Glossary of terms

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 4:47 pm

Reading the thread on weights, there's quite a lot of jargon around different weights pre and post slaughtering. I know some of the terms may be obvious, but as I need to get into this next year I'd welcome a more detailed explanation of what they mean and what is significant (or point me in the right direction), starting with the following:

Live weight - I assume the weight of the animal pre slaughter

Boned out Weight - what is this and its significance

Hook Weight - I assume this isn't the wieght of the hook :D is this the whole animal hanging on a hook, or half

Dressed Weight - don't know what this is

Dead Weight - is this before or after the inerds are cleaned out and what is the significance

Killing out % - what is this and its significance ?

Any others I've missed

Colin

welshdexterboy · Post by **welshdexterboy** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 1:07 am

Hi Colin Boned out is your saleable meat after cutting up.
Hook weight is the dead carcass after skinning and gutting.
Dressed see above
Dead weight see above the above
Killing out % is dead weight divide by live weight times 100

The most important figure is how much you have to sell. If you know the weight of your animal going in you can make a rough guess what should be coming back. Determining factors are things like big boned, heavy shoulder lot of belly(guts) How fat they are as that will have to be trimmed ( perhaps) and even more important How honest your slaughter house is. Anything else don't be afraid to ask. :D

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:00 am

Rob, diolch yn fawr. This helps.

Just to confirm, are you saying dead weight and hook weight means the same ? And dressed weight and boned out means the same ?

Colin

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 11:16 am

Dressed Weight "Weight of a carcass of an animal being prepared for use as meat; the head, lower limbs, skin (with the exception of poultry which have, however, been defeathered) and viscera (except kidney) have been removed."

Same as deadweight.

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 1:49 pm

And the same as hook weight.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:53 pm

Got it, thank you.

Does the abbatoir provide you with live, dead and boned out weights ?

Colin

welshdexterboy · Post by **welshdexterboy** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:16 am

Hi Colin, The abbatoir will give a read out for the live and dead weight of your beast. If they do the cutting up and vac-pack it all the joints will have individual weights on them. You will need to add all these together to get your boned-out weight. Then you can work out the % of meat you get from your animals ( roughly). Also you will start to get an eye for the animals that suit you and those that don't. I keep all my figures from the slaughter house and the figures of the meat that I have sold and these are on the beasts line under the Dam's section. The Dams page shows all her calves and dates etc plus the money that animal raised to offset his costs. You will notice I didn't say cover

:D :D It doesn't matter that we don't make money the meat tastes FANTASTIC :D :p