Contents
The weight of pigs is a very important indicator that determines many aspects of the life of an animal. How much a pig weighs depends on the type of its diet, the dosage of the prescription of drug treatment, if necessary, and this indicator is used to judge the health and normal development of the animal as a whole.
Significance of indications
The severity of a pig is a very informative indicator in animal husbandry, by which one can judge such factors:
- health of young piglets and adults;
- weight gain, which is the first sign of the normal development of the pig;
- sufficient amount of food received (and, if necessary, adjustment of the mode and volume of food intake);
- the dosage of drugs prescribed for the treatment of animals, as well as the dosage of drugs used for vaccination.
Based on the exact indicators of the severity of the pig, breeders can correctly determine the mode and type of nutrition, which directly affects the increase in mass indicators, the prevention of obesity and the improvement of the taste criteria for pig meat before slaughter.
Thus, the severity of the pig is a parameter that monitors and checks the normal development of the animal, the correctness of the conditions for its maintenance and fattening.
What determines the weight of a pig or piglet
The mass of an adult organism depends, as a rule, on several of the following factors:
- gender of the pig: males almost always weigh much more than females – the difference is about 100 kg; although in the case of dense feeding and a sedentary lifestyle, the sow can sometimes catch up with the boar in terms of severity;
- age of the pig: adult organisms usually weigh between 150 – 300 kg. However, you can also find specimens with much larger mass indicators, up to 700 kg. Naturally, this is not the norm and should be avoided. There are also dwarf breeds of pigs, the mass indicators of which in adulthood do not exceed 30 kg;
- breed of pigs: this is one of the main factors on which the mass indicators of animals depend. For example, as an adult, a Steppe White boar can easily weigh over 300 kg, while a Vietnamese boar can barely weigh 140 kg;
- conditions for feeding and keeping pigs: if the type of feeding with concentrated feed is selected for the animal, the weight gain will occur quite quickly, and if the pig is fed with green mass, vegetables, fruits or root crops, the weight gain will occur at a slower pace.
In young organisms under the age of 30 days, the nature of the increase in kilograms is influenced by the milk indicators of the sow, since the piglets are in the lactation period of their development.
How much does an adult pig weigh
The average weight of an adult pig directly depends on its breed and on the direction of its productivity.
You can determine how much a pig weighs on average using the following table:
Name of the pig breed | Direction of Productivity | Mass indicators of a male individual (in kg) | Mass indicators of a female (in kg) |
Duroc | Meat | 350 | 260 – 320 |
Landrace | Meat | 300 – 310 | 250 – 255 |
Vietnamese | Meat | 120 – 170 | 100 – 140 |
Estonian bacon | Meat | 320 – 330 | 220 – 240 |
Large black | Salnaya | 275 – 350 | 225 – 260 |
Mangalitskaya | Salnaya | 300 – 350 | 290 – 310 |
Large white | Universal (meat-greasy) | 275 – 350 | 225 – 260 |
Siberian northern | Universal (meat-greasy) | 315 – 360 | 240 – 260 |
White Ukrainian steppe | Universal (meat-greasy) | 300 – 350 | 230 – 260 |
How to find out the weight of a pig by weighing
The easiest way to determine the weight of a pig is to use a scale. If we are talking about a young organism, then ordinary household scales will do, however, specialized scales will be required to weigh an adult animal. In this regard, electronic scales have advantages in all respects. They are a cage equipped with two doors: the animal enters into one, exits into the other. This cell is equipped with special sensors that allow you to accurately determine the severity of the body.
In order to determine the mass of a pig, it is placed in a cage. As a rule, all scales are equipped with a special approach, along which the animal itself rises to the weighing cabin. After that, the sensors calculate the mass, and the result is displayed on the electronic display. After completion of the weighing process, the balance must be carefully removed and, if necessary, disinfected.
Any measuring instruments that are used for weighing (regardless of whether they are mechanical or electronic) must meet the following parameters:
- have a protective layer against corrosion and various polluting factors;
- be designed for weighing living objects that are in constant motion;
- the bottom of the cage, in which the animal is located during the weighing process, must be made of a material that excludes the possibility of the animal slipping.
How to measure a pig’s weight in quarters
You can determine the weight of a pig without weights using the method of quarters. This is a very approximate and inaccurate way to determine the severity of the animal. A quarter represents the distance that is formed between the widely spaced thumb and forefinger of the hand. Depending on how many such quarters can be counted from the back of the head to the tail of the pig, so much will be its weight.
One quarter is equal to one pood of meat, that is, to 16 kg.
Thus, the formula for calculating a quarter will look like this:
- Live weight of the pig = H (number of quarters) x 16 kg.
The method is very inaccurate and it is recommended to use it in the most extreme cases, when it is not possible to determine the severity of the pig by other methods.
Pig measurement table by measurements
One of the simplest and at the same time very accurate (if all conditions are met correctly) ways to determine the severity of a pig is to determine the live weight of a pig by measurements. The error when using this method is only 4 to 10%. In order to determine the mass of an animal in this way, it is necessary to make only 2 measurements using the usual tailor’s centimeter: the girth of the chest of the animal and the length of its body.
It is quite difficult for one to carry out these manipulations, given that several conditions must be met without fail:
- the animal must stand during the measurements;
- the head of the animal must not be lowered;
- the measurement should be carried out a couple of hours before the pet eats.
In order to determine the exact weight of a piglet without weights, you need to use the table and the figures obtained as a result of the measurement can simply be compared with the data presented in it.
Pig weight table by size:
Formulas for determining accurate readings
There are 2 formulas that can also be used to determine the severity of a pig, knowing just a few indicators and taking into account a few additional factors.
- Formula for calculating weight. Pig Live Weight = (1,54 x chest circumference) + (0,99 x body length) – 150 tables.
- The formula for calculating gravity, taking into account the correction factor. This correction factor depends on the fatness of the animal and the breed of the pig:
- for meat breeds (insufficient fatness) – 162;
- for sebaceous breeds (pronounced signs of obesity) – 142;
- for meat-greasy breeds (average degree of fatness) – 156.
The degree of fatness is determined by eye. After determining it, the calculation of gravity is carried out according to the formula: Live Weight of the pig = chest circumference x body length / body condition coefficient.
How to find out how much a piglet weighs
In order to determine the weight of a young piglet, the easiest way is to use a scale.
You can find out the weight of a piglet without weights from the following table, which shows the average weight data of young animals:
Age of the juvenile (in months) | Mass indicators of a young individual (in kg) | Description of weight gain |
1 | 8 – 12 | During the first month, while a young animal is feeding on sow’s milk, its weight does not need special control, since its stable set is almost always observed. |
2 | 12 – 15 | In the nutrition of the baby, in addition to mother’s milk, a balanced complementary food is added, which has a positive effect on the increase in mass indicators. |
3 | 25 | The period of a sharp jump in mass is a 2-fold increase. |
4 | 45 – 60 | From this period, they begin to monitor the severity of the young individual and take measures if the indicators differ from those indicated in the table |
5 | 75 – 90 | The period of intensive fattening of young individuals and the introduction of highly concentrated feed. |
6 – 7 | 100 | A young animal enters the stage of puberty, its diet changes completely, and this affects a slight increase in weight. |
8 – 10 | 120 – 150 | From this period, the piglet is considered an adult. |
Weekly piglet weight chart
To find out the weight of a piglet at each week of its development, you can refer to the table below.
Age of the juvenile (in weeks) | Average juvenile weight (in kg) by the end of the week | Average daily weight gain (in g) |
6 | 12,5 | 350 |
7 | 15,5 | 450 |
8 | 19,0 | 510 |
9 | 23,0 | 580 |
10 | 27,8 | 670 |
11 | 32,5 | 690 |
12 | 37,5 | 700 |
13 | 42,5 | 710 |
14 | 47,5 | 720 |
15 | 52,5 | 730 |
Piglet weight by month
To find out the weight of a pig without weights, a table with age indicators will help, which every breeder should be able to use for a timely response if the weight of a young individual does not correspond to the average indicators.
Age | The weight |
A newborn individual in the case of a normal sow pregnancy | Weighs about 1 kilogram. Piglets of some breeds can weigh a little more or less, for example, Vietnamese babies are born with a weight of about 500 g.
|
At the age of one month | Babies feed only on mother’s milk, and weight gain is happening at a rapid pace. On average, by the end of the first month of life, they weigh 9 kg. |
At 2 – 3 months | Babies begin to introduce special complementary foods, and their severity increases by more than 2 times. |
4 – 6 months | The age at which young animals begin to be actively fed, their weight during this period is already about 50 kg. |
6 – 7 months | Young individuals are transferred to the department of gilts, they reach their sexual maturity, by this time their mass indicators are 100 kg. |
At 9 – 10 months | Individuals are considered adults and ready for mating. Their weight at this moment is 140 kg. |
Finding out the weight of a piglet from a table that indicates the age of the animal is quite simple. But such indicators cannot be called the most accurate.
How much should a pig weigh on average for slaughter
The slaughter weight of a pig depends on the breed and age of the animal. The largest breeds of pigs, which can reach a weight of 300 kg, should be slaughtered when they reach a weight of 150 kg. Small breeds, the maximum weight of which is 140 kg, are slaughtered in revenge of 80 kg. Regarding the age criterion, it should be said that it is customary to slaughter pigs after they reach the age of 8-9 months.
Conclusion
The weight of pigs is an important indicator used in animal husbandry. It can be used to determine the state of health of each individual, the correctness of the regimen and the balance of nutrition, the dosage of drugs prescribed for treatment. The correct determination of the weight of the pig is the key to the healthy development of young piglets and high-quality weight gain in adults.
