What is the difference between a boar and a hog? What are the differences between a boar and a hog?

If you turn to the lexicology of the Russian language for help, then the difference between the words boar and hog is small. Most authors of book sources believe that these concepts hide the same character - a castrated male pig. In fact, the solution to this problem lies in the ability of the animal to reproduce future generations: the boar has a similar gift, but the hog no longer has. The topic of this article: “Boar and hog - the difference.”

Boar and hog - the difference

Domestication of wild pigs began in ancient times, 13 thousand years ago, during the time of the primitive communal system. In that distant period, the cattle were practically not controlled, they were monitored only during grazing, and selection issues were left to the wise discretion of Mother Nature. It is difficult to imagine at what point our predecessors realized the significant difference in the taste of boar and hog meat. But one day, one enterprising owner of a small old ranch noticed that for culinary purposes, the meat of some artiodactyls was much better suited than others.

There are a number of tricks that can make boar meat not so tough and remove the unpleasant odor. For example, if you soak it in water several times cold water, changing the container with the liquid until the repulsive “aroma” disappears. Kefir, lemon, milk and mustard are suitable as a muffler for this characteristic odor. Spices, onions and garlic will also help cope with the problem - if you prepare a marinade based on them and place meat there, after some time it will acquire completely different properties.

What is the difference between a boar and a hog?

Pig farming is a priority agricultural activity in the field of meat production because pigs gain weight very quickly: at the age of 40 weeks, piglets mature and become the size of an adult. Livestock breeders have long noticed one important detail: after castration of a pig, after slaughter you can get much more meat from it than from an uncastrated individual.

This is due to the fact that the genital organs, which are responsible for reproduction, secrete androgens during their activity.

Already from 5 months of age, hormones force males to pursue females for copulation. In turn, the absence of seminal glands has a beneficial effect on weight gain and makes pigs more peaceful and calm.

In addition to a significant bonus in the form of body weight, the meat of castrated or emasculated pigs, as farmers call them, has excellent qualities: it is more tender in texture and without the characteristic unpleasant odor inherent in uncastrated males. The process of turning a boar into a hog is quite simple. It is produced by a livestock breeder by cutting off the testes of a 3-month-old piglet. After this procedure, a castrated male begins to gain weight very quickly, provided he is properly kept and fed with high-quality food. It is not difficult to assume that the more castrates in the pigsty, the greater the profit the farm owner subsequently makes.

To produce offspring, there must be a male sire in the pigsty. However, it often becomes a source of constant worries and troubles for the farmer. Simultaneously with the cessation of puberty, he stops growing, unlike the castrato, and remains not as large an individual as his emasculated colleague in the shop.

The excessive activity of sexually mature males makes them capable of jumping over fences, breaking partitions, and even running away from the pigsty in a fit of love for freedom. Sometimes they show open forms of aggression.

Basically, at the end of the period of realizing their “male” potential, they are sent to slaughter. Boar meat is also edible, but it will not be as tasty as meat from an emasculated male. To get rid of the nasty smell, you should properly cut the carcass during slaughter. The main trick is to carefully remove the place where sexual secretion accumulates.

The difference between concepts in everyday speech

In the vast majority of publications there are no discrepancies in the interpretation of the name of a male pig. The creators of authoritative explanatory dictionaries - Efremova, Ozhegov and Ushakov agree that a hog is a castrated male intended for fattening and further slaughter, and a boar is a breeding producer whose main task is to provide the herd with offspring. Only the venerable Dahl interprets both terms identically.

However, in colloquial speech the use of these words differs significantly from the opinion of experts and compilers of encyclopedias. In the dialects of various regions, castrated boars and breeding males are often confused with each other, since everyday speech has blurred the lines between these concepts.

Sometimes there are farmers who are absolutely confident in the boar’s talent to reproduce, and many still believe that a boar and a boar are male pigs with the same characteristics.

Confusion in definitions also arose thanks to the famous works of Russian writers. Discrepancies in terminology are found both in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s mocking sketches and in the translations of some of Astrid Lindgren’s works. This points to the fact that not all writers, like not all farmers, were knowledgeable in the field of national economy.

According to one of the linguistic versions, it is believed that the misconception arose due to the fact that the word hog in our speech is borrowed from the Proto-Slavic language, whose origins go back to the Proto-Indo-European. Translated, “bhorus” means “cut,” which corresponds to the essence of a hog, but for convenience, this word was used to describe any type of wild boar.

In some regions, a male pig is called a knur. This definition is mainly used for wild boars and breeding males in the southern regions of Russia. This is where the name knuryatina comes from - a synonym for meat with a persistent unpleasant odor.

Knur - the definition is used for wild boars and breeding males in the southern regions of Russia

Features of the castration technique

Pigs are emasculated in order to transform the animal into a calmer and more profitable one. A sterilized male has the following characteristics:

calm;
absence of symptoms of hunting or aggression towards other animals and the owner;
excellent appetite;
rapid weight gain;
good endurance;
excellent chemical characteristics of meat;
delicate taste of lard.

Scientists have concluded that castration of a piglet at the age of 2 weeks is more humane. During this period, he copes with pain much more easily than a 7-day-old baby. But you shouldn’t hesitate with this procedure either: the younger the male, the less he will resist, and the blood loss will not be so significant.

It is also prohibited to castrate pigs if the entire herd is infected with any infectious diseases. In such a situation, it is necessary to carry out emasculation only after the end of the quarantine period.

As a rule, if a pig is not intended to be used as a breeding male, its testes are cut off at 14 days of age. If a male hernia is found in the groin, the castration method is practiced, and if this surgical procedure is done in advance, the pig will subsequently have fewer exacerbations.

There are also supporters of the late emasculation method, who consider 2-week castration to be a lot of stress for a young individual. Often, the consequences of the situation experienced lead to the fact that in the future the pig will gain worse weight, in contrast to uncastrated males, who grow better at this stage. However, all experts agree that emasculation must be carried out 7 days before placing the baby in an enclosure separate from the mother.

There are several types of emasculation - open and closed.

Open way

This method is performed in several simple steps:

Make a small incision near the anterior edge, away from the anus. This manipulation should be performed extremely carefully so that the testis comes out unhindered at the site of the incision.
Cut through all layers of the scrotum and vaginal membrane. Separate the seminal ligament in piglets using your fingers, in mature piglets - with a scalpel.
Place a silk thread on the spermatic cord, 5 cm away from the testis, and cut it. It is important to step back from the thread by about 1 cm.
The end of the cord should be treated with any antiseptic that does not cause pain.

Sometimes farmers greatly simplify this procedure: instead of surgical intervention, the spermatic cord of the young shoots is torn off. Preliminary manipulations are the same in both cases. The only difference is this: the cord should be clamped with tweezers in the groin area and torn off in one quick movement.

Closed method

It is used primarily for the purpose of emasculating mature males or in situations where an intervaginal hernia is detected in a baby. Surgical intervention should be carried out no later than 12 weeks before slaughter:

Give the male mild sedatives to reduce outbursts of aggression.
A noose needs to be placed around the male's jaw and tied in the enclosure.
Anesthesia: if during the operation the boar is in a supine position, general anesthesia should be used, if standing, local anesthesia should be used.
Using a tampon, separate the vaginal membrane from adjacent tissues.
Apply a thread from the intestines of small cattle to the spermatic cord and remove the testes one by one.

At the end of the procedure, it is necessary to treat this area with a painless antiseptic.

Removal of scrotal hernia

This procedure refers to the method of partial castration, after which the male’s body continues to produce sperm. This kind of operation can be carried out using several methods:

open castration. Suitable for all males, regardless of the number of months;
on Zand forceps. Recommended only for mature, large-sized males;
breakage of the spermatic cord. Only for babies under 3 weeks of age;
for a ligature. Used for adult males after reaching 2 months.

Complications after surgery

There are two types of deterioration in the health of males after emasculation: early and late. The first variety reveals itself immediately upon completion of the procedure or after a couple of hours. It manifests itself through profuse hemorrhage, sometimes even prolapse of the intestines. The second type reveals itself approximately 24 hours after castration and is accompanied by the appearance of severe inflammatory edema, blood poisoning or gangrene.

Preventive methods to eliminate complications

The main rules for observing preventive measures are proper preparation of the animal and the premises for the procedure. Proper sanitary and hygienic standards should be ensured at the site of the operation and all items should be treated using special means. It is also necessary to clean the machine first.

Nowadays, many European countries are inclined to chemical method emasculation of males using medications, considering it more humane compared to painful surgery.

Mandatory tools

To perform an operation to remove the seminal glands, you will need silk threads, a scalpel, forceps, an antiseptic, a needle, surgical scissors and cotton wool.

All instruments from the list must be thoroughly washed with a special disinfectant solution, and only after that proceed with the operation. Hands should first be washed well with soap.

Before making a decision to carry out emasculation, it is necessary to realize that such manipulations cause great stress in both piglets and boars. This can lead to slower growth and decreased weight gain. As a consequence of these processes, the economic efficiency of pig breeding is significantly reduced, since the output is less meat.

Also during surgery there is a danger of infection and provoking inflammatory processes. In addition to the fact that this leads to additional costs for medical care, there is a high probability of death.

The only way from a boar to a hog is through the castration procedure. Considering the pain of such a surgical procedure, one should be more correct when using these names of male pig varieties.

Video - How to castrate a piglet

From the point of view of the literary Russian language, the lexical meaning of the words boar and hog do not differ. All dictionaries and encyclopedias believe that these words for male pigs refer to them as castrated animals. In some regional dialects, laid out wild boars are called knur. The same term is used to describe either a wild boar or a domestic boar.

The terms “boar” and “hog” are not always used correctly in everyday speech.

How concepts are distinguished in oral speech

In colloquial vocabulary, these concepts may differ from the definitions found in explanatory dictionaries of various authors. Synonyms denoting castrated boars and males that have retained their sexual characteristics are not clearly differentiated in regional dialects. The conversational style of speech allows you to mix these concepts. People often call a boar a boar that has retained all its genitals, despite the fact that dictionaries believe that the words boar and boar are synonyms. Many people now believe that a hog can give birth.

Works of Russian literature also contain misuse of these words. There is confusion in the definition of a castrated boar and a male sire. This indicates some lack of awareness among the authors who confuse the terminology related to agriculture.

There is a version that the error in the concept is due to the fact that the word hog came into the language from the Slavic language. The etymological dictionary indicates that this word goes back to the Proto-Indo-European bhorus, which means trimmed, emasculated. The word is used in some European languages to name any type of wild boar.

People often call a “boar” a male pig that has retained its genitals.

Why do people call a male pig differently?

Production pork meat is a popular agricultural destination. Pigs grow quickly and gain weight well. At the age of 10 months they take on the appearance of an adult. A large number of meat can be obtained from a boar laid out in early childhood, called a boar. The absence of genital organs responsible for reproduction processes allows the animal to actively grow, gain weight and not experience hormonal surges that force males to begin hunting females at the age of six months. The laid out wild boars have tasty meat, without a specific smell, and the finished product is easier to sell.

How better breed, the larger the male pig grows, and the more profit can be made from it, which is beneficial to the producer. Therefore, in everyday life you can hear the expressions: breeding boar, hog or knur.

Male breeding pigs are highly valued.

On farms where pigs are bred for sale, a breeding boar is always kept. In common parlance, people do not think about the meaning of the word, and can call a male capable of fertilization a boar, a knur or a hog, despite the fact that the word boar would be more suitable for this representative of pigs.

Full-fledged breeding boars bring a lot of trouble to their owners. During the first heat, their growth stops and they remain small. This does not prevent them from jumping over high fences, breaking barriers, and leaving the farm. The owner needs a lot of time and effort to return the fugitive to his place. The longer the breeding male lives, the more destruction he leaves behind. Therefore, the owners let these representatives of pigs go under the knife.

In order for boar meat to have a normal smell, the carcass must be properly cut, cutting out the place where the animal’s sexual secretions collect. If the chamber where the male's secretion is collected is disturbed, the meat acquires an unpleasant taste and smell.

Knur is often called a wild boar, which, for obvious reasons, no one castrates.

The word knur in the southern regions can also refer to wild boar, whom no one castrates. This explains the confusion in concepts when the foul-smelling meat of a male sire is called knuryatina.

Many editors believe that oral speech There is little difference in the words for a male pig. In writing, a castrated hog must be contrasted with a full-fledged boar. And the word boar can be used to name both representatives of the male pig.

This question is often asked not only by ignorant city dwellers, but also by rural residents who have pigs in their yards. So what is the name of a castrated pig, or rather a male after castration?

Clarification is of no small importance, because only males are subject to castration. Females are subject to sterilization. This serious operation to remove the uterus and ovaries of a pig is performed in rare exceptional cases for veterinary indications.

What is a castrated pig called?

In different dictionaries this concept is sometimes interpreted differently. But in the end, everyone agrees on a single interpretation: a male after castration should be called a hog. A sexually mature, uncastrated male sire is called a boar.

The common name "boar" used to refer only to male wild pigs. Now in many villages you can hear that any male domestic pig is called a boar. The names boar and hog are becoming less common.

Thus, a boar is simply called a boar, and its brother, incapable of procreation, is called a castrated boar. Deciding on the answer to the question of what a castrated pig is called, as we see, is quite simple.

Castration is the removal of the seminal glands, simply the testicles, in piglets at the age of 1-1.5 months. This simple operation is performed under local anesthesia or without it. The process itself takes no more than one or two minutes.

Small cuts are made on the piglet's scrotum with a sharp knife, through which the testicles are squeezed out and cut off completely. The remaining wounds are treated with disinfectant powder. Healing occurs quickly, within 2-3 days.

Some experts advise castrating piglets at 2 weeks of age, while they are still under the sow. But as experience shows, some sows behave aggressively when they smell blood oozing from wounds at the incision sites. And they can inflict fatal wounds on their piglets.

Why pigs are castrated is not an idle question. The fact is that the meat of a slaughtered hog and a boar differ from each other in taste qualities. Boar meat is closer in taste to female pig meat, more tender, without foreign odors. Boar meat is tough, stringy, and has a sharp, unpleasant smell of urine, which can be felt even when cutting up a slaughtered carcass. Often it is not suitable for human consumption. And when boars are slaughtered, their meat goes to feed kennels.

Thus, a castrated male domestic pig is no different from a female. But keeping it on pig farms is more profitable, since the meat yield is approximately one quarter greater than from a pig of the same age, with the same feed costs.

HOG, ANIMAL

see Pig.

Brockhaus and Efron. Brockhaus and Euphron, encyclopedic dictionary. 2012