Castration Gyration

Every year I add some new skill to my middle age collection of hobbies. Last year I learned to use a reciprocating saw. The year before that, the table saw. This year, the castration scalpel.  No, I do not see a trend.

Baby pigs have testicles, if they are male, and the story goes that if left in place they will work well as breeders but be a disaster for the fry pan. EVERYONE says you must castrate baby pigs if you are going to sell the meat. But a couple more inventive folk think this may not be true. They believe the boar taint can be bred out over time.So we are in full experimentation  mode here on South Pork Ranch, because really, we hate doing stuff just because EVERYONE else is. We are keeping one boar intact to use for meat for ourselves. In the meantime I am castrating the others.

The first two times were a little tricky since helpers of mine, the MEN in my family, kept running away screaming every time I brought out the glistening, sharp and oh so perfectly curved little blade. But they got better. First the men restrained the piglets by holding them in thier laps, then I restrained the men with a ton of duct tape.

We also moved the babies away from the mommies with this cool box and castrated them out of earshot. After seeing how close Kyle got to Keith with the tractor spears, I did conduct an immediate farm safety inservice.It is titled 'Be careful You idiots !"  , and is available on Power Point.

The box kept us from getting eaten by mommy sows as well. Getting them in the box was easy. With a little sour milk everything is easy with pigs. Each time I do this little procedure I get better, the stress on the little ones is less. It is the only "alteration" we do on the pigs . We do not clip tails or notch ears, we do not cut their little eye teeth.  I hope one day to stop castrating as well. I will need volunteers to taste the boars meat in about 3 months. You can sign up anytime