Hog Yarding.
—Hogs should be rested in closed covered pens arranged for summer ventilation, and winter warmth. It is essential that they be well rested and cooled before they are slaughtered. To rest twenty-four hours is by no means detrimental. In driving provide the driver with a flat canvass belt attached to a short wooden handle so that the hogs are not abused by clubbing. Keep plenty of water in the troughs and keep pens clean.
More care should be used in handling hogs than any other live stock, as hogs are more easily injured. Special pens should be provided for their reception. Hogs should never be killed until they are thoroughly rested and in normal condition. In the summer weather they should be sprinkled.
Hog Dressing.
—The principal points for attention in hog slaughtering are briefly referred to under the following headings.
Hoisting.
—When passing to the catch pens for hoisting, the pen floor should be arranged with raised or corrugated surfaces to avoid the possibility of its becoming slippery and the hogs “spreading” as a result. The hogs should be headed in such a direction that when the shackle is attached to the wheel the hind quarter of the hogs are the first to move upward, without unduly twisting or wrenching the hog. The transfer to the sticking rail should be done smoothly and without jerking.
A hoist, shown in [Fig. 102], is often used; it is not only a very useful device but it is also economical from the fact that it does not jar or injure the hogs when hung up, as is often the case with an ordinary hand hoist. This particular machine is adapted for small slaughter houses rather than where business is done on a large scale, in which case a double machine will be found almost indispensable.
FIG. 98.—DIAGRAM OF COVERED PEN FOR HOGS AND SHEEP WITH DETAIL OF CONSTRUCTION.