Knowing the date of the fair that you will be competing in and matching the frame size and conformation of the pig to the fair that you are targeting will help immensely with the success of your swine project. This is not difficult to do and will make your project look its best on show day.
A simple way to figure what size your pig should be is to know the date of your show and the desired show weight for your project. Then take an average daily gain of 1.6 to 1.7 pounds and "back figure" what the correct weight should be at purchase time.
| Example |
|
| Sale Date |
April 15th |
| Pig Weight |
60 pounds |
| Show Date |
August 20th |
| Desired Show Weight |
256 pounds |
| Weight Gained until Show |
196 pounds |
| Days Until Show |
126 days |
Average Daily Gain
Needed to reach desired market weight |
1.55 pounds |
Proper weight manipulation will be achieved by weighing your hogs every week and knowing at all times where your project is in terms of weight and development. A good rule of thumb is to know the feed conversion factors for pigs. The following table is a guideline for feed conversion:
| Weight (Pounds) |
Estimated Feed Conversion (Pounds) |
| 50 to 100 |
1.6 to 2.0 |
100 to 150
|
2.0 to 2.3 |
| 150 to 200 |
2.3 to 2.6 |
| 200 to 260 |
2.6 to 3.0 |
By knowing these conversion factors, you can estimate average daily gain by simply knowing the amount of feed your project is eating each and dividing the estimated feed conversion to predict average daily gain. However, nothing replaces actually knowing exactly what your pig is weighing at all times!
