[Hogwarts]

When is the best age to slaughter pigs for meat? I have some gilts that I hope to sell to friends and family as 1/4 pigs in various joints not doing sausages this time. I keep hearing six months is the best time but why is that? Is there any particular reason why some people say six months?  Mine are only a month or so away from that and although they are growing and putting on weight to me they seem a long way off being full size adult pigs. I would like the meat to be tasty and not like supermarket meat which to me seems tasteless.  Is there any downsides to growing pigs too large in terms of meat quality?

[harmony]

A six month old pig is not a fully grown pig. Depending on the breed they will be between 65 and 100 kilos live weight. A finished pig is one that should gives you optimum meat without running to fat. It also needs to fit in the dehairing bath at the abattoir.


A commercial unit would finish at 16 weeks but smallholders tend not to keep hybrid breeds and work more on slow growth equals taste but also time,

[SallyintNorth]

When doing pigs for the household, I found 6-8 months about right for OSB; longer for Large Black (but worth the wait, fantastic flavour), Saddlebacks a bit sooner or can run to fat.

Time of year can be a factor too - sending the OSBs after they've eaten all the windfall apples got us wonderfully appley pork!    And if you want to dry cure, it's got to be cold weather.

Bigger pigs aren't that happy on wet, cold mud, either, so we find October / early November is long enough to keep them, or we'd have them losing condition and needing more cake.  (Or have to come in, so then more cake and not free range.)

Most people send porkers when their back is level with your knee / around 60-80kgs-ish; baconers bigger to have more "eye".

One factor is the size of joints you want.  We are feeding 20+ here, so we send them off quite a bit bigger than you would for a domestic household.

If you want to take them bigger, you need to be careful they don't get too fat, check the max size the abattoir and butcher can handle, and if you can't cook or don't want huge joints you can always ask the butcher to bone and roll into whatever size you want.  (Hams are so much better on the bone, though.)

[harmony]

When doing pigs for the household, I found 6-8 months about right for OSB; longer for Large Black (but worth the wait, fantastic flavour), Saddlebacks a bit sooner or can run to fat.

OSB definitely finish slower. Personally, I would say LB will run to fat before a SB unless you have a fatty line. OSB and LB will look lean and the OSB probably will be and the LB wont be.


I take my Lops to a 100 kilo LW and they wont generally be fatty but sometimes I get a shorter, dumpy shape and it will be fatter but not fatty. I just took a pig in that was 90 kg plus DW but I'm not expecting it to be fatty. Learn to feel the back fat and train your eye. I'm not very tall but my son is so I wouldn't rely on the knee method.


If your pigs live out they will be tastier than indoor reared, commercial pork. The meat will be darker
too.


Most smallholders either don't mind fat or tell themselves they don't but your customers generally wont want fatty pork.

[Hogwarts]

A six month old pig is not a fully grown pig. Depending on the breed they will be between 65 and 100 kilos live weight. A finished pig is one that should gives you optimum meat without running to fat. It also needs to fit in the dehairing bath at the abattoir.


A commercial unit would finish at 16 weeks but smallholders tend not to keep hybrid breeds and work more on slow growth equals taste but also time,

If a six month old pig is not a fully grown pig then why slaughter it?  Thats what I am wondering.

Anyway my outdoor pigs are not rare breed, unfortunately, but some pigs that were destined for a commercial unit landrace/ duroc cross I believe. Would that make much of a  difference? Would too long in a outdoor environment make the meat tough? One of my potential customers thought it might and it hadn't crossed my mind before that that could be a problem. Personally I would like to grow them as big as possible to try and get more of flavour and meat/ money.

[harmony]

A six month old pig is not a fully grown pig. Depending on the breed they will be between 65 and 100 kilos live weight. A finished pig is one that should gives you optimum meat without running to fat. It also needs to fit in the dehairing bath at the abattoir.


A commercial unit would finish at 16 weeks but smallholders tend not to keep hybrid breeds and work more on slow growth equals taste but also time,

If a six month old pig is not a fully grown pig then why slaughter it?  Thats what I am wondering.

Anyway my outdoor pigs are not rare breed, unfortunately, but some pigs that were destined for a commercial unit landrace/ duroc cross I believe. Would that make much of a  difference? Would too long in a outdoor environment make the meat tough? One of my potential customers thought it might and it hadn't crossed my mind before that that could be a problem. Personally I would like to grow them as big as possible to try and get more of flavour and meat/ money.

When lambs go to slaughter they are not a fully grown sheep.  Animals go to slaughter when the meat is prime ie tender and not too fatty. Duroc's have marbling through the meat. That will be a fast growing cross and probably relatively lean.


When your pigs are slaughtered they are placed into a bath with hot water that rotates and paddles dehair the pig. The baths will not take huge, adult pigs. Our abattoir would have to skin those.


Most people don't want a massive, thick chop with lots of fat that they have to trim. The range of 65kg to 100kg LW depending on breed is a fairly standard one but you can go smaller or bigger but you have to keep in mind the quality of your finished product.


You can eat adult animals but they go to a different market. An adult pig would not be classed as a porker.