Hashtag Farm Life: Pig Slaughter Day

I realize on days like today that my blog is serious too. It is to teach people like me (with no experience in these things) what to expect, how to prepare and if you ever want to get started! I hope to answer all the questions you may have. Things I have learned and I feel are important points will be bulleted.
What is it like to hire a mobile butcher?
What should I do to prepare?
When should I schedule?
How much does it cost?
What does it cost to raise a pig?

(1 month before) Preparation:

Pigs should be ideally be 6-7 months old to butcher
They will weigh 250-320lbs - "Live Weight"
If they get too old, there will be a second layer of fat over the ribs. There is a distinct line where the second layer starts.
Call the butcher between 2-4 weeks BEFORE you want them to come out to schedule. If you are lucky enough to have more than 1 mobile butcher, call several and get pricing, practices.... interview them. We had 3 mobile butchers to choose from and I only liked one. Lucky!
If you want to flavor the meat naturally, start 2-4 weeks prior to butcher. We fed walnuts and apples every day for a few weeks in hopes the meat will have a slightly nutty/apple flavor.

(1 day before) Preparation:

The mobile butcher truck is huge and heavy. Be aware of where your septic tank is, well head, power lines, tree trunks, tree limbs or any other items that might get in the way. The truck needs to pull up to the pigs so the guys don't have to drag 300lbs of pig far. You will need to find an area to put the pigs (if their current pen does not meet these requirements) prior to the butcher coming out that is:

accessible by the truck - truck is able to drive very close to pen
small in size - you don't want the pigs running around an acre pen

I will be building fencing that meets these parameters a little better. It will be used for cattle and pigs. You don't want such a small or scary pen that the animals are stressed.

The day of the slaughter:

[This is what happened today. I am going to tell the story in detail with a few pictures so you know what to expect. I had no idea what to expect and I wish I did so I could prepare my property and myself.]

A winch pulls animal to truck

The guys pull the truck up to the pen
Shoot the pig in the brain with a .22 rifle
The animal will twitch or thrash around from nerves still firing
While the animal is twitching, the butcher will cut the throat leaving a giant puddle of blood on your lawn
A hook is inserted in the mouth and attached to a winch on the truck. the animal is mechanically dragged closer to the truck
Two 3 ft sections of wood are placed on either side to prop the pig on it's back
Animals are hosed off
feet are cut off
Butcher begins to skin
removes head
cuts through ribcage with a hacksaw
back legs are hooked individually on a different winch device and hog is lifted up by the truck
Butcher guts pig
Skins pig
Saws pig in two halves with a air compressor powered short chainsaw
Pigs are tagged and put into refrigerator inside truck
You are able to choose to keep feet, organs (heart, kidney, lungs, tongue, ears, snout, liver etc.)
Halves are brought into a controlled environment in the butcher's business to hang. Hanging takes 5 days. At this point, meat that is not smoked can be cut and wrapped. Based on the hanging weight cutting and wrapping costs .57/lb. If you help wrap it costs .47/lb.
Items that are going to be smoked go through that process. Depending on your butcher and the process they do, this may take as little as 5 days (to use nitrates and chemicals to quicken the process) or 10 days to cure with salt naturally.