# Help me castrate my big pig!



## Guest (Jul 14, 2004)

First time pig owner.

I have two pigs, purchased about 2 1/2 months ago. At the time they were cute 25 pound wieners.

These eating machines are now around 110 pounds. They have been fed mostly leftover food from a caterer friend and lots of apple peels from a local orchard, with a few bags of corn mixed in. They look great, healthy and strong, I can almost taste them already.

The problem is this.... One is female, the other male... and not castrated. I obviously have to castrate this fellow... and soon.

My plan is this. I was going to mix a bit of corn, a couple scoops of sugar and about 5 ounces of vodka in a bucket and let the poor sucker slurp it up. I can't believe he will have a great alcohol tollerance. Wait one hour and what then??? Hog tie him and slice the scrotum open and snip the testicals out?? What about infection? I don't think this guy has been clean for more then 30 seconds in his entire life! Do the cuts need any special care or am I making too much of this?

Thank a lot for any help.


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## cowgirlone (May 9, 2002)

That's almost the way my Dh does it......he drinks the 5 oz of vodka :hahanot really) , hog ties the boar, slices and snips. Takes him a few minutes from start to finish. We've never had a problem with bleeding or infection. If you feel better, keep an spray bottle of iodine handy and give him a couple of squirts before letting him loose.
The last boar he cut was well over 300lbs! It wasn't ours. :haha:


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## Daryll in NW FLA (May 10, 2002)

Hi , I usually castrate my pigs when they are 3 or 4 days old- it's a one man job at that age. At 110 pounds you are going to need some help! When I first started with pigs I waited like you did-never again! Try a couple of quarts of beer and have a couple of friends to hold him-don't snip the cords jerk them out, a quick jerk or two has always done it for me. I have a spray bottle of 70% alcohol and spray him good before you start cutting after spray him with iodine-pigs heal up quick. I've done several hundred pigs in the last few years for myself and neighbors and never lost a pig yet. Have fun,Daryll in NW FLA


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## ohio_kid (Apr 3, 2004)

Alcohol has a tendency to thin the blood. He may have a hard time clotting.


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2004)

Do not get a pig drunk on hard liquer! They are like us ******, they want to start fights and they don't care how big the other feller is. Now beer will make a pig a jolly good feller! ~I like beer, it makes me a jolly good feller~ 



Now to be on the serious side it will take two people. One person will need a pig snout catcher. He will slip the loop over the snout and tighten quickly. The boar will be more worried about his snout then what is going on on the other end. As long as the first person keeps a tight grip and pressure on the snout the other person can have the intestines cut out in no time. And always use a blue antiseptic spray on the cut areas.


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2004)

Excuse me, I meant to say testicles not intestines! hiiiiccckk! (now where did I put my beer at?)


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## angus_guy (Jun 22, 2004)

excuse my ignorance but with calves I band them ........do pigs react differently to "bands" than cows do expecially after the beer or vodka


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## Thumper/inOkla. (May 10, 2002)

pig testicals are held up close to the body, there is no space for the band to attach to.


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## angus_guy (Jun 22, 2004)

Thank You


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## bare (May 10, 2002)

I once made the mistake of waiting too long too. It took nearly a gallon of homemade wine to get the job done, but that was between two people.

I believe in your case you should have a third person. One to hold the hog, one to do the surgery, and one to take video.

Put me down for one.


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## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

if the pigs were purchased 2 and 1/2 months ago, and were probably at least a month old when you got them, your sow might already be pregnant. Some sows can get pregnant that fast, others take longer. It isn't healthy for babies to have babies.

As to the pig's constitution. My brother visited a couple weeks ago and brought some beer that neither of us liked. It tasted like a mix of liquid smoke and molasses. he started feeding it to some potbellies, as an "experiment in science" one forty pound potbelly drank 8 beers before staggering off to the old chicken coup


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## Paula (Jun 3, 2002)

DH and I castrated one this big the other day. Trick him into an enclosed area with feed, one person grabs the back legs while the other gets his front end into a trash can or barrel. Tip the can upright, one holds his back legs while the other one cuts. It wasn't as hard as we thought it would be.


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## BrushBuster (Mar 31, 2004)

never cut 1 that big but we always slapped pine tar on the ones we did do.


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## bearkiller (Apr 21, 2003)

Unregistered,

Go read this...it may help!

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=43981&highlight=pregnant+boar

and read "Ah! The Wonderful Pig"

Meanwhile, enjoy those Rocky Mountain Oysters after the deed.

bearkiller


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Last time I did a Hog that size I asked my Father in Law if he could do it while I held it.Now this Hog weighed close to 200 pounds.

I get a little Corn,let him start eating,slipped up grabed him by the Leg,laid on his Chest,holding front Legs with one hand,holding Hind Leg with the other  It was all I could do to hold him.My Father in Law had the Razor,all he had to do was the deed.Then he tells me he can't do it  Now this is in the middle of the woods if the Hog gets away there is no recatching him.Well we switch places,I cut the Beast,spray him with Disinfectant turned him loose,did good.

big rockpile


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2004)

Well folks, the deed is done.

We fed him about 5 shots of gin, tied his snout to a tree and did tht deed. We had a bit of a hard time getting the testicals out, and it took a bit of poking and prodding.

Now he is acting like he is still in a fair bit of pain. We snipped him Sat afternoon, and now Mon evening I don't feel totally good about the situation. He has a large cut accross the bottom of his scrotum, and it looks pretty dirty. His scrotum is also quite swollen, although I think it is mostly from the prodding. I was surprised how large a cut we would need due to the size of his testicals, and also how thick the flesh was that we had to cut through.

He is still eating, although he seems less energetic about gettin up then before. Should I try and give him some antibiotics to clear up a possible infection or should I let him go another few days?

Thanks so much for any help.

Pete


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

Unregistered said:


> He is still eating, although he seems less energetic about gettin up then before. Should I try and give him some antibiotics to clear up a possible infection or should I let him go another few days?
> 
> Thanks so much for any help.
> 
> Pete


I'm surprised no one mentioned giving him a tetanus shot before the job. I'd give him one. Keep the area clean by washing him down and spraying with iodine or hydrogen peroxide. I do not have experience with this, so I don't know if it is normal. Some soreness sounds normal but swelling doesn't sound normal to me. It brings to mind infection, I think an LA200 shot might be in order, but again, I don't have the experience in these matters. I hope he pulls through fine. Castration is best done at 3 days according to the AG literature I read.


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

no you can't band pigs, this pig should have been cut months ago. If you have a vet . cut him now, you will want to wait until he gets around two hundred or 40, for prime weight. His meat might taste strong, since he is so big already. and chances are your female is already pregnant . theymate sort of fast, and you might not have caught it, they also mate at night, or just any time that they can.


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2004)

Well, I picked up some penicillin and gave the pig a couple of shots.

One on Tues morning, the second one today.

The big guy is looking much better. The swelling has gone down and he is acting like his rowdy old self again. He still has a large cut on his scrotum, but I guess that will heal from the inside out.

Thanks for all your help. I will keep him on the penicillin for a few more days, but I don't anticipate any more problems.

This has been quite an experience. It is good to push one's limits.

Pete


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

now you know you can't butcher this pig for quit some time. one hehas to heal, and two the pen. has to wear off, and that takes some time. If you are thinking about butchering him, i wouldn't until at least feb. never heard of givng a pig gin to drink, but there is always the first time for everything.
I would give him 5 more doses of the pen. one a day, and hope for no infection. and good luck.


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

I hope you made a tape of this. this had to be funny. but you should give him a couple moer shots. We use the blue spray like rock pile said. watch for secondery infection. and good luck. I wouldn't butcher him for a while, maybe not until jan. or feb. GOt to let the pen. get out of his system, just in case any one in your family has allergies to the pen. and good luck.


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## Thumper/inOkla. (May 10, 2002)

some swelling is common, the scrotum fills with fluid and if it doesn't drain out it has to be reaborbed, our's where on a thick bed of clean straw and swelled quite a bit but didn't need meds.


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## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

Assuming you are using regular penicillin, it will be gone in 2-3 days, of course why someone would castrate 2-3 days prior to butchering is beyond me



debitaber said:


> now you know you can't butcher this pig for quit some time. one hehas to heal, and two the pen. has to wear off, and that takes some time. If you are thinking about butchering him, i wouldn't until at least feb. never heard of givng a pig gin to drink, but there is always the first time for everything.
> I would give him 5 more doses of the pen. one a day, and hope for no infection. and good luck.


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## Guest (Aug 1, 2004)

I was using Pen G, and the bottle says I only have to wait 8 days after last dose before butchering.

I plan to butcher late in the fall, so I am sure he will be fine by then. It also says that residue may be left if the shot is done subcutaneously, for how long I don't know. If one of the shots didn't make it into the muscle, I am still sure the pig should be clean by November.

One more question. How on earth do you get your pig to lay on a bed of clean straw? I have forked dozens of bales into their pen, and they trample it into the mud at an unbelievable rate. They push the straw down and pull the dirt and mud up. Two days later there is no sign of the straw. I stopped putting it in because I didn't want to waste my money on straw. The straw I had I picked up for free.

My pigs have access to a beautiful pasture, but they never go there. It is about a hundred feet from their pen, with a five foot wide pathway going to it, with electric fence on both sides. My pigs are very hesitant to leave their familliar surroundings and go exploring. They will only follow a food trail so far and then they turn around.

Pete


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

Pigs like to lay around. just lay around. the ydon't want to do to much. they wouldn't go to pasture like a cow, or horse. If you give them a water hole to lay in, and root, they will never move.


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## Night Owl (Jul 20, 2004)

on the subject of later castration...
how old is too old? Will the meat be bad?
My friend said if the pig isn't castrated when very young, the meat will be spoiled. I castrated mine when he was about 4 or 5 months old, about 60 or 70 lb. Do you think the meat will still be good?
I have a male and a female that are going to be ready to butcher in September. I don't really know what to do with the male. I don't want to eat him if he is going to be yucky. After all, our family of 5 will eat fine off the girl pig.
Also, we own a seafood restaurant, so our pigs have been raised on seafood like fish and calamari. Do you think they will taste fishy? Should I have a fish withdrawl period? 

The vet and I held my pig over a fence rail, he made a small vertical incision in each side of the sack, rather than one big incision from side to side. He popped out the testicles and doused with iodine. I held his front feet while he squealed like a stuck pig (pun intended  
I will say wear long rubber gloves if you have them. The stress made him poop! and boy that sinks!


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## Torch (May 25, 2004)

This thread has convinced me to get a female!


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

One of my Uncles keep a few pigs and one day decided to cut his boar which weighed about 450 at the time. About a half dozen of us voluteered (there just wasn't much excitement around the farm and this was "an exploit to boast of." 

Anyway, we decided to jump this old boar at a signal from our leader and pin him to the ground. After that didn't work, we moved on to cunning plan "B" and worked a loop around his front legs and another around his back legs. That old boar could run nearly as fast tied as loose, but he was clumsier and when he fell we all piled on him. He was a handful until Uncle touched his packet of pride with that knife and then the boar went wild but we all held on due to being too scared to turn loose. That old boar gave nearly as good as he got 'cause there wasn't one of us that weren't tusk raked or hog bit when it was done; except Uncle for some odd reason.

We held him though and cut him. He lived and a few weeks later Uncle butchered him for table meat, but I tell you that if you could get past the smell you still couldn't stick a fork in the gravey of that varmint. I don't know what smelled worst: a cooked chunk of that old boar meat, or us after the wrestling match in the hog lot.

I secretly made a pact with myself that I would never take part in cutting or otherwise molesting any such varmint again.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

:haha: :haha: :haha: 

This thread has had me ROTFL, guys! Thanks for the chuckle!

I have to admit, when I saw the thread title "Help me castrate my big pig!", the first thought that went through my mind was, "LET'S NOT, AND SAY WE DID!"

:haha: :haha: :haha:


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## Suzanne (May 10, 2002)

:haha: Ha HA Ha Ha....you are all so great....what a forum. But we have one of those out in our pen. My husband is balking at doing it...I'll get him to read this board.... :haha:


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## Don Armstrong (May 8, 2002)

I've never been "faced" with it, so to speak. Any I've had to do with have been castrated real young. However, the numbers I've heard for turning androsterone-tainted meat into something edible range up to three months, and nothing less than a month. I think if they're still growing it will take less time; but I'd play it safe and allow as near to a clear three months as I could, and err on the high side rather the low.

Of course, if you do it right and castrate early, this isn't a problem.


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## Boleyz (Sep 7, 2004)

Hi!
I had a big commercial operation some years ago. Sometimes a pig didn't get cut at 4 days because was weak or sickly. At times we would overlook him until he got large enough to start riding gilts. Here's what we did. It takes 2 men. In a narrow place (we used the barn alley) lay a 35 - 50 gallon metal barrel on it's side with the open end facing the pig. Shock or prod the pig until he dives into the barrel. Immediately grab his hind legs and hang on while your assistant muscles the barrel into an upright position. You now have your 100+ lb. pig head down in a barrel with his legs drawn over the side. From here it's a simple matter to slit the scrotum with a razor and remove the nuts. It's not necessary to sew the pig up, but he should be isolated from the others until he's well scabbed over. Otherwise they'll lick his wound and keep it open to infection. If the pig is ruptured you'll see intestines in the tube attaced to the testicle. If you see this, it's important that you take a fishing line and tie off the tube before you remove the testicle. Otherwise his intestines will fall out, and when that happens, you may as well go ahead and butcher him. If you tie off the rupture, you must sew up that side of the scrotum so the guts stay in. We've done this surgery many times and have had very little problem. Lemme know if I'm not clear on anything!
JB


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## breezynosacek (Nov 7, 2003)

Okay guys, make some sense of this for me...I've eaten wild boar before and it didn't taste off at all.

What's different about a domestic pig and a wild boar that you have to castrate it?


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## Boleyz (Sep 7, 2004)

breezynosacek said:


> Okay guys, make some sense of this for me...I've eaten wild boar before and it didn't taste off at all.
> 
> What's different about a domestic pig and a wild boar that you have to castrate it?


Once a boar becomes sexually mature, the testosterone soars in the meat and it causes the meat to taste very strong. If you've ever noticed, large breeding boars STINK much worse than sows/gilts/pigs. Even if they're not breeding, they stand around and jack themselves off (which is pretty disgusting to watch). They also fight more, and ride everything else in the pen, often breaking down smaller hogs. It's much easier to keep/raise a castrated boar, and the meat is edible. Did you know that boar meat goes strictly into dog/cat foods when it's sold on the commercial market? The last boar I sold on the market was a 600lb. Yorkshire. Know what he Brought? $30.00. That's 5 cents a pound. Why so low? Because the meat is PU STINKY. The meat packers don't even want it...
I know nothing about a wild boar except this...I hunt just about everything, but I've got no interest in killing a wild boar to eat...Maybe some people eat them, but it ain't for me...


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## breezynosacek (Nov 7, 2003)

Boleyz said:


> Once a boar becomes sexually mature, the testosterone soars in the meat and it causes the meat to taste very strong. If you've ever noticed, large breeding boars STINK much worse than sows/gilts/pigs. Even if they're not breeding, they stand around and jack themselves off (which is pretty disgusting to watch). They also fight more, and ride everything else in the pen, often breaking down smaller hogs. It's much easier to keep/raise a castrated boar, and the meat is edible. Did you know that boar meat goes strictly into dog/cat foods when it's sold on the commercial market? The last boar I sold on the market was a 600lb. Yorkshire. Know what he Brought? $30.00. That's 5 cents a pound. Why so low? Because the meat is PU STINKY. The meat packers don't even want it...
> I know nothing about a wild boar except this...I hunt just about everything, but I've got no interest in killing a wild boar to eat...Maybe some people eat them, but it ain't for me...


WOW! In FL, we had to pay for wild boar meat, except for the one time I got to shoot one myself. Yeah, all of the people we hung around with love wild boar, gator, deer meat. 

I don't believe there was ever an off smell to it but that sucker had some tusks so he had to have been old enough and it took two of us to carry him.

Must have to do with domestic vs. wild, not male vs. female.


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## GeorgeK (Apr 14, 2004)

I've never eaten a "domestic" boar, but I have never castrated any of my potbellies, and the meat is great. Potbellies are a landrace, rather than a true breed, so they are closer to wild. I don't know if that is the difference. Testosterone, only has a half life in the body of 20 minutes. In less than 2 hours after castration the testosterone is gone except for the small amount made by the adrenal glands. The only things I've found to affect the flavor personally is if the animal doesn't bleed out, then the meat has a metallic taste. I've heard if it is frantic at the time it is butchered, that will affect the meat. Some asians are known to torture animals to death to deliberately cause this effect on the meat.


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## Boleyz (Sep 7, 2004)

GeorgeK said:


> I've never eaten a "domestic" boar, but I have never castrated any of my potbellies, and the meat is great. Potbellies are a landrace, rather than a true breed, so they are closer to wild. I don't know if that is the difference. Testosterone, only has a half life in the body of 20 minutes. In less than 2 hours after castration the testosterone is gone except for the small amount made by the adrenal glands. The only things I've found to affect the flavor personally is if the animal doesn't bleed out, then the meat has a metallic taste. I've heard if it is frantic at the time it is butchered, that will affect the meat. Some asians are known to torture animals to death to deliberately cause this effect on the meat.


All I know, from experience is that packing houses that buy Top Hogs will only pay market values for Barrows (castrated males) and Gilts (Never-bred females). Since this is where the top money is in the commercial market, all boars except breeding stock are castrated. Top weight for a Top Hog is 260 Lb. If you take one in that's heavier than that, they begin to "dock" the price. Un-cut boars fight and breed. Since that is not desireable in the raising, penning and transporting of top hogs, they're cut. Again, I've raised thousands of hogs for commercial sale. I've butchered lots of hogs for personal use. I've never eaten a boar, and don't ever plan to. Barrows are fine, but boars coming off the breeding floor are major stinkers. Buyers at the transport station where I used to sell have told me that boar meat is unfit for human consumption, and I believe them. If you want to get a LOT of pork for a LITTLE money, find a farmer who raises hogs for the commercial market, and tell him to call you the next time he culls a breeding boar from his herd. Chances are you can get a 400-600 lb. live hog for $50-$60. I don't know what it tastes like...I just know that it ain't for me.


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