The Runts-New pic 7/5!!

[77Herford]

They are pretty darn cute. I do like baby pigs. They grow so fast initially. I love the Spots.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I castrated the boys today. Hadn't done it in a long time, but it went fine. I felt so bad though! Poor little guys. I would have liked to do it sooner (they're 3 weeks today) but I wanted to make sure they were healthy and stronger. Funny, but disbudding goats doesn't bother me nearly as much as this did.

 

[Royd Wood]

Good job done Aggie
I hate it so much I just hold on to em with my earplugs in while my beloved does the skilled bit.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Good job done Aggie
I hate it so much I just hold on to em with my earplugs in while my beloved does the skilled bit.

Yes, it's the ear piercing squeeling that makes it so difficult I think. DH was there for the second one and it really helped hearing him say things like, "You're almost done," "He's ok", etc.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Funny, but disbudding goats doesn't bother me nearly as much as this did.

I can remember doing that & it was AWFUL! As for castrating, we cannot do that. Maybe we are cowards! We can band calves & rams if necessary - such a shame you cannot band piglets!

Liz

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Funny, but disbudding goats doesn't bother me nearly as much as this did.

I can remember doing that & it was AWFUL! As for castrating, we cannot do that. Maybe we are cowards! We can band calves & rams if necessary - such a shame you cannot band piglets!

Liz

Well, I thought it would be risky to not castrate because of the boar taint...but how long does it take for the meat to get boar-y? Maybe next year we'll skip it if we get males again.

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Well, I thought it would be risky to not castrate because of the boar taint...but how long does it take for the meat to get boar-y?

LOL! You are absolutely right. Most breeds (not all) do have taint & you probably do not want to be eating it. BUT when we sell feeder pigs we sell then intact & the new owners get to do the deed! We raise the culled females here for meat. BUT our situation is a little different as we are primarily focused on raising breeding stock so we sometimes keep good young boars here to raise up as breeders PLUS we do not want to castrate too young as we are looking for the best to be sold as breeders.

We have eaten 1 year old intact males but there was some taint & I don't think we will do it again. I think at 6 mths you would be OK but in the Large Blacks who mature more slowly, they are not anywhere near 250lbs like a commercial pig would be.

There is a farm in Vermont that does no castration, he raises all his males intact & says that he has eliminated taint through selective breeding so it can be done.

Liz

 

[aggieterpkatie]

New pics today! They've been out with my bigger pig for almost a week now and they love it! I built a little pen for them to go in to eat, so the big one can't get their food and so far everyone is so happy!

The bigger of the 2 babies is so LOUD. He squeals so much when he sees/hears me. Drives me nuts!

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Some breeds are more prone to taint than others. Some people swear all intact males have it and some people swear it's a myth. Also my understanding is that only a percentage of the population can taste it. It's kind of like cilantro. There are people who thing it tastes like soap and others that love it. It's a "how your mouth works" kind of thing.

If you are just doing feeders, then castrate them and don't worry about it. If it's a breeding operation it may be worth identifying if some of your stock throws that flavor or not.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

They are adorable. Look like two dalmation pups standing there!