# Live weight to carcass ratio



## LuckyGRanch (Jun 30, 2002)

I've got 2 pigs going to slaughter on Thursday. I will not have an opportunity to get a live weight on them. I'd like to figure out approx. what they weighed based on their carcass weights. What is the % generally with pigs?! My FIL suggested it is like 65% carcass of live weight. Any other thoughts on this? Babe and Porky aren't nearly as interested in this calculation as I am!


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## bare (May 10, 2002)

The folks doing your slaughtering can give you a pretty good live weight from your hanging weight. I ususally figure 50/50 after skinning and gutting with head attached.


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## BobK (Oct 28, 2004)

I think the accepted ratio is about 70-75% carcass yield from live weight. You can backcalculate lvie weight from your carcass weight and/or make a estiamte using the following equation: l

live weight = ((heart girth * heart girth) * length)/ 400

heart girth= measure around hog right behind the front legs
length= measurement from base of tail to between ears

I looked at a site the other day that made measurements on 100 hogs between 45-240 lbs (or so) and plotted the data on a graph. The relationship was really linear (r squared of 0.98) and supported the above estimate.

I got the formula above from: http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/qa/swine0001.htm


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

I've read the ratios are 73% for hogs, 65% for beef and 52% for chickens. Your mileage may vary.

Another way to estimate the hog's weight is to measure it in inches around the chest at heart level (H) and from the root of the tail to the crown of the head between the ears (L) and then use the formula:

Live Weight = H*H*L/400

For example, the gilt I'm about to send on her way is 48" in circumference around her chest at heart level and 56" from tail root to head crown so:

Live Weight = 48*48*56/400 = 322 lbs

Try it for fun and then multiply by 73% to see what the hanging weight might be...

Hanging Weight = Live Weight * 73% = 322 * 73% = 235 lbs

We'll see how accurate that is... 

-Walter
Sugar Mtn Farm


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## VApigLover (Oct 6, 2004)

I've kinda been searching for the same type of data, along the same lines as (girthXgirthXlenght)/400, another method only uses the following formula, it also came from the same site /muextension.missouri.edu/exp...a/swine0001.htm" in above post. Long and short is... Pig Weight = (10.1709 X Heart Girth)-205.7492, as an example in above post it would be (10.1709 X 48)-205.7492 or (488.2032)-205.7492 = 282.454, makeing the pig weight 282.454. That makes the delta between the two methods 39.546 pounds, some say the first method used has issues since some 4-H'ers said their pigs would come in on the scales 25-30 pounds less than the first formula calculated, but without a scale how can one be sure? I prefer the first method (since it makes my pigs bigger) but when I slaughter I have a hanging scale that will help see which one works better for me. I wonder how many other formula's are used for this common problem?

Oh yea, I almost wiped out my piggy population when I lost control of a 25 foot long, about 1.5 foot diameter log (firewood), when I bumped it with the tractor she went rolling down the hill towards the hog lot, I yelled "Hey PIGIE"SSSS!!!!" They looked up, saw it coming, never saw such large creatures move with such speed! After the log hit a tree in the lot, my hogs thought it was some form of treat as they tried to eat it! I decide the log would stay and I proceeded to repair the fencing. What a night! Just glad I didn't roll em over, not sure the wife (or the pigies) would have appreciated that.

VaPiglover


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## tobo6 (Jan 14, 2003)

Funny, how it is different in different areas, but it's common around here to have to pay by hanging weight, and then you are told how much weight the meat brings in. Bare is correct on his 50/50, at least in my 2 hog experience. :haha: 

Our first pig weighed #240 which turned into 120 lbs of meat.
Our second pig weighed #245, which turned into 122 lbs of meat.

Both grain fed, eggs everyday from the bantam chickens and maybe leftovers from us a couple times a week (4 kids, we don't have much leftovers, lol).

Deb


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## GRHE (Jun 22, 2004)

The ratio we've run on our hogs was 25% loss live weight to hanging, 12-15% loss hanging to freezer. This was for lean young hogs, we tried not to go over 300-320 pounds. If you go higher, you will have more fat, so a higher wastage. If you go lower than about 200 pounds loss will go up due to general lack of meat on the frame. But as an example, a 280 pound live hog, resulted in 210 hanging (skinned and beheaded), and 180 pounds in the freezer.


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## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

depends on what parts you use. For a 60 pound potbelly, skinned, boned, gutted and decapitated I usually get about 25 pounds of ground meat in raosts and ground. Then there is the liver, and pork fries, I feed the kidneys and spleen and head and feet to the dog. cook the rest of the skeleton down into pork stock, use the skin for bass bait


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