[jazenta]

  Hi again folks this is another dumb question from me but hey its the only way to learn.
When I bought the tamworths I did ask for females but yep you guessed it they delivered 2 males. I have read that they should not be kept too long because of boar taint, but at what age is best for them to go for bacon and pork as I really do not want spoilt meat They are growing nicely and eat loads (I have been rationing them to just around 6lbs of meal a day (is that too much) and they get a trough of vegetables (one particularly likes tomatoes and one prefers the carrots) they have about 3/4 of an acre paddock (but prefer to break out and churn up the front garden lol bless them. Also how am I going to know what weight they are, I read somewhere that tamworths should be killed at around 45kgs weight??? that seems a little low but ok it is what it is if that is the right weight. Many thanks once again

[Tudful Tamworths]

Not sure where you got your information from!
Firstly, so what if they were male? Yes, boar taint exists, but, in traditional breeds, I've never had a problem with boars sent off up to about 8 months old and I always choose boars over gilts for pork because they tend to grow better. My own go for pork at five to six months (normally six) and I've had no problems with taint and lots of repeat customers - both buyers of meat and buyers of boar weaners.


re. feeding, do you mean 6lb a day each? If so, yes, that's too much. Mine would be on 3.5lb to 4lb max (depending on time of year/how cold it is, etc).


Killing weight? Mine go at about 90kg, which gives a dead weight of about 60kg. You can buy a special tape measure called a weigh band/weight band which goes around the body behind the front legs and over the shoulders and gives you an approximate dead weight, although you will need to deduct a couple of kilos because Tamworths tend not to have ample back ends. There is also a calculation which I have somewhere on my other computer - you measure with a normal tape then do a calculation to work out the weight. I'm sure someone will post it soon - or Google it.


Good luck and feel free to message me if you have any queries I can help with.
Liz

[jazenta]

thanks so much for the information it was really helpful and set my mind at rest.Oh my lord yes 6lbs a day each is what they are getting at the moment but I will cut it down from tomorrow and then heaven help me because when they feel a little hungry they are now knocking on the door with their snouts but as I do not want too much fat I will cut them back and they can just get used to it oh my no wonder the feed supplier thinks I am one of his best customers LOL many thanks once again and also for the offer of mailing you which I have no doubt I will be doing, as you can tell this is the first time I have raised pigs always just had cattle, sheep and fowl before but I like the tamworths they are really cute little characters and I am sure they will taste great.

[Tamsaddle]

The measurement is girth x girth x length (all in metres) x 69.3 to give you an approximate live weight in kgs.   Girth is measured immediately behind their front legs.   Length is between the tail and the ears, and varies by several cms depending on whether they have their heads down while eating, or heads up.   Best to have their heads up if possible, but more important is to keep your length measurements consistent each time you do it.

[HappyHippy]

If you're struggling to get a length and girth measurement another guide is when they measure 40 inches around their middle, behind the front legs - they are approx. 85Kg live weight, this will equate to around 50-55Kg deadweight.
Ditto the cutting back of the feeding - get googling uses for lard 

[jazenta]

LOL  I better had start googling then, have cut them back yesterday and they were none too happy but they will be fine and will get used to it..so now I weigh the food  properly it will save me a fortune lol  they are only just 4 months old so hopefully not too much harm done

[Tudful Tamworths]

It's difficult not to give them more when they shout for it - any pig keeper will tell you that. You have to treat them like children - if you allowed kids sweets and crisps whenever they wanted them, it wouldn't do them any good. Do you have anyone with an allotment or veg patch who might have surplus produce? You could give fruit/veg to keep them occupied without compromising their weight. Just a thought - if anyone is selling pumpkins for Halloween, they might not sell out. Chasing and biting into those would take them a while and keep them entertained, too.


All the best,
Liz

[hughesy]

Trouble with fruit and veg is that they get used to having it. Then when you have none they pester for it and you're back to square one! It is a great way to keep them happy without incurring cost though if you can get some for nowt or grow your own. Try your local greengrocer or fruit and veg wholesaler you might find they're glad to have you take away their "rubbish".

[Small Plot Big Ideas]

A bit late to this thread I know but I had been using the pig weight calculation with a standard tape measure and posting the results on my blog...

I've got no idea if we're matching the weight that might be expected for their age as this is our first time but it appears to be roughly correct.

This weekend my two Tamworths are due for another weight check as they're booked in to go at the end of November. We're hoping to get them to a decent weight in time but also would like to get them moved on before any really bad weather sets in!

[hughesy]

To be honest I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with weights for slaughter. There aren't any rules. We've taken pigs weighing anything from 50kg ish up to over 100kg and it makes little difference except for the size of the carcass. If anything a smaller, younger pig makes better eating due to less fat and tenderer meat, but it doesn't really matter. Could be that you'll have difficulty managing the size of joints etc if you go too big, and from a selling point of view nobody wants to buy pork chops if they're £2.50 each from a large pig. But that same loin should make great bacon. A butcher friend of mine was very interested in our OSB carcasses that were small as he could sell small cuts better than large, but for us we like em bigger and with a better fat covering as we make a lot of sausages. It's horses for courses really but there's no need to get stressed out about ideal weights.

[hughesy]

Also, if you're selling half pigs etc, you're likely going to charge what people seem to think is the going rate, and then the size of you're pig will make a huge difference to your profit. You don't want to sell half a 100kg pig for the same as half a 70kg pig do you?