Author Topic: correct terms (Read 5547 times)

white-blazes · « **on:** June 20, 2011, 03:51:27 pm »

As a newby to pigs, I get confused as to the correct terms used for males and females.

Can you correct me please, if I am wrong.

Gilt - young female ?
Sow - older female, possibly one that breeds?
Boar - uncastrated male, any age?

TheCaptain · « **Reply #1 on:** June 20, 2011, 03:53:38 pm »

Gilt - I believe is a female pig that hasn't had a litter, although some refer to female pigs that have had a litter still as a gilt.
Sow - see above, had one litter, possibly two
Boar - yup

white-blazes · « **Reply #2 on:** June 20, 2011, 03:56:22 pm »

Thank you Captain. In my previous post I referred to them as girl and males as I wasn't 100% sure I was using the correct terms

thanks again

oaklandspigs · « **Reply #3 on:** June 20, 2011, 06:04:00 pm »

Generally taken that :

Gilt is a female before her first litter, although many continue to use gilt until she has weaned that first litter.
Sow from first litter until no more !
Boar - any age male

However these definitions are not set in stone, for instance the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007 has an interesting set of definitions :
“boar” means a male pig after puberty, intended for breeding;
“gilt” means a female pig intended for breeding after puberty and before farrowing;
“piglet” means a pig from birth to weaning;
“rearing pig” means a pig from the age of ten weeks to slaughter or service;
“sow” means a female pig after the first farrowing;
“weaner” means a pig from weaning to the age of ten weeks.

So under these definitions a female born would start life as a piglet, become a weaner from weaning until 10 weeks old, then a rearing pig until mated by the boar, and then a gilt until she farrowed and then a sow !!!

However these definitions only apply to that law, other EU & UK laws have other definitions - always good that law clarifies things !!

However most of us stick to the simple definitions that this post started with.

white-blazes · « **Reply #4 on:** June 20, 2011, 09:25:31 pm »

Thanks Oaklands. With Boars, are they always a boar, whether castrated or not? (It's just me with having horses I think of colts/stallions/geldings)

robert waddell · « **Reply #5 on:** June 20, 2011, 09:55:31 pm »

that will be a barrow may be not the correct spelling

Mr Pig · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2011, 08:44:12 am »

This is a longer list as published in 'Rare Breed Pig Keeping' published by the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders Club in 2003:

Names given to pigs
   Baconer - a pig of 83-101 kgs liveweight suitable for the production of bacon
   Barrow (U.S.) - a male pig castrated young for meat production
   Boar - an uncastrated male pig of sexual maturity. Also applied to the male of the badger, bear and weasel.
   Brawn - an old name for a young boar
   Brawner - a boar castrated after having been used for service
   Brimming - a term applied to a female pig during her heat
   Cut Sow - a spayed female, once common for fattening
   Cutter - a pig weighing 68-82 kgs liveweight
   Dam - the mother pig, used in pedigree recording. Also ‘grand-dam’ etc.
   Doylt - a tame swine
   Dryft - a collective noun for a group or herd of domestic pigs rarely used today
   Farrow - to give birth. From Old English fearh meaning a young pig
   Gilt - a young female up to the rearing of her first litter. (Dialect variations include: Barrow, Elt, Gelt, Helt, Hilt, Yelt, Yilt)
   Herd - the collective noun for a group of domesticated pigs
   Hog - a castrated male pig raised for meat. Also in the USA the more general term for pig, usually having reached 100 lbs in weight.
   In-pig - pregnant. ('Lined' is an obsolete term)
   Litter - the group of piglets from a single birth up to the point of weaning
   Piglet/Pigling - the newly born pigs in a litter up to the point of weaning.
   Porker - a pig weighing 50-67 kgs liveweight
   Rig - a boar with only one testicle visible
   Runt - the smallest pig in the litter. (Dialect variations on this include: Bonham, Bonneen, Bonnine, Cad, Cadma, Cadman, Creek, Crink, Crut, Darling, Dawlin, Derlin, Dilling, Dillon, Doll, Dolling, Dorling, Harry-pig, Nestle-tripe, Niscal, Nisgo, Nisgull, Niskral, Nistledriff, Parson’s Pig, Peppermint Pig, Piggywhidden, Pitman, Ratlin, Ratling, Reckling, Rickling, Rit, Ritling, Shargar, Squeaker, Tantony pig, Water-droger, Wossett, Wreckling, Wreg)
   Service - the act of mating
   Shoat - a newly weaned pig
   Shot - a pig of 9-12 months old which was considered fit to kill for pork (17th c). By the early 19th c the age of a shot had reduced to 6-8 months. Today, it would be just over 4 months to six.
   Sire - the father pig, used in pedigree recording. Also ‘grand-sire’ etc.
   Sounder - the name given to a group of wild boar
   Sow - a female which has produced a litter of pigs
   Stag (U.S.) - a male pig castrated late for meat production
   Stores - the term for young pigs between being weaners and porkers
   Swine - a collective name for pigs
   Teats - the pig’s mammary glands of which there should be at least 12 evenly spaced (14 for Gloucestershire Old Spots) and preferably more. (Dialect variations: Dills, Drills)
   Weaner - the young pig after weaning. (Dialect variations: Shoat, Slip)
   Wilgil/Wildew - a hermaphrodite pig having both sets of sex organs but being invariably sterile