[Button End Beasts]

Sorry, I think this was discussed recently but I can't find the thread. I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on reducing a pigs diet before going to slaughter? Our last pigs, saddlebacks, that we kept for bacon and hams, had quite a lot of backfat. yes, I know that's what you expect in a rare breed but this was a little bit excessive. They had only been fed 4 lbs food each per day. Did someone suggest putting them on a diet for a bit before they go to slaughter?


many thanks for your help,
Beki

[robert waddell]

what age were they and what weight were they   also what was the backfat depth

[SallyintNorth]

Yep, a fortnight on reduced rations will take a bit of fat off.  Not sure how well it works if they are still outdoors, especially if it's cold... but someone here will 

If they are for your own consumption are you really bothered about the fat?  Perhaps your butcher charges for butchering by the kilo?  Otherwise, just cut the fat off at cooking time.  For joints which are overfat, I cut some (not all) the fat off, trim out the fat I don't want to have to tip out while the joint is roasting and then if I want crackling, place the scored skin back on the joint, or cook it alongside.  Same with chops, but the dogs get the cooked fat.

If you are wanting to sell the meat, then yes you may need it a little leaner perhaps - unless you can educate your customers! 

[Button End Beasts]

The Saddlebacks were about 9.5 months old with a dead weight of ~205lbs. On a rasher of back bacon, the fat was about 2.5 cm, meat, 4 cm. We were very good with dry food but we did have TONS of free apples to feed them.

I dont mind the fat on the bacon (and the dogs positively LOVE it!) but some of the people who brought bacon off of us did complain. But only those who probably normally buy supermarket cardboard. Those customers who love "real" meat, loved our bacon. Still, i think it could probably be a little bit leaner but I know the girls (Large Blacks) will moan like hell if they have to diet. 


 

[robert waddell]

it will take more than a fortnight to reduce the backfat  at that depth    it is only the backfat that is the guide  12-15 mm of backfat is what everybody has been conditioned to   you kept them to long and any traditional breed is hard to keep the fat off    you will have to be carefull of the large blacks  going the same way with feeding and apples
i have heard comments from butchers that would take small scale pigs that they appreciate it is fattier but there is a limit  to presentability
the supermarket pork is produced by British farmers the sheep peps don't slate the supermarket lamb the same way the pig people do

[SallyintNorth]

So long as you aren't charging rare breed pork (or bacon) prices for pork fat and can explain so (ie, are reducing the p per kg pro rata the excess fat content), then your customers should be happy - but may have to cut off some fat before cooking.

Personally however, I would be unhappy at 4cm back fat.  I've paid for the feed that created that.  Another time you could use Karen's rule of thumb to reduce the quantity of nuts according to the amount of apples you are feeding them. (Karen is it 4:1 or 6:1 you use?)

My butcher, for sale in his shop, buys commercial pork at 12mm backfat.  He accepts that rare breed free range pork will be fattier, but wants it less than 19mm.

I don't know whether it's best - or achievable - to just keep the excess fat off them throughout, or to take off a couple of mms or so in the last fortnight.  (Note that it is only a few millimetres that'll come off, not centimetres.  Someone will know the exact figures.)

[Beewyched]

Can only speak for the KKs here, but ...
I replace hard feed on a 4:1 basis, but never less than 1lb of hard feed if they're under 8-months or last month of pregnancy.  Mine live in woodland, with very little lush grazing, so have to forage.  When we had a field, the adults only had a handful of hard feed each per day when the grass was growing.
I've always tried (& occassionaly failed    ) to keep their weights to a "healthy" level - can't feel backbone, but can feel ribs or if they can't run then they're too fat 
The most fat we've had from a KK is 2 inches, but she was a barren bossy boots 
 

[MAK]

Pigs on a diet before slaughter may just mean that they have been overfed. I guess if one is in a rush to grow a pig to make money then you have to buy in hard feed and run the risk of over feeding. I keep pigs for my ownconsumption so don't have to woorry too mucha bout fat proportions. I have no idea how old my pigs are and how many pounds of factory produced nuts they should be having.Pigs are competative at meal time so I am not sure how you can regulate the ammount of hard feed each gets. I tend to underfeedthem each morning so that the go out and look for their own food and maybe self regulate a little. If they free range in a field they will take what they want, sleep, run and feed again. i guess I have a rather simplistic approach but then i would only worry if I had to monitoe their growth and how much factory produced food they "should" have.

[Button End Beasts]

Sally, I meant that the fat was about 2.5 cm and the meaty bacon bit was 4cm. Even so it sounds like far too much fat.


The LBs are due to go off at 8 months old. We will measure them this week to get an idea of their weight, although last time we did this, following Tony Yorks method, we were miles off! Any other good suggestions?! We still have a good 6 weeks until they go.


Unfortunately, we only have a limited amount of space and our pigs don't have a huge field to roam around in. Their double tennis court sized enclosure looks like the Somme now! So they are completely reliant on pig nuts and brewers barley for food.

[robert waddell]

it will be the brewers barley that is layering the fat on

[Beewyched]

Aha - Robert you beat me to it 
Definately stop the barley - it's renowned for it's fattening tendancies in most stock 

[Button End Beasts]

Ahh, OK, I assumed the barley didn't have a lot of nutritional value to it. Think I'll cut that out right away then. Never mind our sheep and chickens love it. Thanks!

[Beewyched]

HTH 
 
Let us know how it goes 

[Herdygirl]

Soryy to hijack this but i have to tell you, i am learning an awful lot from this thread, am hoping to start keeping pigs in the next couple of months.

thanks folks

[oaklandspigs]

A diet two weeks before slaughter will knock off some excess fat.

After 6 months of age, most pigs will tend to start to put on fat, so at 6 months you need to start to regularly feel your pigs, and feed to condition rather than formula. Easily feel the backbone, too thin, cannot find backbone too fat. You should be able to feel that backbone when you press on the spine.

Feed wise, a proprietary pig nut will contain the correct balance of the various constituents needed - Energy, Protein, Minerals, and vitamins. When you deviate from this , you need to consider the impact.

Commercially gown pigs wil go through up to 8 different feed formulations in their brief 5 month life to get just the right amount and balance of nutrients to grow them fast.  Not what I would want as the result is cardboard, but does show how key the right balance is to get a supermarket spec. pig.

Barley for instance does not contain enough lysine which is needed for muscle growth, so much is used for fat instead - as part of a sows diet this may be ok, and if just growing for food for yourself, again might be ok, but if selling the result to people who look for supermarlet style meat you need to watch the body condition.

Some people do make the mistake of thinking that any food source will grow pigs, so look for a "cheap" alternative to proprietary pig nuts. This can (can, not will!) be a false economy, as the feed just goes to producing fat rather than meat, so any "saving" is wasted. The correct balance of energy (fats/oils), protein (and esp. the right sort of protein), vitamins and minerals are needed to grow a piglet at a good speed and in the right way. If the cheaper alternatives worked well, the propriety feeds would just contain that and cost less !

Nwo don't mis-understand me, I'm not knocking those that do supplemental or alternate feeding of fuit/veg etc. or use other ingredients in home mixes - we regularly feed fruit/veg and those people who can do home mixing and save some money are great - but it is much harder to produce supermarket spec that way, so you should do this with your eyes open - and feel for fat.