[Raine]

 


I am planning to take my three berkshires to slaughter around 14th October.  I measured them today and they are around 56-58Kgs. 


Is this about right with two weeks to go or should they be bigger?  Have I worked out something wrong?

[Berkshire Boy]

I go for 70kg minimum so you will need about 4 weeks I would guess. How old are they?

[Foobar]

Funnily enough, I have some which are a similar weight to that and due to go on that same date ... mine are entire boars though, and they are 24 weeks on the 14th.  Could I stretch them to another week over that or would the taste be compromised?

[Berkshire Boy]

you could keep them for months and the taste would not be compromised. Boar taint is very rare and from working boars.

[Foobar]

Thanks BB, that's useful to know.  I would like to wait for them to get a bit bigger, and I have tuned down their rations to prevent them going fat, so fingers crossed.

[Raine]

 


Mine are entire boars and 24 weeks on 14th.  Looks like it's the trend this year then.   I could really do with taking them that day as it's about the only week both my husband and I can get off.


What weight do you think they might get to? 

[hughesy]

Size is a totally subjective thing. If you want sausages and bacon go big, or if you want commercially popular small chops etc go a bit smaller.

[Tamsaddle]

For once, I have a complete set of figures which might help anyone trying to work out size and weights.


Two OSB boars, brothers, slaughtered at exactly 28 weeks old, feed regime 1.9 kgs/day each from 20 weeks onwards, graduated before that.


Pig A:   measurements day before slaughter girth 1.025 m, length 1.31 m.  Using G x G x L x 69.3 formula
comes to 95.38 kgs live weight.   Slaughter weight 68.8 kgs (fat 15).  68.8 / 95.38  = 0.721 live weight.
Butchery:   Cuts & joints 45.29 kgs (66.75%), bones from joints for spare ribs 3.634 kgs (5.36%), flare fat & kidneys 0.642 kgs (0.95%), sausage meat 4.148 kgs (6.11%), head 6.398 kgs (9.43%), waste 7.732 kgs (11.4%).   These totals come to 67.842 kgs, which is 0.9861 of the pay weight of 68.8 kgs.


Pig B:  measurements days before slaughter girth 1.02 m, length 1.28 m = live weight 92.29 kgs.
Slaughter weight 64.5 kgs (fat 16).   64.5 / 92.29 = 0.698 live weight.
Butchery:   Cuts & joints 42.702 kgs (68.1%), bones from joints for spare ribs 0.866 kgs (1.38%), flare fat & kidneys 0.950 kgs (1.52%), sausage meat 4.232 kgs (6.75%), head 5.862 kgs (9.35%), waste 8.806 kgs (12.9%).   These totals come to 62.698 kgs, which is 0.972 of the pay weight of 64.5 kgs.


With both pigs, some of the meat on the head was later used to add to the sausage meat, approx. 1 kg per head, so sausage meat weights and head weights would be that much more and less respectively.   Also goes to show that two pigs, same gender, from the same litter, fed exactly the same all their lives, do not always end up the same weight at the end.


 
 

[Daisys Mum]

I have 2 middle white brothers who are both fed the same( out of their own feed bowls) and when measured with the weigh tape one is 78kg and the other 89 kg