[robert waddell]

o they are at it. you will get this as well with entire males why not dispatch the boys and shortly after the girls but they will be up the stick
next time either just have 2 or get them at different ages and ask at point of purchase if castrated and get them at 8 or 10 weeks old if not just walk you should not feel obliged to buy hope this helps

[plt102]

we have all 4 boys at the moment but that doesn't seem to bother them......

 

[robert waddell]

no it does not bother them  alarming and amusing also shocking  to the prim and propper
they are like mp,s well fed and sod all else to do

[Leri]

We have 7 (!!!) uncastrated males that we ended up stuck with after selling all the females out of the litter - I read 32 weeks (7/8 months) for boar taint - so had marked 31st May as their absolutely have to be gone by but have heard a lot of people just send them at 6 months so am looking at sending them soon - they are looking ready.
Re keeping males and females together - we made a big mistake with our saddleback. We went to choose and buy a 6/7 month old gilt to keep a 7 month OSB gilt company when our older sows were indoors for farrowing. We didn't take her straight away because we had a ram sale coming up and didn't want the standstill to affect (got mixed up and thought it was 21 days - of course it would only have been 6 for the sheep). Anyway she was being kept in with her two brothers - all three were due to go for slaughter and he hung on for us to have her - registered her for us etc. He delivered her late September - after unloading her he told me she might be in pig to her brother. And yup come January - two (well three, one stillborn) little piglets (I'm blaming the 'boar's immaturity for the small litter) - I'm concerned now as she isn't as big as she should be and I really hope she catches up once the piglets are weaned. :-(

[plt102]

Hi there - just to let you know all our boys went safely and limp free the last two weeks on the trot (2 at a time). They were massive! Perhaps they were a little bit over 12 weeks when we got them..... We were hoping for 55-65 kg but our biggest was over 90kg!

Can't wait for the next piggies to come. The pork is delicious!

[Eve]

Your pigs' meat won't get boar taint as soon as their 6-month birthday arrives. Have a quick look around this forum and you'll find it all explained quite a few times.

 

[Tudful Tamworths]

What breed are they? Some others on here have different opinions, but if they're a traditional breed and are raised outdoors in a small group, I wouldn't be worried about keeping them to past six months. I've often kept entire Tamworth boars to seven months without detecting boar taint, nor have I had complaints from customers.
Commercial breeds and cross breeds will mature earlier, however. Check the withdrawal time on the medication and just see how he goes, but I wouldn't fret too much about hanging onto him a bit longer. Your first duty is to make sure he's okay.