[congerchamp]

hi all i am new to keeping pigs and was wondering what age would you kill tamworths for pork?
thanks congerchamp

[Rosemary]

We buy at 8 weeks in March / April and kill at 32 weeks roughly. THis is so that we can rest the ground in between annual batches. I think you can hold them for longer without them getting overfat, if you don't overfeed.

[Hilarysmum]

It may also depend on your chosen abattoir.  Ours will only kill out at between 90 and 105 K anything smaller they wont do anything larger has to be dragged down to another abattoir over 20 k away.

[congerchamp]

thank you both for your advise.

[marigold]

How do you weigh a pig?

[gavo]

We keep our Tams until 11 months of age male or female although we often keep our girls longer.This is totally free range 365 days a year we generally get about 80-90 kgs from each pig sometimes less.Have never had a problem with them being overly fat unless you feed them double rations continually!Tams are known for being on the slim side compared to some of the traditional breeds;[as they say you can't fatten a thoroughbred]We have also never had a problem with boar taint Tams are quite slow maturing compared to many breeds.

[gavo]

There is a measuring formula to work out dead weights.

[Hilarysmum]

I think I cribbed this one from Rosemary:

In inches :  Measure from between ears to tail base ( length) around the shoulders as close to the armpits as possible (girth).

girth x girth x length divide by 400 = weight in LBs (if you want Kilos divide again by 2.2).


deduct a third to give you the carcass weight