In my area it is liveweight. Before it is blead out, entrails removed, head, skin and feet throwed away.
Live weight here also. I have found a butcher that does it all, as little or as much processing as you want for $65 regardless of the weight. The 185# 'spit roasting hog' last summer for our wedding feast was $65, the 250# hog that was cut, smoked, sausaged, wrapped according to our preferences) was the same $65. He saves the fat for me to render into lard and has saved feet and head for headcheese too.
I just took three in and was surprised to find out processing was based on hanging weight!! I expected the bill to be much higher so it was a nice surprise. Three pigs each over 320#, killed, cut/wrapped, sausage made & bacon smoked cost a total of $184.62
MATT The charge is on hot hanging weight.In our area there is a $25 kill charge for kill, skin,and split. Then there is a processing charge on the hot carcas weight for cut,wrap,and quick freeze.
Hmm, I paid a little more for mine...but I had to purchase the hog also. It cost me $3.50 a pound based on hanging weight of 111 pounds for my half. (I only wanted half, just two of us!) Lot of money for this hog, but it helped a 4-H student out and that's important. That price includes cut & wrap, but doesn't include sausages in casings which my DH wants. I probably could have purchased it for less elsewhere, but I know this hog was raised humanely, with no hormones, in a clean pen..
Are you sure about that?? I would have thought so too until my son participated in his first 4-H show this past summer showing hogs. The vast majority of rest of the 4-H exhibitors bought their hogs from commercial hog farms when they were about 4-5 months or they picked one out and had the hog farmer raise it with the rest of the 4-H hogs (on cement). The kids really didn't know squat about their hogs or how they were raised and for the most part either treated them badly or couldn't handle them at all. These pigs looked like hogs on steroids because of all the high protein feed they were being given plus all the antibiotics, etc that were given to the rest of the hogs in the operation. I swear these hogs had hams on top of their hams!! I saw one exhibitor (the one that won showmanship) repeatedly coax his hogs out of their holding pens with food, then slam the metal bar door into their head, sometimes knocking them on their butts. I was very, VERY dismayed and disappointed!!! Maybe because my 10 yo son raised his pair of hogs on pasture since they were weanlings. He was the sole caretaker for 5 months. His hogs had a good lean to fat ratio but compared to most of the rest of the hogs, they looked very chubby. I heard over in the steer showing, the 4-H participant that won had a professional groomer come in. I never realized how competitive 4-H livestock shows could be!! This could be a regional thing, but I won't be letting my son show large livestock at 4-H any more. This year he's signed up for poultry (he'll be taking heritage turkeys and chickens) and woodworking.
I'm kind of sorry that I didn't do it myself. I wound up giving the guy half a pig out of the two. Next year I plan to get it more organized. I was a little overwhelmed, but now realize that I could have done it.
Here it is 40.00 butcher up to 250lbs live weight .. includes wrapping. Cure/smoke is extra ... not sure how much extra ... I do that myself.
Ive been harpin at Mike in Pa for year or so now - do it yourself - if you have ever done a deer, you can do it. Instead of pulliing the skin - you slice it off.
