[Frieslandfilly]

Can someone please explain boar taint to me

[langdon]

dont know but i guess out of all the others who read this topic
at least one or two of them must know!!
would be great if you get a reply!
sorry i cant help but i will kep an eye on this one

[dixie]

In a nutshell, its the odour that can be tasted in the pork from a sexually adult boar! not all have it, and not everyone can detect it, some say that 1 in 4 women would be able to taste it and 1 in 7 men! I personally have never experienced it but apparantly of you do its awful and inedible! heres the wikipedia link;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar_taint

[oaklandspigs]

Extract from our book covering this

Boar Taint is an unpleasant smell that can be released during cooking pork from boars.  Research has shown that 1 in 2 women but only 1 in 7 men can detect this. The occurrence of boar taint is higher in hybrids used commercially than in purebreds, and research shows that housing conditions and diet both affect taint. However even in commercial herds the rate is low - about 1 in 12.

For those of us breeding the traditional breeds, boar taint is highly unlikely to be a problem -

1. we usually fatten outdoors where pigs get a varied diet from soil and vegetation,
2. they are from non-hybrid pigs, and
3. we take them off before sexual maturity.

Boar Taint is mainly caused by androstenone, a steroid produced by the males that are sexually active, and by skatole, a by-product of bacterial activity in the gut. As male pigs reach sexual maturity the amount of androstenone increases, and sexual steroids produced by the male also inhibit breakdown of Skatole.  Both can then be deposited in the fat of the pig, and it is possible for this to cause boar taint.

The meat of sexually mature boars is more at risk (and fully adult boars do not generally enter the food chain except a Belgium Pate and Italian Slamai - yes we export boar meat from UK to these markets!), but as most male pigs owned by smallholders are taken off to pork or bacon before the pig reaches full sexual maturity, it is highly unlikely to be a problem.

No research on small holding pigs has been done to our knowledge, but at Oaklands Pigs we generally fatten male pigs (entire boars will grow about 20% faster than gilts) and in many years of selling weaners we know of no-one who has come across this problem.  Indeed we have on several occasions used 10-12 month old boars to get first time gilts pregnant and then taken the boar off for meat without any issues.

So personally given a choice we would take boars for fattening, for the faster growth and many families want boars, as they would be too tempted to keep a gilt for maybe breeding later on, but know boars will have to go !

[Hilarysmum]

Don't UK breeders castrate males anymore?  Whilst I would prefer not to do so, a lot of buyers wont take entire boar weaners.

[Frieslandfilly]

Many thanks for the replies, I now understand what it is , our 2 boys will hopefully be off before they reach maturity so I wont worry about it.
Dawn

[oaklandspigs]

H,

Tne commercial guys still do, but the vast majority of smallholders don't - weaner buyers are ok with this - although soem only take gilts.

[Wildman]

A few weeks ago we killed 3 boars that had reached sexual maturity (they had mated ) but they taste fine. We did the meat for ourself in case of a problem but they came out fine. They did only mate a few times in a few days. If you get any that are very Strong in taste you can make Spanish sausages with them??.

[Malc]

Most rare breed breeders (kwik fit fitters?) I know don't castrate - the general feeling being that it's not necessary or even acceptable any more. My butcher never even batted an eyelid when I mentioned the pigs I sent this week were seven-month-old whole males.
We've never had boar taint, but we do separate the gilts from the boars a couple of weeks after weaning and keep males and females well away from each other as a precaution.

[Hilarysmum]

I dont castrate unless absolutely forced to by buyer demand, I dont like it, yet here it is the norm.  Wish it were different.