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Author Topic: Age for boar taint?  (Read 5583 times)

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Age for boar taint?
« on: September 17, 2020, 08:31:12 am »
We have three entire male pigs here, bought as weaners at the end of April, so about 6.5 months old now. They're saddleback x [GOS x Pietrain].

They were booked in to the abbatoir next week, but the butcher just messaged to ask us to postpone because they're now too busy. So, I'm now faced with either re-booking them for later or trying to find a new butcher at a week's notice.


One factor in this decision is the increasing risk of boar taint as they get older. They're certainly starting to look like teenage bruisers, but are showing no sign of sexual behaviour yet. They're also nowhere near any other (female) pigs, so that may be a help.


Can anybody advise as to how much attention I should pay this?

Thanks!
« Last Edit: September 17, 2020, 10:58:15 am by Womble »
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2020, 08:36:28 am »
We regularly put boars away at eight months - got three going in a few weeks. Never had a problem with boar taint. If there are no females around, the old hormones won't get going.

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2020, 09:20:55 am »
You will be extremely unlucky to get boar taint. It is something people talk about, worry about but has anyone actually had it?


We finish mixed litters and like Rosemary have sent in boars at 8 months and never had it. A friend supplied butchers for years (15/20 a week) and never had it.


Back to your problem I wouldn't hang around as getting another slot might not be easy.

Hogwarts

  • Joined Sep 2019
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2020, 09:41:45 pm »
You will be extremely unlucky to get boar taint. It is something people talk about, worry about but has anyone actually had it?


We finish mixed litters and like Rosemary have sent in boars at 8 months and never had it. A friend supplied butchers for years (15/20 a week) and never had it.


Back to your problem I wouldn't hang around as getting another slot might not be easy.

I've certainly tasted it from shop bought meat! In fact I bought a leg joint from tescos a couple of months ago to see the difference with my own home grown outdoor pork and the supermarket joint had boar taint! It wasn't too strong but it was certainly there, absolutely foul. Not everyone can detect it apparently perhaps you are one of those people?

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2020, 09:37:54 am »
You will be extremely unlucky to get boar taint. It is something people talk about, worry about but has anyone actually had it?


We finish mixed litters and like Rosemary have sent in boars at 8 months and never had it. A friend supplied butchers for years (15/20 a week) and never had it.


Back to your problem I wouldn't hang around as getting another slot might not be easy.

I've certainly tasted it from shop bought meat! In fact I bought a leg joint from tescos a couple of months ago to see the difference with my own home grown outdoor pork and the supermarket joint had boar taint! It wasn't too strong but it was certainly there, absolutely foul. Not everyone can detect it apparently perhaps you are one of those people?


Now that's interesting because most supermarket pork is from commercial units where pigs are finished far earlier. @along - do you castrate boars where you work?


I have always understood that boar taint would contaminate the rest of the meat in the chiller at the slaughterhouse.


I do believe that some pork like lamb has a stronger flavour.


I have been given bacon from an old, working boar and it was rank. I have also been given pork from an older, working boar that was fine.


If we didn't eat boars we'd have a lot of worthless weaners. I said you be unlucky to get boar taint and I still believe it.

alang

  • Joined Nov 2017
  • Morayshire
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2020, 04:26:08 pm »
@along - do you castrate boars where you work?

Our boar are fully functional as they are required for stimulation during AI and serving when in the dry paddocks just in case the AI didn't take. We keep the boars in for two heat cycles (7 weeks) so they should catch the sows.

The boar piglets that are sent away to finishing farms are not castrated as the are slaughtered at around 70kg kill weight (approx 6 - 7 month old) and it is felt that there is virtually no boar taint at that weight/age. This is obviously depending to which breed you have and what age/kill weight you slaughter at.
I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies. This is me!

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2020, 07:12:38 pm »
Well, I have never shared this before, but...

I have once tasted pork and bacon which had a distinct - and not pleasant - 'edge' to it.  Had the animal in question (an older animal, a few years old, and which I knew) been a boar, I would have unhesitatingly said that it was boar taint.  But it was a maiden sow. 

It was slaughtered on farm by a registered (and very kind and very capable, I knew him professionally) slaughterman, and butchered and cured in a registered facility by qualified butchers.  But I have always supposed that the taint (which clearly not everyone tasted, as several people raved about the bacon and pork) was stress, and that the slaughter of this quite large animal had not been as swift and painless as one would have hoped.  It's one of the reasons that I personally prefer to find an abattoir where I know they treat the animals well than to have an on-farm slaughter, even though another on-farm slaughter, some years earlier, of a similarly-sized pig, (which I witnessed in fact, having asked to do so) was as peaceful and gentle as anyone could have wished.  (And no, no taint.)

Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2020, 08:54:53 pm »
You could well be correct Sally.


I did mean finishing pigs alang  :roflanim:

alang

  • Joined Nov 2017
  • Morayshire
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2020, 10:03:13 pm »
I did mean finishing pigs alang  :roflanim:

Ah ok. Well we wean after the legal 24 day limit so keep no boars (or sows) on farm for finishing
I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies. This is me!

PipSqueak

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • South West Carmarthenshire
    • Black Orchard
    • Facebook
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2020, 01:30:43 pm »
We breed and finish Large Blacks, sending uncastrated boys off 7-8 months.  The last pair we sent had actually “worked”, but had no sign of taint whatsoever.  From research I have done there seem to be two main factors - first speed of growth, so it is more common in commercial, fast growing rather than traditional breeds, and secondly stress leading up to and at time of slaughter.

If I were you I really wouldn’t worry.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2020, 06:57:33 pm »
Hi Folks,

We got the pork back today, and boy does it look good. The butcher even said we'd got the muscle and fat content perfect.


We've only had a couple of burgers and sausages so far, but there's no hint of any nasty taste to them. Actually, quite the reverse - we've decided none of the meat is for sale, after all!  ;D
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2020, 09:34:53 am »
Oh, one wee thing, in case anybody knows. I've attached a snip of the kill sheet from the abattoir. Can anybody tell me what "Cat G" means? Thanks!
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2020, 10:46:33 am »
Nope :/   I can explain S E U R O P and Z, but not G.  Unless G means ungraded (because U is already used)?
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2020, 12:22:07 pm »
Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. There's no G in EUROP  ??? .
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Age for boar taint?
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2020, 07:57:14 pm »
Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. There's no G in EUROP  ??? .

Maybe it's a Brexit thing... changing the conformation grades from E U R O P  to G B W S N I
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

 

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