to any support. After this, a blunt object is struck in the forehead. For maximum efficiency, it is advised to use a tool weighing at least two kilograms. Some slaughterers use a pointed dagger to slaughter cattle. The place of impact when using such a technology for slaughtering cattle is the back of the head, or rather, the depression between the occipital bone and the cervical vertebra.
Slaughter methods at home
The site for slaughtering cattle should be convenient for work, sterile and equipped with the necessary tools and utensils. After an impact, the animal is able to recover in a few minutes, so you should be on your guard and bring all actions to automatism. If a novice cuts cattle, then the whole process should be controlled by a professional.
The cattle slaughter technology is as follows:
- Blood vessels of the lower part of the cow's neck are opened by a transverse incision.
- A sharp movement along the neck breaks the main vessels.
- Complete bleeding of the cow occurs in 10 minutes. Blood drained into the container can be used later for feeding birds or pigs.
The use of small arms is a non-standard way of slaughtering cattle. In this case, the methodology changes:
- The weapon is checked for serviceability.
- Aiming at a point on the forehead of the cow, exactly between the eyes, mentally laying several lines on the skull.
The residual functioning of the spinal cord can lead to twitching of livestock limbs after slaughter.
Industrial slaughter
Technological slaughter of cattle in meat processing plants is large-scale and involves more opportunities. The slaughter of cattle in slaughterhouses on an industrial scale begins with the collection of animals in special pens. Before slaughter and butchering, the cattle is checked for the absence of diseases. Authorized cows are housed on a mobile platform with high sides and an electronic carousel. Equipment for slaughtering cattle restricts the movement of animals, fetters and stuns them.
Electric gun
It functions with a special cartridge or compressed air. An electric pistol is placed against the forehead of the animal and, by pressing the trigger, make a hole in the skull. A steel hook is hammered into it, instantly killing the cattle and disconnecting the nerve endings of the brain. A slaughtered cow is hung upside down to cut the throat and bleed.
Stun gun
Slaughter of cattle in this way is considered the most humane. Rogatin with exposed electrodes is placed on the head of the animal near the ear to paralyze and stun, not kill. The cattle in an unconscious state is cut in the throat for bleeding. Electric discharge is not enough to kill a cow - they can only be stunned. With an increase in the applied voltage, the blood may clot, which will make the meat unsuitable for consumption. You can also assemble a stun gun for slaughtering cattle at home.
Carcass cutting
Processing the carcass of a killed animal begins only after the release of all the blood. The process of bloodletting takes an average of ten minutes. After cutting, the cows are started.
Skinning
The first step in cutting cattle is skinning. First, the ears are trimmed, after - the skin is cut around the lips and nostrils in an annular manner. The incision is from the right nostril to the right horn and on the forehead. The notch left after cutting the ear near the horn becomes a good guide. Ring cuts are made at the base of the horns. After cutting the head of the carcass, the incision is continued to the lower lip, removing the last pieces of skin. You can alleviate the problem by turning the carcass on its back. After separating the head, the skin is cut in the following way: from the abdomen and sternum, removing from the ribs, and to the anus.
Separation of the extremities is carried out along the line of the carpal joints. The incision is made on the inside of the legs and connects with other incisions just above the hoof. To avoid problems when hanging, the carcasses try not to damage the tendons. After the skin is removed from the lower part of the neck and chest, and the incision is continued until the groin. Since the skin is thin there, they are not in a hurry to remove it. All cuts are made only after pulling the skin. The ribs located between the muscles neatly cut through. A similar technique is used when skinning dairy calves.
Skinning
Skins for dressing are removed from the back of the bull with two hands. Pure skin folds along the spine of the animal in half with the wool outward.
From skin removed immediately removes residual fat and meat. The skin is left to cool for several hours, after which it is salted. They start dressing after three to seven days - this time is enough to completely dry. After that, it is either handcrafted or transported to a special procurement point. The skin is often used in the fur or leather industry.
Extraction of the insides
After removing the skin from the carcass, the entrails begin to be removed. First, organs are removed from the chest cavity, then from the abdominal cavity. The procedure is carried out no later than an hour after the slaughter of cattle in order to avoid the ingestion of microorganisms living in the intestines into the meat. According to the sanitary rules for slaughter of cattle, the insides are placed in sterile dishes. The diaphragm is cut off at the ribs, after which the gall bladder and liver are removed.
Carcass cutting
The carcass is cut across the fibers by continuous movements. In half, an incision is made between 13 and 14 vertebrae. Parts of the carcass are cleaned of bones, fat, meat, films, fibers and tendons. The meat is chopped into pieces after the cow’s neck is boned and trimmed. Prior to this, the scapula is removed. The ribs are partially or completely scraped out. The choice of how to clean the ribs depends on the type of meat. Bone removal is performed during the deboning of the back of the spine. After they begin to cut the lower leg, upper parts, brisket and meat cuts from the humerus.
Veterinary report
The cut carcass of a cow is carefully examined by a veterinarian. The carcass is cut along the length of the ridge after verification and the absence of pathologies. Harvested meat is placed for 24 hours in the refrigerator for drying, after which the ribs are divided into quarters.
Meat yield in cattle slaughter
The concept of slaughter mass of an animal, or live weight of cattle for slaughter, is used to estimate the amount of meat obtained after slaughtering livestock. This indicator includes the weight of the entire carcass, with the exception of the weight of the cut off head, removed internal organs, skin, and lower limbs.
The second indicator is a lethal yield. It is calculated based on the ratio of slaughter mass to live weight of cattle, that is, the weight of the animal before slaughter. This indicator is calculated as a percentage.
The meat yield directly depends on the breed - dairy or meat. The latter have much more than the former. Meat breeds are also characterized by high quality meat.
The average rate of slaughter yield in an animal fed on pasture in the process of growing is 55%. The slaughter yield increases with the slaughter of a well-fed bull up to 60-65%. The yield decreases significantly at the time of calf slaughter no older than 4-5 months, because by this age he is unable to gain the necessary muscle mass, and adipose tissue is almost undeveloped.
Cattle slaughtering workshops
Using your own mini-slaughterhouse is more profitable than letting a grown animal go to a meat factory. The design of such workshops for slaughter of a modular type. Mobile workshops are equipped with everything necessary for slaughter equipment.
Mini slaughterhouse designs typically include modules for slaughtering and primary processing of animal carcasses. Often, an additional module is installed for the production of semi-finished products and freezing. Such modules allow you to stew meat and produce high-quality stew.
Growing and slaughtering cattle is a pretty lucrative business. If you have the skills of slaughtering animals, you can get high-quality meat both for personal consumption and for the sale and replenishment of the consumer basket. Maximum efficiency can be achieved with competent preparation of cattle for slaughter and the subsequent sale of meat, skins and internal organs.