Products and Processing
Part of Animal Husbandry
Every animal you raise produces far more than meat. Milk, eggs, fat, bones, sinew, hide, horn, feathers, blood, and manure are all valuable resources. Learning to use every part of an animal is the difference between subsistence and prosperity.
Why Total Utilization Matters
In a post-collapse world, waste is a luxury you cannot afford. A single goat produces milk daily, meat at end of life, hide for leather, bones for tools and glue, fat for candles and soap, sinew for thread, horns for containers, and manure for fertilizer. A chicken gives you eggs, meat, feathers for insulation, bones for broth, and droppings for compost. Throwing away any part means you need to find that resource somewhere else — or go without.
Historical societies understood this instinctively. Plains cultures used every part of the bison. European peasant farmers wasted nothing from a pig slaughter. This article maps out what you can extract from your livestock and how to process each product.
Product Inventory by Animal
| Product | Chickens | Goats | Rabbits | Sheep | Pigs | Cattle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Milk | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes |
| Meat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fat/Tallow | Minimal | Yes | Minimal | Yes | Yes (lard) | Yes |
| Hide/Leather | — | Yes | Yes (fur) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wool/Fiber | — | Some breeds | Angora breeds | Yes | — | — |
| Feathers | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bones | Yes (small) | Yes | Yes (small) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sinew | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes |
| Horn/Hoof | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Blood | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gut/Casing | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Processing Animal Fat
Animal fat is one of the most versatile products you can render. It serves as cooking oil, lamp fuel, waterproofing agent, soap ingredient, leather conditioner, and calorie-dense food storage medium.
Rendering Process
- Collect raw fat — trim fat from butchered carcasses. The best fat is the hard, white internal fat around kidneys and organs (called “leaf fat” in pigs, “suet” in cattle and sheep). Soft fat from under the skin works but produces a softer, more odorous tallow.
- Cut into small pieces — the smaller the pieces, the faster and more complete the rendering. Dice to roughly 1 cm cubes or smaller. Remove any meat, blood clots, or membrane.
- Heat slowly — place in a pot over low, steady heat. Add a small splash of water initially to prevent scorching before the fat begins to melt.
- Stir occasionally — the fat liquefies and the solid tissue (“cracklings”) floats, then sinks as it crisps. This takes 1-3 hours depending on quantity.
- Strain — when the cracklings are golden-brown and the liquid is clear, strain through clean cloth into a container. The cracklings are edible and calorie-rich — eat them or add to bread dough.
- Store — rendered fat solidifies as it cools. Kept in a sealed container away from light and heat, tallow lasts 6-12 months. Lard (pig fat) stays soft and spreadable; beef and sheep tallow hardens fully.
Safety
Hot fat causes severe burns. Never add water to hot fat — it explodes into steam and spatters. Keep children and animals away from the rendering area. Have a lid ready to smother any fire; never use water on a grease fire.
Fat Uses Quick Reference
| Use | Fat Type | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking oil | Any rendered fat | Use directly for frying, roasting |
| Lamp fuel | Tallow (beef/sheep) | Pour liquid tallow into vessel with fiber wick |
| Soap making | Any rendered fat | Combine with lye (wood ash water) — see Soap & Cleaning |
| Waterproofing | Tallow | Rub into leather, cloth, or wood |
| Pemmican | Any rendered fat | Mix with dried meat and dried berries |
| Candles | Tallow | Dip wick repeatedly or pour into mold |
Processing Bones
Bones are a source of nutrition, tools, and industrial materials.
Bone Broth
Crack large bones to expose marrow, place in a pot with water, and simmer for 6-24 hours. The longer you cook, the more minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium) and gelatin dissolve into the broth. Add a splash of vinegar if available — the acid helps extract minerals. Bone broth is medicinal, calorie-rich, and can be reduced to a concentrated gel (“portable soup”) that stores for months when dried.
Bone Tools
Bones can be shaped into:
- Needles — split a long bone lengthwise, grind a splinter to a point, drill an eye with a sharp flint
- Awls — pointed bone fragments for punching holes in leather
- Scrapers — shoulder blades (scapulae) make excellent hide scrapers
- Fish hooks — carved from dense bone
- Buttons and toggles — sliced cross-sections of long bones
Bone Meal Fertilizer
Burn bones in a hot fire until they become white and chalite (calcined). Crush into powder. This bone meal is high in phosphorus and calcium — essential plant nutrients. Mix into garden soil at planting time, roughly 200 grams per square meter.
Processing Hides
Fresh hides must be processed quickly or they rot. You have two paths:
- Salt and dry — rub the flesh side thoroughly with salt (1 kg per goat hide) and hang in shade with good airflow. This preserves the hide for weeks until you can tan it properly. See Leatherwork for full tanning instructions.
- Brain tan immediately — every animal has enough brains to tan its own hide. Mash the brain with warm water to create a paste, work it into the flesh side of the hide, fold, and let it soak overnight. Then stretch and work the hide until dry and supple.
Timing
In warm weather, an untreated hide begins to decompose within 4-6 hours. Either salt it immediately after skinning or begin the tanning process the same day.
Processing Blood
Animal blood is highly nutritious (rich in iron and protein) and has been used in food traditions worldwide.
- Blood sausage — mix fresh blood with cooked grain (oats, barley, rice), fat, onions, and salt. Stuff into cleaned intestinal casings and simmer until firm.
- Blood pancakes — mix blood with flour and salt, fry like regular pancakes. Common in Scandinavian and Asian traditions.
- Fertilizer — blood mixed into soil is an excellent nitrogen source. Dilute with water (1 part blood to 10 parts water) and pour around plant roots.
Blood coagulates quickly after slaughter. Stir it continuously with a stick to remove the fibrin strands (they cling to the stick like threads), and the remaining liquid blood stays usable for hours.
Processing Feathers
Chicken and waterfowl feathers serve two primary purposes:
- Insulation — stuff jackets, bedding, and pillows with down (the soft underfeathers). Contour feathers work too but are less effective. Wash feathers in warm water, dry thoroughly in sun, and stuff into cloth cases.
- Fletching — large wing feathers (flight feathers) are split lengthwise and tied to arrows. Use feathers from the same wing (left or right) on each arrow so the spin direction is consistent.
Processing Sinew
Sinew (tendon) is the strongest natural fiber available. It is used for bowstrings, thread for sewing leather, lashing for tool hafting, and backing for bows.
- Remove the leg tendons or the long tendons running along the spine (backstrap sinew).
- Clean off all meat and membrane.
- Dry completely — spread flat on a board in the sun or hang in a warm, dry area for several days.
- To use, tear dried sinew into thin fibers with your fingers or teeth. Wet the fibers with saliva or water — they become flexible and sticky. Wrap or sew with wet sinew; as it dries, it shrinks and tightens, creating an incredibly strong bond.
Processing Gut and Casings
Intestines, cleaned and processed, become natural sausage casings, water containers, and cord.
- Clean — slit intestines lengthwise, scrape out contents, rinse thoroughly in running water.
- Soak — submerge in salted water for 24 hours to remove remaining material and firm the casing.
- Use or preserve — pack in salt for storage (keeps for months), or use fresh for sausage making.
Large intestines and stomachs can be cleaned, inflated, and dried to create waterproof containers for carrying water, oil, or dry goods.
Processing Horns and Hooves
- Horns — soak in water for several weeks until the inner bone core separates from the outer keratin sheath. The hollow horn sheath becomes a drinking vessel, powder horn, or container. It can also be heated and flattened into sheets for making combs, buttons, or translucent window panes (horn was used instead of glass for centuries).
- Hooves — boil for many hours to extract hide glue, a strong adhesive used in woodworking and tool making. The process is identical to making gelatin from bones but produces a stronger, darker product.
Key Takeaways
Products and Processing — At a Glance
- Use everything — every animal produces 10+ useful products beyond meat
- Render fat first — it is the most versatile product (cooking, light, soap, preservation, waterproofing)
- Process hides immediately — salt within hours of skinning or they rot
- Bone broth extracts minerals and gelatin; bone meal provides garden phosphorus
- Sinew is the strongest natural thread — dry it, split it, wet it to use
- Blood is food (sausage, pancakes) and fertilizer — stir to prevent clotting
- Nothing is waste — even intestines become sausage casings and water vessels
The rule: if an animal gave its life, honor that by using every gram of it.