Determining Market Weight and Finish

The Golden Window: 70kg to 90kg

In the commercial pork market, most processors (like Farmer’s Choice) and high-end butcheries look for a “Prime” carcass. This usually comes from a pig that is about 6 months old.

Why 70kg? At this weight, the pig has a high ratio of muscle to bone. The meat is tender, and the joints (hams) are the perfect size for retail sale.
Why not 120kg? Once a pig passes 95kg, its growth slows down, but its appetite stays huge. It begins to convert feed into Lard (Fat) instead of meat. Since fat is cheaper than meat, you are essentially paying for expensive feed to produce a low-value product.

How to Weigh a Pig Without a Scale (The Tape Measure Trick)

Most emerging agripreneurs cannot afford a 50,000 KES digital platform scale. But you can buy a “tailor’s tape” for 50 KES and be 95% accurate.

The Heart Girth Formula:

Girth (G): Measure the circumference of the pig just behind the front legs and shoulders.
Length (L): Measure from the base of the ears to the base of the tail along the backbone.
The Calculation: Weight in kg = $(G \times G \times L) \times 69.3$ (where measurements are in meters).
- Farmer’s Shortcut: Many agrovets sell a “Pig Weigh Tape” that has the kilograms already printed on it. You simply wrap it around the chest, and it tells you the weight.

Assessing the Finish (The Fat Check)

A “Finished” pig should look “smooth” but not “round.”

The Shoulder: Should be well-muscled and firm.
The Tail Head: If there is a deep “dimple” or hole where the tail meets the body, the pig is likely too fat.
The Belly: Should be straight. A “pot-belly” often means the pig has too much internal fat or was fed low-quality fiber for too long.

The Feed Conversion Wall

As an agripreneur, you must watch your Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR).

Between 30kg and 60kg, a pig is very efficient.
After 90kg, it might take 4kg or 5kg of feed to produce just 1kg of weight gain.

If your feed costs 50 KES per kg, and you are spending 250 KES (5kg) to get 1kg of meat that sells for 350 KES, you are barely making a profit after labor and water are included. Sell early, sell fast.

Target Weights for Different Markets

Understanding your buyer’s preference before you finish your pigs is the difference between a “Premium Price” and a “Rejected Carcass.” Use this table to align your production with your local demand.

Market Type	Target Live Weight	Why?
Pork Joints (Roasting)	60kg – 75kg	Ease of Cooking: Popular with local “Pork Joints” and eateries. Smaller carcasses fit better in roasting ovens and offer tender, manageable portions for retail.
Formal Processors	80kg – 95kg	Efficiency: Large companies (like Farmer’s Choice) need bigger “loins” for bacon and large “hams” for sausages. This weight maximizes the amount of meat relative to the bone.
Local Village Butcher	90kg+	Fat Demand: In many rural areas, fat is a prized byproduct. Larger pigs have a thicker fat layer, which the butcher sells for cooking or to customers who prefer “heavy” meat.

Agripreneur Tip: Aiming for the 80kg mark is usually the safest bet. It is the “sweet spot” where the pig is large enough to be profitable but hasn’t yet reached the age where it starts eating more feed than the weight it puts on.

Case Study: The Heavy Mistake in Nyahururu

Farmer George had 10 pigs. At 6 months, they weighed 85kg. A buyer offered him 300 KES per kg (Live Weight). George refused, thinking if he kept them for another month, they would weigh 110kg and he’d make more money. By the end of month 7, the pigs weighed 105kg, but they had eaten an extra 15 bags of feed (costing 45,000 KES). When the buyer returned, he saw the pigs were too fat and lowered his price to 250 KES per kg.

George’s Logic: $(105kg \times 250 \text{ KES}) = 26,250 \text{ KES}$ per pig.
What he missed: $(85kg \times 300 \text{ KES}) = 25,500 \text{ KES}$ .

After subtracting the 4,500 KES of extra feed per pig, George actually lost 3,750 KES per pig by waiting!

Preparation for the Sale

Stop Medication: Check your records to ensure the withdrawal period has passed.
Withdraw Feed: 12 hours before slaughter, stop giving solid food but keep providing plenty of water. This cleans the gut, reduces the risk of meat contamination during slaughter, and saves you half a day’s feed.
Group Them: Sort the pigs by weight so the buyer can see the uniformity. Buyers pay more for a “matched set” than for a mixed bag of big and small pigs.

Important things to keep in mind:

Scale is Truth: If a buyer brings their own scale, test it first with a known weight (like a 20kg bag of feed) to ensure it hasn’t been “tampered” with.
The Kill Out Percentage: Remember that the “Dressed Weight” (carcass) is usually 70–75% of the live weight. If your pig is 100kg alive, it will be roughly 75kg on the hook.
Don’t fall in love with your pigs. A pig on a commercial farm is a “product.” When it hits the target, it must go.