Harvesting a hog

[Cheryl]

I have seen several references by group members which indicated that
the hogs they were about to butcher were much larger than what I'm
familiar with.

I am use to butchering pigs in the 225-250 pound range. (I target 225
and by the time I get around to it, the pigs are closer to 250.) I
have chosen this range because that's the way it use to be done when
my father ran a custom slaughtering business. Market hogs have gotten
a little heavier than when I was a boy but not the 300-350 pounders
that some members are butchering.

So I'm wondering if I'm missing something. What does the group think
the ideal slaughter weight is?

I was under the impression that a 300 pound pigs was too fat and not
very efficient in feed to weight ratio. Am I wrong? I'm always willing
to learn from others so correct me if I'm wrong.

[GREEN_ALIEN]

I R one of those who firmly believes in butchering a good old school hog. Mine never see a knife until they hit 350 lbs.

Yes, it is true that the feed to daily gain ratio falls apart in the 250lb range and there is a point in there at about 280-300lbs that bone growth exceeds tissue growth thus gains become dog treats but not in a hurry.

Most of the calculations for gain versus intake are based on the common corn based diet. Find a good animal nutrionist and they will tell you hogs do not do corn (DRIED) as a first choice rather as the only choice when that is all that is fed to them.

Can I produce at a level of a hog operation? NOPE! I can get close though. I feed wet (partly fermented) mixed grains and fruit. The grains are grown all around me and the fruit comes from the packing houses as rejects from the juicer lines. What do I get in the long run? Well, about 35 extra days of chores which translates to 35 extra days of feed. Most notably I get extra lean pork that spent its life roming around a large pasture doing my weed control all the while makin' bacon! All of my cuts run on the largish side to the point that hams get quartered prior to smoking. They are simply too large for dinner... Ever seen an 18 inch strip of bacon? Not off of a baby hog. 4 strips = meal for two.

Something else I have noticed is the meat texture. Mine is firm and solid wheras younger stuff is kind of oookey and wet, for lack of better verbs. Mine cooks up nice and tender with plenty of moisture.

Long before your dads time hogs were predominately butchered large for their high lard content. This was especially true during WWII when lard was a primary ingredient in explosives manufacturing.

Besides all of the above, there really is not much that is as fun as giving a big ole' hog a good scratchin'.

Ted

[Anon001]

Another thing is that the size of hogs being butchered has increased over the years. The buyers want hogs around 260 to 290 or so... Why has this increased from the 225? Genetics. Genetics in hogs today are making much leaner hogs and when they are fed to 260 and 290 there is more meat than what you could get on a hog 50 years ago. Look at a good hog today compared to what they used to be and some breeds such as the yorks have very very little fat. The genetics have carried the hogs from lard production to meat production and they are also utilizing feed better and the conversion rates on larger hogs has improved based on the changes in genetics.... Also, commercial feeds are so much more specialized today... it is a science that has jumped leaps and bounds in the last 15 years....

SO, yes the hogs are heavier but in commercial situations they normally don't get to 350 pounds. That is too heavy. 260 to 290 is ideal for most hogs today....
PaulNKS

[cnocaingeil]

Perhaps this belongs in a new topic, but does anyone know where to get old-fashioned lard-breeds?

Where I live everything is fattened on corn, and I'd rather raise it on what I grow. Since I don't raise or eat grains (except around family), I'm wanting a cheaper source of better quality fat to go with all the wild game we have.

[Anon001]

That's a good question. So much of the fat is bred out of today's hogs with genetics... You might look at some Hamps or Durocs... they are getting leaner but they don't have as much fat bred out of them as some breeds like the Yorks.

Also, the "quality" of the fat doesn't change based on what it is fed. The feed changes the quality of the meat itself and affects the meat to fat ratio, rate of gain, feed conversion, etc. But it doesn't affect the fat other than how much fat there may be.

I do know that a lot of city people don't like the lean game meats and often add pork fat when game is ground for sausage. However, I prefer the game the way it is...lean. People just have to learn how to cook it... on lower temps and for less time than commercial meats.

Good Luck,

PaulNKS

[cnocaingeil]

I think your suggestions are the only realistic ones for this country. Apparently what breeds are left are raised half-wild, mainly in Europe. I knew that they were bred leaner post-war, but I thought more old breeds survived.

While I doubt anyone is interested (and I'm sure that they're not worth the cost in the US), I found this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalitsa).

Call me crazy, but I don't think that most animals are adapted to modern grains, including humans. Most of my calories come from fat and meat, and I do think that quality is important (and exists). I don't mind lean meat, but you can't live off of it. And I haven't quite gotten used to eating deer backfat...yet :)

[rivahmom]

Perhaps this belongs in a new topic, but does anyone know where to get old-fashioned lard-breeds? *

Where I live everything is fattened on corn, and I'd rather raise it on what I grow. *Since I don't raise or eat grains (except around family), I'm wanting a cheaper source of better quality fat to go with all the wild game we have. *

http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html
I am personally looking at the mulefoot hog. It is my understanding that they are excellent foragers and are not as lean as most modern pig. The above website also has other lard breeds listed. They are falling out of favor now because people no longer use lard to lube everything.

[harvester]

raising hogs all depends on the type of meat you want in the end. I have raised hogs on commercial grower pellets and had them butchered in 8 months at 250 lbs to only find a tasteless grainy texture to their meat. I gave it all away and fed alot to the dogs.
I have also raised hogs on a mixture of kitchen scraps in a base of ground barley thoroughly "sloppied" with goats milk. It produced a 800-1000 lb hog in 5 months. when butchered they had a good 6-8 inch layer of lard covering the entire carcass. Cut this layer off and render it down for lard. Under this layer you find a richly flavored nicely marbled meat. Some of the best pork Ive ever had. You can also cut the feed amount down and grow a leaner hog on the same mixture.
At this time in my life i dont want to butcher a huge hog, and my family doesnt need a huge hog . So I use the ground barley mixture and butcher the hog a little earlier at around 200lbs. whatever I can handle. I dont call a commercial butcher as it would then raise my price of pork per pound to double. However I do send the butcher the hams for curing.
I normally try to get a Chester White hog for raising.

[Anon001]

I always ran mine in about 2 acres of timber. That produced some lean delicious meat... much better than just grain fed.

The diet influences flavor, rate of gain, and fat to some extent. But, genetics are playing the largest factor in fat percentages.... so as harvester says, you have to feed according to the individual hog....

It is a shame that the same "old" breeds today don't look the same as even 25 years ago....

The breed also has a lot to do with the amounts of backfat.

PaulNKS

[walls0stone]

grandfather would run them in a poor quality pen, and then in the corn field.....owned by another person. :) He was poor at keeping in hogs, that's why we only did this once. but we gave that fellow the meat from on of the pigs and joked for a year that the finnest meat was from your neibors corn field.