Content
- 1 Significance of indications
- 2 What determines the weight of a pig or piglet
- 3 How to find out the weight of a pig by weighing
- 4 How to measure the weight of a pig in quarters
- 5 Pig Measurement Chart by Measurement
- 6 How to find out how much a piglet weighs
- 7 How much should a slaughter pig weigh on average?
- 8 Conclusion
The weight of pigs is a very important indicator that determines many aspects of the life of an animal. The type of its diet depends on how much the pig weighs, the dosage, the appointment of drug treatment, if necessary, and also 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 zootechnics, by which one can judge the following factors:
- health of young piglets and adults;
- weight gain, which is the first sign of normal pig development;
- a sufficient amount of food received (and, if necessary, adjust the mode and volume of food intake);
- dosage of drugs prescribed for the treatment of animals, as well as the dosage of drugs used for vaccination.
Based on accurate indicators of the severity of the pig, breeders can correctly determine the regime and type of nutrition, which directly affects the increase in mass indicators, the prevention of obesity and the improvement of the taste criteria of the pig meat before slaughter.
Thus, the severity of the pig is a parameter by which the normal development of the animal is monitored and checked, the correctness of the conditions for its maintenance and feeding.
What determines the weight of a pig or piglet
The mass of an adult body depends, as a rule, on several of the following factors:
- sex 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;
- pig age: adult organisms usually weigh in the range of 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, in adulthood, a steppe white boar can easily weigh more than 300 kg, while a Vietnamese boar can barely gain 140 kg;
- conditions for feeding and keeping pigs: if the type of feeding with concentrated feed is chosen for the animal, the gain in kilograms will occur quite quickly, and if the pig is fed with green mass, vegetables, fruits or root crops, the increase in weight will not occur so rapidly.
In young organisms under the age of 30 days, the character of the increase in kilograms is influenced by the milk indicators of the sow, since the piglets are in the suckling 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:
Pig breed name | 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 | Greasy | 275 — 350 | 225 — 260 |
Mangalitskaya | Greasy | 300 — 350 | 290 — 310 |
Large white | Universal (meat-lard) | 275 — 350 | 225 — 260 |
Siberian northern | Universal (meat-lard) | 315 — 360 | 240 — 260 |
White Ukrainian steppe | Universal (meat-lard) | 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 are suitable, however, to weigh an adult animal, a specialized scale is required. Electronic scales have advantages in all respects in this regard. They represent a cage equipped with two doors: one animal enters in, and exits the other. This cage is equipped with special sensors that allow you to accurately determine the severity of the body.
In order to determine the weight of the pig, it is placed in a cage. As a rule, all scales are equipped with a special approach, along which the animal climbs into the weighing cabin on its own. After that, the sensors calculate the mass, and the result is displayed on the electronic display. After completing the weighing process, the balance must be carefully cleaned 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 to weigh living objects that are in constant motion;
- the bottom of the cage in which the animal is located during weighing must be made of a material that excludes the possibility of the animal sliding.
How to measure the weight of a pig in quarters
You can determine the weight of a pig without weights using the quarter method. This is a very rough and imprecise way of determining the severity of an animal. The quarter is the distance that forms between the wide-spaced thumb and forefinger. Depending on how many of these quarters can be counted from the back of the head to the tail of the piglet, so much will be its weight.
One quarter is equal to one pound 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 imprecise 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 Chart by Measurement
One of the simplest and at the same time very accurate (with the correct observance of all conditions) 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 weight of the animal in this way, it is necessary to make only 2 measurements using the usual tailor's centimeter: the girth of the animal's chest and the length of its body.
It is rather difficult for one to carry out these manipulations, given that several conditions must be met without fail:
- the animal must stand while taking measurements;
- the head of the animal should not be lowered;
- the measurement should be taken 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 are simply compared with the data presented in it.
Pig weight table by size:
Formulas for Determining Accurate Readings
There are 2 formulas by which you can also determine the severity of a pig, knowing only a few indicators and taking into account several additional factors.
- Weight calculation formula. Live Weight of a pig = (1.54 x chest circumference) + (0.99 x body length) - 150. This formula gives a fairly accurate idea of the weight of the animal and you need to use it if the indicators obtained as a result of measurement do not fit the data tables.
- Formula for calculating gravity with a correction factor. This correction factor depends on the body condition of the animal and the breed of pig:
- for meat breeds (insufficient fatness) - 162;
- for greasy breeds (pronounced signs of obesity) - 142;
- for meat-greasy breeds (medium degree of fatness) - 156.
The degree of fatness is determined by eye. After its determination, 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 pig, 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 data for the weight of young animals:
Young individual age (months) | Mass indicators of a young individual (in kg) | Weight gain description |
1 | 8 — 12 | The first month, while the young animal feeds on the sow's milk, its weight does not need special control, since its stable gain is almost always observed. |
2 | 12 — 15 | In the baby's diet, in addition to the 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 an increase in 2 times. |
4 | 45 — 60 | From this period, they begin to monitor the severity indicators of a young individual and take action if the indicators differ from those indicated in the table |
5 | 75 — 90 | The period of intensive feeding 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 severity. |
8 — 10 | 120 — 150 | From this period, the piglet is considered an adult. |
Piglet weight table by week
You can find out the weight of a piglet at each week of its development by referring to the table below.
Age of young individual (in weeks) | Average weight of a young individual (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 |
Newborn sow in case of normal pregnancy of the sow | Weighs about 1 kilogram. Piglets of some breeds may 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 occurs at a rapid pace. On average, by the end of the first month of life, they weigh 9 kg. |
2 - 3 months | Babies begin to introduce special complementary foods, and their severity more than doubles. |
4 - 6 months | The age at which young animals begin to actively feed, their weight during this period is already about 50 kg. |
6 - 7 months | Young individuals are transferred to the pig department, they reach their sexual maturity, by this time their mass indicators are 100 kg. |
At 9 - 10 months | Individuals are considered adults and ready to mate. Their weight at this moment is 140 kg. |
It is quite simple to find out the weight of the pig from the table in which the age of the animal is indicated. But such indicators cannot be called the most accurate.
How much should a slaughter pig weigh on average?
Slaughter severity of a pig depends on the breed and age of the animal. The largest breeds of pigs, which can reach 300 kg in weight, must be slaughtered when they reach a weight of 150 kg. Small breeds, the maximum weight of which is 140 kg, are slaughtered in revenge in 80 kg. With regard to the age criterion, it should be said that pigs are usually slaughtered after they reach the age of 8 - 9 months.
Conclusion
Pig weight is an important indicator used in animal husbandry. According to it, it is possible to determine the state of health of each individual, the correctness of the regimen and balance of nutrition, the dosage of drugs prescribed for treatment. Correct determination of the weight of a pig is the key to the healthy development of young piglets and a high-quality gain in weight of adults.
