How Do You Measure a Live Pig's Weight? Just Use a Tape Measure, the Formula Is Very Simple
Summary: You can also measure a live pig's weight with a tape measure, and the formula is very simple
Using a tape measure to measure a pig's weight sounds very unlikely at first, but it really is a way to measure a pig's weight. In the past, rural households often raised a few meat pigs at home and sold them once they had fattened up nicely.
But rural households rarely had the kind of platform scale that could weigh several hundred jin, and a pig weighs at least one or two hundred kilograms, or as much as three or four hundred kilograms. Weighing such a pig once is no easy task, exhausting for both the people and the pig. On top of that, driving a pig that is in its pen over to the scale easily causes stress responses in the pig, which may well affect its normal growth. A live pig can be measured without a platform scale, and a single tape measure can do it, with accuracy that is not low at all.
How Do You Calculate a Live Pig's Weight with a Tape Measure?
To calculate a live pig's weight with a tape measure, you need to know some formulas for calculating live pig weight. First, let us look at roughly what a typical adult live pig weighs, because different pig breeds also differ in weight. Different pigs generally weigh around 150 kg to 300 kg as adults.
For example, the Landrace pig generally weighs around 400 kg, and the Landrace is relatively suited to being cured into pork. The Poland China pig generally weighs a bit less than the Landrace, also around 390 kg, and is relatively suited to household pig farming. The Hampshire pig generally weighs more than 300 kg and belongs to the meat-type pigs. The Yorkshire pig generally weighs around 300 kg to 500 kg. And because pigs are raised differently, pigs of the same breed also differ somewhat in weight, so the calculation also needs to be done according to the situation.
Pig weight (kg) = pig chest circumference (cm) x pig body length (cm) / coefficient
The coefficient here is distinguished according to the pig's nutritional condition. A normal pig generally uses a coefficient of 142; if the pig's nutritional condition is medium, the coefficient must be increased and 156 is needed; if the live pig's nutritional condition is very poor, the coefficient needs to be increased further, with a coefficient of 162.
Measurement Methods
Another point to note is how to measure the pig's chest circumference and body length. When measuring a pig's chest circumference, it is generally behind the pig's shoulder blade; use a tape measure to lie naturally against the pig's body, then measure the vertical circumference of the pig's chest.
Next is measuring the pig's body length. When measuring a pig's body length, two people can do it together, which is more convenient. First, the pig needs to stand properly, with the line under the pig's neck kept on the same horizontal line as the line under the chest. The starting point of the measurement is the middle of the line connecting the roots of the pig's two ears, then follow along the pig's spine all the way to the pig's first natural ring on the tail, and pull the tape measure tight.
Breed Influence Coefficients
In addition, because pig breeds differ, the coefficients used in the formula above will also change. Here are the coefficients for a few relatively common pig breeds. For example, the coefficient for Large White is generally 133; after calculating the result, add about 8 kg and that is the Large White's weight. The coefficient for the Landrace breed is generally 107; after calculating, subtract about 12 kg, and what you get is the weight. The coefficient for a two-way crossbred pig is generally 175; add about 25 kg to the calculated result to get the weight of the two-way crossbred pig.
However, although the calculation formula above is not complicated, it is still not as precise as the result obtained by weighing on a platform scale, and there will still be some deviation, so it can only be used as an estimated value.
This is Science Xingnong; you are welcome to add a follow and let us grow our knowledge together.