I am looking to buy a half of hog ( American Guinea Hog ) if a half of hog weighs 70 pounds hanging what will the finished processed half weigh? What is the price of hogs today?
We just got back a bull that we had processed. (He was to large for us to handle here at home) His live weight was a little over 1600 lbs. and we got back a little over 800 lbs. meat.
On this one they did... It depends on the hide if I want it back or not. In the past on large animals, that would be hard for us to handle, it is about a $60. difference in price. The black Jersey bull, I wanted his hide back and had to pay a little more to get it back. But they gave the hide the first "cleaning" ... which made it easy for us to tan. So I was alright with that...
I've always wanted to tan been told it's a messy process. So you do your own tanning? Do you have a shed for it?
No shed ... I've tried a number of ways but for someone just starting out, I would say get a kit and a deer hide. (and go from there.) Once you get the basics down, it kind of comes together.
I've seen it done just never had the opportunity to do it. I get a few squirrels a month. I think I'm going to try with them first.
We find the following numbers work for our pigs which are farm pigs slaughtered around 250 to 300 lbs live weight (LW). Hanging Weight: HW = 72% LW Commercial Cuts Weight: CW = 67% HW = 48% LW Note that this is using scald & scrape, head on, hide on, feet on, tail on, gutted. If you're doing skunned hogs then deduct for head, hide, feet and tail. I like scald & scrape because we sell a lot of roasters and leaving the skin on means we get the back fat, the skin and the meat quality is better especially with aging since the skin protects the meat. The advantage of skinning is it is a lot faster if you don't have the proper scalder setup. For a single hog one generally just skins. Tip on skinning: make sure the hog is fed up on water well before slaughter and then get the hide started off the hind quarters so you can just pull it off. Properly done this leaves the fat on the meat.
Two article people might find useful on this: http://SugarMtnFarm.com/2006/07/04/what-is-a-half-pig-share/ http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2012/05/03/what-good-is-a-pig-cuts-of-pork-nose-to-tail/ Pictures and diagrams, weights and measures...
When buying a half of hog which do you pay for: The live weight or the hanging weight? Also what is the going price for a hog to be butchered today?
Hot Hanging weight, often just called hanging weight, is what is normally paid. That is to say, after the butcher has prepared the carcass for the chiller but before it chills. During chilling a carcass generally loses about 3% more due to dripping and evaporation. Prices for both pigs and processing vary tremendously with what you're getting and with the region. For example: USDA vacuum packaged tends to cost more than custom paper wrapped. The reason is cost of inspection and quality of packaging - vacuum pack lasts longer in the fridge and freezer. In Iowa hogs tend to sell for a lot lower price than in New York. The reason is supply and demand. We are in Vermont and sell pigs for $3.50/lb hanging weight typically at 180 lbs hanging. Processing is USDA inspected with transport included at $55 for slaughter, $155 for vacuum packed butchering, $2.50/lb for linked sausage, $2.50/lb for smoking and $4.50/lb for hot dogs. I've seen higher and lower prices. Check out your local butcher and farms for what prices are like in your area. Cheers, -Walter
We do it a little different than most. We charge by live weight, then the buyer pays the processor. I have a scale they stand on before I load them into the trailer. we write the weight on their back in crayon, this helps us track the hanging weight and waste. I get $1.15 - $1.35 lb. live weight in north west Michigan, depending on what the finish feed total cost was for that group of hogs. I have seen a 20-30 pound difference in hogs that are the same size. We raise them to around 280-300 lbs. on good custom grain and fresh water, yumm-yumm. We had a barrow the same size as a 295 lb. gilt. When he stepped on the scale, he was 375 lbs., I know?, hanging weight was 280, we came home with 245 lbs. of sweet pork. No the scale was not broken, we confirmed it at the processors. I buy the feed by the 100, feed them by the pound, purchase fuel by the gallon, pay the electric by the kW, why not weigh them, then you know where your margin is for each hog. I'm analytical, I like to know where every dime goes so I can improve where I can.
If you buy live pigs at auction then you'll pay live weight or just bid on the pig. At the butcher or when buying from a farmer you typically pay for the hanging weight. If buying a half then half the hanging weight. A typical pig has a live weight of 250 lbs yielding a hanging weight of 180 lbs so a half would be 90 lbs. We charge $3.50/lb for whole pigs and $4/lb for half pigs. I encourage people to find a friend to buy the other half and save money which most do but a few do the half. Thus a whole pig is about $630 and a half pig is about $360. Actual price will vary with the actual hanging weight of the pig. There is also the cost of processing. This varies with the inspection (custom/state/USDA) and services (slaughter/cutting/sausagelinks/smoking). For us it is USDA Inspected $55/pig for slaughter, $155 for cutting vacuum packed, $2.50/lb linked sausage and $2.50/lb smoking. We also do linked smoked hot dogs which are $4.50/lb. There is quite a bit of regional variance in processing costs with some places higher and others lower. Schedule processing when you get a weaner pig if you're raising it yourself as the processors are generally booked up in the fall.
We just bought a hanging hog, no head for a roast. The whole hung hog with skin was 200 pounds for $300.00, which is about $1.50 a pound. I thought it was high, but this was my brother & son project, so I let them do their thing. My brother now wants to raise two for butcher some time next Summer & Fall. So i will be learning live weight vis. hanging weight. Thanks Highlands & Andi.
