The Best Pig Breeds for the Homestead

[AgnesGray]

Looking forward to pigs, but my wife told me today that she went to a friend’s house and had lunch including a pork sandwich made from their mule foot pigs. She said the smell was strong and couldn’t eat much of it due to the taste. Her friend said that her husband hadn’t cut or banded the pig at the correct time, but that you “get used to it”!

Wife was worrying about if we get some IPP feeders, as long as they get banded at the correct time the meat shouldn’t be mushy or have a bad taste/smell… right? I hear many talking about better flavor in heritage breeds but have no experience with pigs or wild boar…

I assume that was boar taint and I hear it can be an awful smell/flavor. We have never had that issue and have sent intact boars to processing, but it's less common in pasture-raised pigs than in confined pigs. Grass diet vs heavy grain diet which can impact hormones, etc.

Next time we send them to process, we might take a sample off of the boars as our vet never seems to get around to coming out to castrate them when they're little and it's more traumatic, though possible, when they're grown. You can fry up the sample just to make sure they're not smelling like taint ahead of time and if they are, let it cycle down a bit (separated from females, make adjustments to feed, etc).

Our last boar and gilt that went in December are so mild-flavored we make burgers out of them on the smoker and my mom thought it was chicken. haha Some of the flavor depends on the breed. Some will depend on the diet, But to answer your question, no the meat should never be mushy or have a bad flavor or smell. Ever. Just thinking about eating meat with taint....

 

[JRod]

I assume that was boar taint and I hear it can be an awful smell/flavor. We have never had that issue and have sent intact boars to processing, but it's less common in pasture-raised pigs than in confined pigs. Grass diet vs heavy grain diet which can impact hormones, etc.

Next time we send them to process, we might take a sample off of the boars as our vet never seems to get around to coming out to castrate them when they're little and it's more traumatic, though possible, when they're grown. You can fry up the sample just to make sure they're not smelling like taint ahead of time and if they are, let it cycle down a bit (separated from females, make adjustments to feed, etc).

Our last boar and gilt that went in December are so mild-flavored we make burgers out of them on the smoker and my mom thought it was chicken. haha Some of the flavor depends on the breed. Some will depend on the diet, But to answer your question, no the meat should never be mushy or have a bad flavor or smell. Ever. Just thinking about eating meat with taint....

Thanks for confirmation! I’m open to trying different things, but not super gamey or stuff like that.

 

[Alaskan]

With most mammals it is important to castrate the males, if they are for eating.

Castration when they are tiny (day 2 or 3 for pigs, 4 weeks for goats) is easy to do at home without a vet.

 

[Baymule]

You can’t band a pig. You make a cut on each testicle skin, pull it out and toss to dogs. Find someone who knows how, to show you on the first one, then supervise you on the next one. You do them real young, there’s no bleeding.

I used to cut my ram lambs. Now I just take them to auction at 3-4 months old. If I keep one for the freezer and let him grow out to 20 months, he gets cut.

I’ve bought fully grown boars and taken them to slaughter. It’s how you feed them. I fed them soured whole corn, using buttermilk in the water to get the bacterial action going and all the hay they could eat. It cleans up the meat. The more roughage, the better. Weeds from the garden, vegetable trimmings and boiled eggs.

Come loading in the trailer time, don’t feed them the day before. Back up trailer, open gate, squish a boiled egg, drop at end of trailer, inside a foot or two. Squish another one, back up and drop it. Make a pile of boiled eggs in the front of the trailer, they load themselves. No chasing, no trauma, not scared, calm, easy, they get treats!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've raised lots of AGH's. I've eaten mature boar with zero taint. However, I castrated my male piglets just to make management easier. Those little darlin's must have rabbit in their genes - they reproduce like crazy, lol!

p.s. They taste pretty good to me!

 

[Tjcib]

We are raising four AGHs right now and they are awesome. Our 12-year-old boys can easily manage all the pig chores and flip them over and give them a good belly scratch. They are trained to Premier 1 electric net and don't ever challenge it.

They love them some clover, which is what most of my pasture actually is until the bermuda grass comes in.