we Put down OUR pig

Duckfarmerpa1

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I usually keep several buckets of sour corn working. I put an amount in a bucket that the pigs can eat over 24 hours and cover with water, plus some. Like @Beekissed said, it will absorb the water and swell up. Over several days it ferments or sours. It can get smelly, the pigs go nuts for it. They drink the water too. My feeding program if free choice pellets and soured corn. 6-4 weeks before slaughter, I take away the pellets and finish them on soured corn. They also get boiled eggs and scraps.

I think you are experiencing “taint” from your pig. Very very old and very very fat, his age could have something to do with it. Taint can be nasty. Roughage can help with taint if you ever slaughter another old pig. We bought 2 big older pigs a few years ago. I gave them hay soaked in sour milk. I don’t know if they had taint to start with, but I threw everything at them. The meat was good.
Ok, that sounds good to know. Once again, I will tell Chris all of this!! Thanks a ton! :)
 

Beekissed

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Ohh, wait, we’ve been getting stuff, umm, beer grain from the local brewery. Is that the same? I’ve been telling Chris not to let the chickens have it...he does anyway. Our farmer friend brought to us since it’s free. We love a good deal!

Not quite the same, as those are spent grains....different nutritional value but still has some good probios in it and super nutrition. By all means, go ahead and use it, but I'd cut it with a lower protein feed/grain, as it's pretty high in protein and too much can often be worse than not enough when it comes to animal health...especially for the chickens.

 

Derb

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First of all huge hugs. I can’t even imagine. Is there any way you can trade meat with an acquaintance? Or when I was growing up my mom would mix packages together with others less loved.
 

Mini Horses

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What is boar taint and how can it be prevented?
As male pigs reach puberty, they start producing andosterone, a male sex hormone, and skatole, a digestive by-product formed in the intestines. The production of andosterone and skatole is responsible for boar taint, an unpleasant odour and taste found in meat from some (not all) entire male pigs. The risk of boar taint cannot be completely eliminated by slaughtering entire male pigs before they reach puberty

All about hormones. Differs from one to another. Some breeds are more inclined than others. As you can see, ONE of the major hormones is digestive. So feed can help. Also, they say "mostly" in the fats. If well marbled, there it is.

I will say that my 2 American Guinea Hog boars were not tainted at all. The breed is not known to be a producer of taint. The were not castrated either. In fact, had bred my two sows about 2 months prior to their butchering.


Seems you just "got one" that was old and stinky.
 

Ridgetop

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Since the pig was castrated, but very old and very fat, I agree with Baymule, Grant and Beekissed that the taint was probably due to his age and what he was fed.

Fat in meat is what gives it flavor so if the pig was very fat and also very old, any off flavors from what he was eating would have been sored in that fat layer over the years. A friend bought a Fair pig one year and to save money the FFA boy had supplemented the more expensive grain rations with fish meal. The entire pig tasted of fish. It was inedible.

We had dairy goats in milk when we raised our pigs and we made our sour corn by filling a bucket half full of rolled corn and pouring several gallons of milk over it. We did this after the morning milking and let it sit all day then fed it in the evening. Then we repeated this procedure and fed that mix in the morning. Wonderful pork.

We have butchered and eaten yearling rams - not castrated - and there was no bad flavor. However, they were just one year old, no older. When butchering, if the animal is upset or belligerent, adrenaline makes the meat tough. Most butchers try to move slowly so as not to upset the animals more than necessary.

I suggest that you grind up all that pork, freeze it in 1 or 2 lb. packages, and just feed it to your dogs. If you have too much meat for your dogs, sell it to neighbors as dog meat. That way it does not go to waste, and but will not have to force yourselves eat it. If you think making sausage and seasoning it heavily would make it more palatable, by all means try that. In future, I suggest that when you butcher animals you sell the meat to others, or trade it for meat from friends. That way you won't feel you are eating your pets, and there will be no possible emotional tainting of the flavor. Eventually, you will be able to deal with butchering animals you have raised.

Producing your own food is a part of the circle of life. Raising and butchering animals for food is not something to be ashamed of or to shrink from. We owe any animal in our care good food, clean water, shelter, kindness in handling, any necessary medical attention, and an easy death when it is time. That is all we can do. They give to us and we give to them. We are grateful to them for sustaining us. At least we know that they were raised gently and met a kind end at our hands.

I hope you can feel better about this. :hugs
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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Yes, this does make me feel somewhat better. All these posts have. I suppose, it’s just, this is so new to us. So, it’s not easy. And, we didn’t think, when we got him, that we’d eat him...due to age and fat, etc. but, we ended up getting a lot of animals and we need space. Etc. We have a ton of goat milk! So, that is a great tip! We can offer the meat to neighbors and see if they want to buy it? All they can say is no? We did make some sausage...it was the same deal. On the upside, Chris made some spare ribs in the crockpot yesterday...after a day of cooking, they were great! So, he might start cooking everything that way? But...I think Slim Jim will definitely be eating soured corn ASAP! We hope to butcher him for Easter! PS...we bought a little male mini pig today...same stinky smell..but, that’s ok, he’s meant to breed!
 
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