The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: wayfarer on May 24, 2013, 11:23:19 am
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I have two saddleback weaners that are now about 20 weeks old but how do I know when they have reached pork weight. I have seen guidance that suggests 60kg but without any scales is there any other way of knowing whether my pigs are ready or not?
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You can roughly weigh a pig using a tape measure. Measure the girth of the pig round its chest, just behind the fore legs, in metres. Square this number and multiply by the length (in m) from ear to tail and then multiply by 69.3 - gives a rough weight in kilos.
I usually take my saddlebacks a bit bigger as we like to get some bacon off the belly as well so aim for about 70-80kgs. On this rule of thumb, I call my butcher when the girth and length are getting close to 1m each and they'll then usually end up around the 80kg mark. We do sometimes do a few more as porkers in which case 60kg is a good guide.
Ben
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Much easier way (saves fathhing witht he math ??? ) measure round chest behind front legs and if reads 40 inches they're ready to go, thats when i send mine for pork. Not very scientific but works for me, see pig management section on GOS website 'time for pork' theres a pic of where to measure.
HTH
mandy :pig:
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Just wondering if any knows the "ideal" slaughter weight of pietrains. We had 2 saddleback x pietrain earlier this year and the "Saddleback" is just under 40" behind the front legs, was hoping to send them to slaughter end of August time. Does the measurement also go for the pietrain. She is quite a bit smaller but in every way, height and length but is from the same litter. Was thinking it may be best to go together but not sure if she is the right size yet?
Any help appreciated
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As nobody has waded in here goes my two pennoth.
Pietrain are mainly used in the commercial industry to give a leaner rounded carcass so you will find her more muscular and compact than your SB, check she's getting her fair share of grub because usually when they're a good way behind its because they're getting bullied at feed time, separate her at feed time if you can and make sure she gets her share. By the end of Aug your SB will be baconer size and your pietrain can go for pork so it no big issue if you hang onto the SB for a bit longer unless its a boy then it needs to go now.
HTH
mandy :pig:
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The formula that benkt mentions above is pretty accurate I've found. I can't emphasise enough though that condition is far more important than just weight. If you're slaughtering a couple of porkers for yourself it doesn't really matter much if they're a bit bigger or a bit smaller but it would be good if the carcass was good in terms of fat covering etc. Overall weight is irrelevant to that. Mandy I think that just measuring a pig around it's chest but not taking condition into account could lead to a poor carcass unless you have the experience to judge how lean or fat your pigs are before they go. Obviously you do have that experience but to someone who doesn't it could be misleading I think.
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There is a tape measure on the market that tells you the live and dead weight of your pig, we have one and use it regulary up to finishing, no calculations involved... and ditto hughsey, condition as important as weight.
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Thanks Mandy. The pietrain is getting her fair share, she seems to bully the SB and gets the cream of the crop. Even though she is smaller her confirmation seems better, not that i am an expert, and does look to be carrying less fat. Think I might send them together and see what the meat looks (and taste's) like. Will be getting more next year, will probably experiment with the breed again, GOS last year, to see the difference between them.
Again, thanks for all of your help and suggestions
Shaun
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Just wondering if any knows the "ideal" slaughter weight of pietrains. We had 2 saddleback x pietrain earlier this year and the "Saddleback" is just under 40" behind the front legs, was hoping to send them to slaughter end of August time. Does the measurement also go for the pietrain. She is quite a bit smaller but in every way, height and length but is from the same litter. Was thinking it may be best to go together but not sure if she is the right size yet?
I am confused. ??? Are you saying that you have two pigs from the same litter, and one is a Saddleback, the other a Pietrain?
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Mandy I think that just measuring a pig around it's chest but not taking condition into account could lead to a poor carcass unless you have the experience to judge how lean or fat your pigs are before they go. Obviously you do have that experience but to someone who doesn't it could be misleading I think.
What you say is true but for beginners its a good place to start and we all have to start somewhere :) You do learn to judge by eye over time but even after ten years i still use my trusty tape measure and their age as a good guide as to where they are or should be weight wise.
SIN think they were a cross litter and one probably looks more SB and the other more PT
mandy :pig:
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The tape measure mentioned is called an ANImeter (Trade name) and we find them accurate to within a kg of our weighing crate and they are very easy to use our students use them all the time. They can be found here http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Weight-Measuring-Tape-For-Cattle-Pigs/productinfo/WEIGHTTAPE/ (http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Weight-Measuring-Tape-For-Cattle-Pigs/productinfo/WEIGHTTAPE/) I've used the website before they were very good.
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The tape measure mentioned is called an ANImeter (Trade name) and we find them accurate to within a kg of our weighing crate and they are very easy to use our students use them all the time. They can be found here http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Weight-Measuring-Tape-For-Cattle-Pigs/productinfo/WEIGHTTAPE/ (http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Weight-Measuring-Tape-For-Cattle-Pigs/productinfo/WEIGHTTAPE/) I've used the website before they were very good.
Just ordered one :thumbsup:
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What is a good covering of fat? And is it possible to gauge how much fat there is before slaughtering?
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fat is subjective ... most commercial pigs have a very thin fat layer about 6 mm; this with the fear by the general public of all things fat means rare breeds can suffer due to poor education.
On a rare breed pig you can easily get a fat layer of anything from 14mm or more. that might not sound like much but when it's on your plate it's noticeable.
the downside to fat is, you've bought feed to make fat, you've carried that feed around and it's turned into fat, the public are scared of fat, the public don't want to pay for something to leave on their plate.
being able to feel the ribs and the backbone gives an idea that there might not be too much fat.
if you where a commercial operator and buying a boar you might consider ultra sounding to get an idea of the amount of fat, so you could assess the potential for breeding. Otherwise it's by eye and experience.
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Oh, so easy to put a tape measure around a pig.....!!
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Huh!! If my saddlebacks escape again I won't need a weightape they will be in the freezer, they have just led me a merry dance after lifting off their gate.
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[size=78%]I am confused. [/size] ??? [/size][size=78%] Are you saying that you have two pigs from the same litter, and one is a Saddleback, the other a Pietrain?[/size]
The are from a pietrain/saddleback cross, one is identical to a saddleback whilst the other is a pietrain looky-likely.
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Oh, so easy to put a tape measure around a pig.....!!
As with most things if you do it while they're eating they won't take much notice.
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My weightape arrived today so will have a go at tea time with the bigger of the Saddlebacks, I have 4 from the same litter and there is 1 monster although he is not at all fat 1 middle sized and 2 a bit smaller which is quite good as it means that I can send them off 2 at a time. I also have 2 middle whites which sould be ready about 4 weeks after the second lot of Saddlebacks. The man that I got the middle whites from said to feed them a bit less as they were more prone to getting fat, they will be 20weeks old on Monday and I was thinking of keeping them on 4 lb each per day. They look good to me can just feel ribs and backbone.
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Wayfarer - we aim now for 15 mm back fat, if you achieve that there is a 1/2 to 3/4 inch layer of fat on the fattiest pieces of loin and seems just right; the lowest we have ever got to is 9 mm. Slowly over the years we are getting there, mainly by keeping their regular feed low from 2.5 months old, building up to a max of 1.85 kg/day (= 4 lbs) by 4 months of age until slaughter. I don't think last minute diets work at all, as the fat builds up throughout their life.
We have always found it hugely difficult to judge beforehand just how fat they are going to turn out. All our pigs seemed to us to be quite slim when we sent them off, then you get back a slaughter report with anything between 25 to 35 mm of fat, which can be very off-putting as there seems to be more white than red and you have to trim masses of excess fat off. Probably this level of fat was acceptable a century ago, but everyone we sell to nowadays wants relatively lean meat, including rare breed pork meat. We have always found our saddlebacks produce less fat than the tamworths, fed exactly the same rations over the same time period, but I have no idea about pietrains at all.