[welshlass181]

Heya all

We picked up 4 Kune boars yesterday from a lovely lady who could not care for them anymore.  They're meant to be 6 months old but i think that the smallest one might be from a different litter.  All 4 boys are very nice and come to their names, loved to be hand fed and adore rough scratches.  Hubby has fallen for the biggest as a stud boar and the smallest as a companion (castrated boar) for his little baby.  Not sure about what is the best age to castrate but i assume that 6months is a bit old.  Will it still make them nicer pigs or am i to late?  I'm i am to late then they'll go to slaughter.

Doing lots of reading into pig husbandry now and tell tale signs of things that are meant to happen as i have no idea.  I know that pigs have the famous 3's so going off that. 

[Blonde]

6 months is a little old to castrate without vet help.

[welshlass181]

6 months is a little old to castrate without vet help.

You misunderstand me lol i know they'll need to be done by a vet but what i wanted to know is ... am i to late to keep a nice pig or will they get boarish traits?  Easier way of saying. If i castrate them within the month will they be the same nice pigs?

[HappyHippy]

Kune Kune's are nice pigs anyway - castrated or not.
My 3 year old breeding boy is a big softy.
6 months isn't too old for castration at all - but if they're birth notified/registered and there's a good potential breeding boar (must have 2 piri's to be eligable plus all the usual stuff) keeping one intact would be a good idea. If they're not registered and you're planning on eating them keep them intact, (providing taint isn't an issue for you) but seperate them from your gilts. They will be getting to the sexually mature stage now (if not already) and you don't want a piggy free for all orgy going on  The wee guy is so small compared to the others because he's been castrated early on - it does slow the growth. It doesn't affect personality so much - that's all to do with how you're treating and handling them  I have 2 boars from the same litter - 1 was castrated @ 6 weeks and the other @ 20 weeks, the first one to be castrated is teeny compared to his brother, but was the biggest pre-castration. Castrates are lovely to have around - they act as surrogate uncles for newly weaned litters and can be good company for a breeding boar when he's not with the ladies (again, I would only advise this with Kunes, can't comment on how it would work with other breeds) and let's face it, as adults they're fine on grass and very little hard feeding in the winter, so it's not a major drain on resources 
HTH
Karen
PS I LOVE your piccies, very happy pigs - looking totally happy and having a rare old time in the sunshine 

[welshlass181]

Hi HH the smallest of the boys is at the end of the video on there.  Is he castrated?  The boys are pure Kunes but not registered.  We're keeping one as a stud and the rest are going for the snip.  Looks like that 3 of them will end up being castrated so they can be uncles to the weaners.  We've a load more coming on Tuesday from the lady we got the first lot off.  Going to put the gilts in the field with the rest of them and try to put 3 out of the 4 boars in a pen together and if there are any males in the next lot i am going to put them in another pen.  Going to phone a vet tomorrow to get prices on castration.

Will try to get some decent pics of the boys and their bits lol

[welshlass181]

A vid we took yesterday when we gave them some treats to get them together.  Seemed to go ok and they were all still alive and no cuts this morning.  They have squabbles but no cuts or blood so rly pleased

[Beewyched]

What lovely piccy/videos - nice markings & colours on the boys, it's a shame none of them are registered 

Hard to tell from the video, but I don't think he's been castrated - can you manage to have a feel?  or check with the lady you got them from?  KKs do mature at different rates - our 7-month old stud boar's bits are hardly noticeable - but he's definately doing the business  but another young boar (who came with his sisters - long story  ) is only 5 months & looks more developed in that department, but is not (yet) interested, but probably will be very soon 

[HappyHippy]

I agree with Beewyched, it's impossible to tell from the video. Best bet is to check with the breeder - it could just be that he's the runt ? But she'll tell you for sure. Or, if they're tame enough just have a feel, it's quite obvious to the touch 
I don't mean to offend you, but it's not in the best intrests of the breed to breed from unregistered stock. Without pedigree papers it's nothing more than a cross breed pig (sorry  ) and difficult to know the previous bloodlines for future breeding. Unregistered pigs don't count towards herd numbers kept by the KK society either.
Be careful mixing boars from different litters, you could end up with fights. If they're biting at each others heads it's pecking order stuff, bum biting is more serious and you should step in quickly to stop it and seperate them to different areas.
Be careful with your entire boar(s) running with all the rest. Kune Kunes become sexually mature really early - 7 month old gilts have been know to have litters unexpectedly. It's amazing how quickly you can go from 4 pigs to 200 pigs and you don't want to end up overstocked. Although KK's are smaller pigs, you should still stick to roughly 6 per acre, especially because they are grazers and need access to plenty of grass. Sorry, that's not meant to sound like a lecture - but I'd hate you to get 6 months down the line and find you either had to get more ground or start feeding them more cos there's no grass left.
HTH
Karen x

[welshlass181]

Hi HH

These are for slaughter and none of them will be registered and sold on.  3 of the boars we just got are being castrated by the end of the month and all of them are going into a pen by themselves until such a time that i can turn the castrated ones back out.  I appreciate any/all advice and don't see it as a lecture in any way.  All the boys are going into the pens that we built originally for the girls the girls are now roaming.  We spread out a mixture of fresh fruit and veg over the field to encourage them to root it up.  Getting more weaners soon but those are going to have some weight put on then they're off to slaughter.  I'm buying a massive chest freezer ready for onslaught of meat.  I am under no illusions that i will have more meat than i can handle but i've already thought that through as I've a large family who all eat pork and will be very willing to get free meat from us.  I'll get the boys in the pen either today or tomorrow morning and "have a feel" see whats what and take some better pictures.  Just waiting for my vet to phone me back about the castration. 

[welshlass181]

Right been up to see the piggies and got up close and personal with the smallest boar and he is still very much an entire male ....... well he will be for a week MAX lol vet coming out to do them over the next few days