I personally would start with a smaller creature if you have never processed an animal before. This IS a homesteading site. Butchering happens on many homesteads. Many people do not know how to do this and it is a skill that is at times needed. Case in point, I almost went out with a friend today to a farm where they had a 14 year old cow that was down and could not get up. Cattle have to get trucked from here as there are no processing plants. It was either, shoot her and let the wild animals have her, or process her and utilize the meat for my musher friends dogs. If you have never butchered an animal before, I suggest you start with rabbits and chickens. Then perhaps a 4-5 month old goat kid. It helps if you have a tractor with bucket, many of the people around here that butcher on the farm for home use, have outside sheds for hanging the meat. It is cold enough here, that refrigeration is not needed. One family does 6 cows/steers twice yearly for all 15 families in their family. The whole crews come and help from start to finish. Many people do not know where the different cuts of beef are from, so I found this little game on the net for you to play with. Dont take offense from the title of it. http://www.mistupid.com/food/butcher.htm This is a good article from Backwoods Home on home butchering. It is graphic, so you vegetarians or people who prefer not to know where your meat comes from, may want to avoid the link. http://www.self-reliance.com/articles/geissal23.html tenzicut