My Winter Process Station

[Jessykah]

So there was a discussion on Facebook a while ago about how or if people butcher in winter in the house...I wasn't sure how to butcher in the house and keep the mess down, and I didn't want to do it in the bathtub, and I can't put holes in my walls or cupboards...what to do??.....Well it's been real cold here lately (-26 today, -32 with wind chill), and I had to butcher a litter of 9 recently. Too cold to do it outside, and I have no shelter out there....So I took an old square pail and cut the side out of it, leaving a lip in the bottom to catch blood and debris. I used some leftover lumber from building hutches, for the sides and top to hold the rabbit (3 pieces)...I attached dollar store hooks...It worked OK, but there are some things that I would change. As you can see, I had to add 2 more pieces of lumber on bottom to secure it...the feet are a little too close to the wood, so it took longer to process...It was harder to kill the rabbits inside, so I chose to kill outside, then bring inside to process.....Remember, this is not ideal, and I prefer to process outdoors. This is just a quick winter improvise. I washed and kept it for future use, but I may build a better one. Overall, it got the job done....I hope this helps or inspires some people. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks for reading.
Oh yeah, I put a non-slip mat under it so it wouldn't slide around. The mat is machine-washable. I would add a garbage bag to the back of it, or change the pail to a 5 gallon pail so it would be taller...but I really only got 1 blood spot on the wall behind, and it came right off. I killed outside, so they were done kicking before I got in the house. The piece of plastic that was cut from the bucket...it could have been screwed to the back and extended the backsplash!!! OOOHHH WHY did I recycle it already?! I wish I would have thought of that sooner!

 

[Zass]

Oh neat idea, and thanks for sharing! I've been processing inside because my hands seize up in cold weather, and anyway, I've been looking for an easy way to hang them.

Sharper hooks might be good.

 

[Truckinguy]

Very nice! I process all year over the kitchen sink with a five gallon bucket at my feet. I have a couple of boards screwed to the cupboards on either side of the sink that I put a 2x4 on with two hooks and two little nooses made out of small diameter aluminum cable. They hold the feet about halfway down the foot which allows me room to cut around the ankle. It works fairly well but I'm always looking for improvement ideas. The sink allows for easy cleanup.

 

[Jessykah]

Someone on Facebook copied my idea...I like the longer hooks she used...here's her picture:

 

[GBov]

If you slice down both sides of the tail bone it lifts up to give you lots of working space to get the gutty bit out without having to cut out the pelvic bone. When I tried the pelvic bone cut out method I sliced my finger open on a sharp bit of bone.

Your set up looks nice!

I just use the double sink and a bucket at my feet with a pan for the meat and a bowl for the organs we eat.