Currently, the world’s largest pig is Big Bill who is two years old and weighs about 900 pounds.
The French have been breeding giant pigs for centuries. The tradition is a little blurry but their current champion is a big white hog named Big Bill, who at 7-months old weighs in at 220kg (900lbs). Hogs of this size are not uncommon in France these days. They have also been known breed black pigs weighing more than 1000kg (2200lbs) which usually die quickly due to heart failure. The current world record holder for largest pig ever is a black hog weighing 1,984lbs (900kg). Despite their size, these pigs are raised for food. Farmers will fatten them up before selling them to butcher shops where they are butchered and sold as gourmet pork at high prices.
Farmers say that feeding the pigs is half the battle. They consume roughly 10 pounds of feed each day, and up to 150 bushels of corn during their final fattening period before slaughter. This means a single pig consumes about 300 pounds of corn per day. Because they can’t turn around, farmers have to clean the pen twice per day which is why it takes 4-6 months before they are ready for slaughter.
