# boar taint



## duckidaho (Dec 31, 2008)

Do cut male pigs get boar taint? Or just intact ones. Thanks


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Yes, cut males can get boar taint. Boar taint is caused by multiple chemicals. One is produced in the testicles AND the adrenal glands. The other major one (skatole) is produced in the intestines. All pigs can get either, with or without balls. Taint is actually quite rare. We established that our pig genetics, with our feed regime, with our management techniques don't have taint so we don't castrate. Boars grow faster, bigger and are more efficient at turning food into meat - good features.

See this and linked posts for what I've found on boar taint:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/2009/04/tainted-big-pharma.html
http://flashweb.com/?s=taint

Cheers,

-Walter


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

My Potbellies came from a no taint line. So no castration here.


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## HardBall (Dec 23, 2010)

Be wary. Most boars have taint; it is a pheromone response triggered by testosterone. I would advise cutting all boars and putting them on full feed for 30 days prior to slaughter to rid their muscle tissue of the taint. If you have ever smelt boar taint while cooking you will know why you don&#8217;t want to risk the possibility.


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## Beowulf (Aug 27, 2010)

So we have one person saying no, and another saying yes....

And neither one citing any proof. Sounds like you may want to do your own research


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## HardBall (Dec 23, 2010)

Controlling boar taintFor centuries, pigs in some countries have been castrated to prevent boar taint which can show up in a small percentage of boars in some breeds. Most boar pigs do not have boar taint and are slaughtered before puberty so it is not an issue. The long-standing practice in some countries sees male piglets castrated when they are 2&#8211;3 weeks old. In some countries (for example the Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway) it is becoming common to use general or local anaesthesia to reduce the pain and stress associated with castration [2]. The rules on whether this is compulsory or voluntary, and on whether farmers or veterinarians normally carry out the procedure, differ by country. Castration, both with and without anaesthetic, has received criticism in recent years from animal welfare groups.

In some countries, such as Australia, pigs are slaughtered at a younger age. This is because the two natural substances that cause boar taint &#8211; androstenone and skatole &#8211; only start to accumulate in the fat of male pigs when they sexually mature. Skatole can actually show up in female as well as male pigs. It is produced by bacterial action in the intestines and deposited in the fat independently of castration - this is a management issue. Pigs raised on pasture do not have this problem although it is common to pigs raised in confinement settings. Slaughter at the standard six month age can help reduce the presence of skatole based boar taint and adrostenone based taint.

Another possible method to control boar taint is to select the sex of the piglet before birth in an attempt to breed only female pigs, using sorting based on sex chromosome and artificial insemination. This method has been successfully used in cattle breeding but the technique is still under research and no economic or practical solution yet exists in pig production.

Breeding of "low-taint" pigs has been achieved with significant success [3] by breeders in Europe and the United States. *Sugar Mountain Farm is one producer who has had through breeding, management and feed changes. *An advantage of boars is that they grow leaner and about 10% faster putting on more meat than barrows (castrated males) or gilts (females) thus converting feed to meat more efficiently.

I stand corrected!


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## RedHogs (Jul 7, 2006)

> Breeding of "low-taint" pigs has been achieved with significant success


Yes, this is true and easily done... A no-taint boar is impossible as it would not have the necessary hormones to reproduce...kind of like a waterless swimming pool, possible but pointless.

The catch is that in a multii billion dollar industry with 100's if not 1000's of phd's working with hogs a viable option to castration without charging significantly more for the pork has not emerged other than improvac... which is a non surgical form of castration in reality.

The reality is that a semi load of hogs will have a taint hog in the trailer somewhere. If only 1-2% of your if unsatisfactory, you may have to cut a $50,000 check to reimburse the buyer.

Castration is a business decision, for producers and an imaginary boggie man for niche producers.

My hogs all have taint, my boars are fed high protein mixes....those boys stink.

My customers have slaughtered intact boars and had success.... diet and mangement are keys.... I don't take those success and sell my hogs as low taint, I sell them as hogs.

You will know when a commercial hog line is developed is that can go without castration, the breeder will be instantly wealthy beyound imagination.


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## Lane Linnenkohl (Dec 20, 2007)

I just butchered an intact Tamworth boar and it has no taint. He came from a litter pigged here in March. He was killed Dec 20. He was raised on pasture and supplemented a standard 14% hog grower/finisher mix. I was planning to use him as a breeder and for reasons that are not important to this discussion, decided not to. By the time I made this decision, he was big enough that I didn't want to subject either one of us to the stress of castration. He was showing secondary sexual characteristics (ie developing boar bristles on his shoulders) when he was butchered.

Just one example. For what it's worth.


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## FL.Boy (Dec 17, 2007)

must be a north thing because ever boar i have seen has taint. and my cut boys grow faster than my boars.


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## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

ok is there any way to deternine the presence of taint or the factors that WILL lead to taint? so i could castrate the carriers and let the non-carriers breed when they mature?


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

taint in thatn but tis in thisn


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

Sugar mountain farm has stated in many public messages that their herd has never had taint from the start of their pig operation. Saying that sugar mountain farm has eliminated boar taint by breeding or diet or any other method seems misleading at best. 

There's quite the message thread on the yahoo group homestead hogs 
where Highlands is asked a serious of questions by one of the moderators there, and finally refuses to answer or even clarify what he's said. 

Don't take my word for it. Take a look at the "boar taint" thread.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Here we go again. Why do some get so much pleasure stirring up stupid arguments.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

because people keep repeating the same stupid stuff. The alternative to pointing this out is that newbies get the idea that they can breed out boar taint, or feed it out. The one guy who's saying this stuff has done neither, and his herd has never had boar taint from his own statements over the last few years. 

The real question for me is why he insists on saying stuff like this. Most of what he says is good stuff -- but every now and then he goes off the reservation. Like in this thread. 

For an example, I offered highlands $10,000 to raise 4 pigs per his specifications. He declined my offer. 

He claims to have raised 12 generations of pigs in 7 years. Concensus is that it's impossible.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Yes, it is a silly argument that goes around and around.

I don't do boar taint. I don't have it in any of the pigs I've reared, either those bred by myself or those that I've bought in. I don't castrate. Pigs on this place can be killed as young as 4-5 months old or as old as 12 months which would make them sexually mature. They are of all sorts of breeds and cross-breeds. Most are pasture reared, some have been pen reared. Irrespective, they are all fed milk and cooked food, minimal grain.

That's my experience. I'm not saying anybody else is right or wrong. So Ducki, I guess your just going to have to make your own decisions on the information you can find.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## FrankRichards (Dec 9, 2004)

I'm too much a beginner to claim 'always' or 'never', but I'm somewhere around 20 boars eaten, 0 taint.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

frank, some folks can't smell it. Have you ever run across boar taint?


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## 99RB (Apr 5, 2008)

Where does he say his herd has never had taint and that he has eliminated? I just read that he says taint CAN BE ELIMINATD and that he doesnt have taint now. You keep creating these circular references and saying always and never and stuff like that. Your challenge is absurd why would anyone even be interested? Just because you cant do it doesnt mean other people cant. Youre like some religious fanatic on this topic. Get a life.


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## blaineiac (Jan 10, 2010)

$10000 for raising 4 hogs sure beats the heck out of getting conspired subsidies. It seems to me like if clarification on statments made, especially on a "helpful" site like this, is asked for... then a real response in needed or it about like my compost pile.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I've bought pork from the supermarket that had to be boar meat. It really smells nasty when it cooks.

The flavor is a bit different, but it is edible. It's not like you have to throw the meat out. The smell is worse than the taste.

If you ask because you have a boar and want to know if you can butcher him, then I suggest that you go ahead. If you find that the meat has an off smell while cooking, you simply use it to make Mexican style food, with red chilies and onions. The flavor is not so "off" that you can't disguise it with the right spices.

Also, I would expect the boar meat to cook up tender. If the boar is old and stringy, then the crock pot will solve that problem.

I wouldn't purchase an old boar to butcher, but if I owned one, I wouldn't sell it for the pennies that it would bring. If nothing else, an old boar costs less than dog food.


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## FrankRichards (Dec 9, 2004)

bruceki said:


> frank, some folks can't smell it. Have you ever run across boar taint?


Bruce, no I haven't. But those twenty boars have been eaten by at least 100 people that I would have heard back from if there'd been an issue. I sell both pigs and retail (USDA inspected) cuts. Obviously there's a mix and match issue, but the odds are piling up.

Another 20 of my boars should get eaten in 2011. If I still don't taste it or hear about it, then I've for sure got the numbers to side with Walter on this one. Or maybe Yankees can't taste boar taint. If so, that works for this New Hampshire Yankee.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

In about 1977 I knocked on a door one evening to ask permission to hunt. The lady opened the door and I was hit with a smell that almost crippled me. She saw my surprise and revulsion and said they were cooking boar meat. It isn't a smell you forget or overlook when you get a full blown case.

We've eaten around 5-6 boars here, none had that smell. The one we are chewing on currently has a very slight different odor when the bacon cooks, but no taste. You don't smell anything when other cuts or sausage are cooking. 

We will be butchering our current working boar when we are sure that last sow is bred. I'll take the advice from here and separate him and give him plenty of hay and roughage. How far is separated? I assume it means more than a piece of hog panel separating him from a sow.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

99rb = highlands = walter jefferies. Just use one account, walter. It eliminates confusion. 

(99rb, walter, highlands) has stated that his herd has never had boar taint. That's fine. Some boars don't have it. Walter has stated that he's tested (eaten) boars of various ages with no boar taint. that's ok too. some boars don't have it. 

what I disagree with is (99rb, highlands, walter) saying that you can change your feed and eliminate boar taint, or that you can breed it out of your herd. I don't see any backup of that, and neither of those are things that walter has done. In fact, I don't know any reference that says that if you feed your pigs X that they'll have more taint, or less. 

Lets stick to the stuff we've actually done, and leave the speculation to wall street.


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## TamBerk (Aug 17, 2010)

Aside from boar taint, I'd like to know how alot of these guys are raising their boars within the rest of their pig herd. We castrate so we can raise our growers by litter or by size and not have to fence in more areas to just to raise boars. For instance, yesterday I had two grower gilts in heat and across the field is our breeding boar pacing the fence line all day. I'm not sure if I would want a bunch of boars doing the same and have to worry about them getting out. Plus, I can't take the gamble raising boars and selling to a restaurants with the chance of them having taint and potentially losing a customer. Maybe, I'm just naive about this.


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## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

ok .. well i am still confused what EXACTLY causes taint? 
is there a better way to prevent it other than castrating?


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## HeritagePigs (Aug 11, 2009)

Taint is caused by little fairies who sprinkle boars with magic dust while they sleep. Some boars hold their breath and don't get taint. Others go "Huh?" and inhale the dust. 

Simple, really.

Spend a night with your young boars. If you use night vision goggles you can see the little bastard fairies coming and blast them before they get to your hogs.

But don't waste the bodies. Fairy meat is delicious! And it makes your eyes sparkle!

ADDED: Sorry, forgot to answer the other question. Dust masks.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

Tamberk - you've made the same decision most producers make. For me, selling Weaners, there's sales resistance to uncut boars


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## 99RB (Apr 5, 2008)

No bruceki boy i am not Walter and i am sure glad i am not you. I noticed you neatly avoided the question of providing proof of your claims. You are just a troublemaker trying to stir up stupid arguments.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

"Proof of my claims"? what claim have I made? 

99rb, from your posting history the only time you've posted in the pig forum since march of 2010 is to disagree with me in threads where I am disagreeing with (99rb, highlands, walter) . It must be an odd, repeated coincidence. 

Redhogs has had the same experience. You show up to criticize anyone who disagrees with walter, and then you're gone.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

How many of you can remember the month/year somebody posted something?


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

rogo, see my name in blue at the top of this post? click on it. Choose "find all posts by bruceki". 

You're welcome.


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## RedHogs (Jul 7, 2006)

bruce is right, you can search the threads...

99rb is walter

It has been going on for years


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## Brooks WV (Jul 24, 2010)

HeritagePigs said:


> Taint is caused by little fairies who sprinkle boars with magic dust while they sleep. Some boars hold their breath and don't get taint. Others go "Huh?" and inhale the dust.
> 
> Simple, really.
> 
> ...


:hysterical:

As an EMS pilot, I fly with NVG's at night. I've often wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me... now I know; they ARE Taint fairies Ive been seeing!!!
:rotfl:


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

Nobody castrates because they like to.
It did not become accepted as the right
thing to do for no reason. In most cases
you can't sell a boar to eat, and for good
reason. You may get away with it, or may
not. I won't risk ruining a couple hundred
pounds of pork.
Side note:
Maybe some folks like the taste and don't
find it offensive. Some people will eat near
anything. Some even eat the testicles!:hrm:


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

DavidUnderwood said:


> Nobody castrates because they like to.
> It did not become accepted as the right
> thing to do for no reason. In most cases
> you can't sell a boar to eat, and for good
> ...


And some people could well find your post offensive! Because you don't eat it doesn't mean to say that it isn't worthy of eating. I know people who do eat both pig and lamb testicles as well as lamb tails singed over an open fire - they consider it a delicacy. It does nothing for me personally but one thing is for sure - they will never go hungry.

As for castrating boars being the "right" thing to do, it will only be "right" if you suspect that boar taint is going to be a problem. In NZ you would be hard pushed to find a barrow and those that do want them barrowed - wait for it - do so because that's what their father did

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

You have the right to be offended.
I don't mind. I bet you'd be surprised
at what we eat. None of it comes from 
a grocery store.
I was serious in my lil side note.
If you like it, God bless you.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Some people will eat near
anything. Some even eat the testicles! ===


I gather you'd never been to a testicle festival. Lamb, bull (Rocky Mountain oysters), sheep, calf, turkey, goat, rooster -- many different delicious recipes.

If you didn't know what you were eating, you'd just think it was good meat.


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## Grouse (Feb 2, 2011)

Ronney said:


> As for castrating boars being the "right" thing to do, it will only be "right" if you suspect that boar taint is going to be a problem. In NZ you would be hard pushed to find a barrow and those that do want them barrowed - wait for it - do so because that's what their father did
> 
> Cheers,
> Ronnie



aha. cheers Ronnie, that answers a question i'd asked myself, cheers. It's just not a thing here is it, sweet. I was getting confused.

also, this boar taint? is that just something I've never come across because; (a) am just lucky, (b) it's not in the nz pig population/lines much? , or (c) cos it all just tastes like pork unless you're posh? 

rgds,


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