The wild pig is considered a nuisance and an economic disaster for agriculture in the southern United States. They are indiscriminate omnivores with a taste for crops and pasture. They root up grass roads, making a decent road a ruin over the course of a few nights. They are born to root and in the vast agricultural lands of the South that is an expensive problem for farmers, park rangers, and water management districts. A popular hunting and trapping season provides measurable relief for the damage but the majority of these pigs are either not fit for human consumption, as in the case of the wild boar, or they are disposed of immediately. For all the numbers of wild pigs roaming agricultural lands, reclaiming them in a productive capacity has not been a priority. Corralled at the homestead however, the wild pig is easy to manage and hardy, and yields nothing short of a delicacy.
The wild pig is a cross between the Eurasian or Russian swine and domestic breeds that were once allowed to run loose on early homesteads. The climate and flora lent itself to successful reproduction and the numbers have multiplied ever since. Over time the mixtures have led to a generally smaller, hardy rooter that comes in colors from solid black to solid brown and every spotted variation in between. Wild pigs can be vaccinated and wormed as domestic pigs are. They can be fed and cared for similarly to domestic pigs. Wild pigs can be tamed just like domestic pigs. They are every bit as smart and stubborn. The biggest difference comes from their adult size, a third of the size of a domestic pig, and from the flavor of the pork.
Wild piglets weigh between 1.5 and two pounds at birth. They are born with blue eyes open and can immediately stand up. Sometimes the sow will assist in the delivery, sometimes she won't, but it won't matter to the newborn. They are quite capable of disposing of the sack and finding a teat to cling to. Within minutes newborns are nursing, rooting, and piling. Newborn piglets shiver and pile to warm themselves up. They cannot maintain their normal body temperature of 102.5ºF for the first two weeks. Even in south central Florida, born in May and June, piglets will shiver and pile. A wild sow will typically farrow six piglets her first litter. From the second litter on they typically farrow eight piglets. Sows can farrow twice a year. Their gestation, in my experience, is three months and three weeks.
Sows experience their first heat at about six months of age and I've seen no drawbacks in breeding early. It is very easy to tell when a sow is in heat. For one thing, they are very vocal about it. One of the common sounds is a very low-pitched, drawn-out moan. The boar will let out a similar moan when he detects a sow in heat. Another sign is the swelling of the vulva. It will be twice its usual size, and pinkish. Once detected to be in heat, the sow should immediately be taken to the boar. A sow's heat period is enough for a same day introduction. Sometimes if caught early, she can be introduced early on the second day. Catching them early and taking them immediately to the boar is all one needs to do to ensure a successful mating. Sterility is not a common problem in wild boars. I leave the pair together for 24 hours or until I notice the boar has lost his amorous interest and is back to his pushy self again. Sometimes it takes only one evening for that to happen but in the course of the first hour the pair will copulate at least twice.
We do not separate the sows for farrowing. We breed them all to farrow within a few weeks of each other. This may sound problematic but I have found it eases the runt syndrome. There is never a runt when all piglets can nurse on any open teat. The youngest pigs are not at a disadvantage with their older pen mates and the smallest piglets are not at a disadvantage with their larger siblings. Some sows are better mothers and those sows I keep for future litters, but each sow accepts all the young.
My sows reach an adult weight of approximately 125 pounds. They are neither lean nor fat. They are at a good weight for breeding and gestation. The boar is about 250 pounds at 18 months. Wild swine eat half the portion of commercial breeds. The smaller size means fewer kitchen scraps go further. A daily ration for each of my sows equals about three cups of mixed grain such as soybean and corn. During gestation or lactation the ration is doubled into two portions daily and I add a supplement such as Calf Manna. Sometimes I alternate the Calf Manna with human vitamin and mineral tablets which I toss into each bowl. My eye is always toward maintaining a healthy lean, not skinny, sow. The boar gets about one cup of 14% protein ration per day and grass or hay. I supplement this with Calf Manna twice a year when he is on stud duty. Minus the cost of the materials for housing (which at any rate can be prorated over the life of the pen), it costs less to keep a wild boar for one year than it costs for purchase and shipping of semen for one season of artificial insemination for a domestic breed.
In order to maximize feeding and labor, I grow vegetable gardens on two sides of their 20' x 30' pen. The sows cleared the land for me. I remove a panel from their pen and let them out into an extended fenced area. They clear the land and till the soil. When their work is done (a 16' x 20' of nut grass takes my four sows two weeks to completely clear and root up) I replace their fence panel and grow the garden. When the garden is done, I let them out and they clean up. This supplements their diet, saves me a little on the feed bill, and provides some free labor for me, and a natural diversion for them.
We do not clip needle teeth, dock tails, cut ears, or castrate males. We have not seen any need for these procedures, though we do not need to grow barrows out due to our small family size. Since boar meat begins to give off a strong and, to many, unpleasant odor when they reach about 40 pounds, we butcher the males before that weight. The males are tender roasters. We scald, clean, and chill the dressed carcass in the refrigerator for three days, then we slow cook it on a spit over a wooden fire. Wild pig yields the same proportion of pork as domestic pigs, about 75%. A 35 pound boar will yield a surprising amount of meat. On our homestead the best newborn boar of the season will earn his place in breeding the sows he's unrelated to for the next season. At the end of the breeding year, we ordinarily give our adult boars away to a local hunting lodge. At a year old a captive raised boar is considered a "trophy boar." In exchange we sometimes receive young piglets to introduce new blood into the gene pool.
We grow butchering females 50-60 pounds. It takes about 18-20 weeks for a wild gilt to reach this weight on a healthy ration. At this size they are not overwhelming to butcher, scald, or dress. From one gilt, my family gets sausage (and casing), a couple of small fresh hams, plenty of stew meat, thin chops, and perfectly proportioned ribs. The pork is very tender and flavorful. We butcher an average of three gilts a year, two of which we roast on a spit, and we give dressed piglets as gifts to our extended family.
Wild boars have bottom teeth called "cutters." Two top teeth called "whetters" sharpen them. Needless to say an adult boar is a dangerous animal once those teeth achieve any length. Proper handling and daily interaction when they are young pays off at this time. They, as with all wild pigs, are mouthy. They like to taste everything. That includes my hands and feet. As a safety precaution I never enter his pen without something I can use as a shield to keep him away from me.
One of the toughest problems of keeping wild pigs has nothing to do with the pigs themselves but with their location. The southern U.S. is not the easiest area to raise pigs but with a few simple considerations, it isn't the worst place either. First, provide the pigs with a large shaded area under roof. The higher the local temperatures the more shade one should provide. We average above 80ºF nine months of the year and above 90ºF three of those months. By contrast our low temperatures are never under 50ºF as an average. We provide 400 sq. ft. of shade in their 600 sq. ft. pen. The higher the ceiling, the cooler the air beneath it. Building beneath the canopy of tall oaks also provides excellent temperature control. Though the agricultural center recommends a three-sided shelter we placed only one solid wall, a south wall, to block the sun and left the other three sides open for plenty of airflow. One of the gardens is behind that south wall. The second garden is protected from young piglets that can jump through the large holes in the combination panel by chicken wire and 1 x 6 boards.
During the cooler months, November through February, we knock down one of the panels and extend the pen into either of the gardens that need clearing or into one of the other two sides for extra sun. In our location, extra sun is not an issue, there is plenty of it and a sow has but to lie in one place to soak it up. Providing less shade however will lead to overheating problems. During our mild winters we provide hay for bedding and can place a temporary wooden wall to block out the cool northwesterly wind if needed.
Another very important consideration is standard pig raising procedure: provide plenty of fresh water at all times. If possible, provide a wallowing area in the shade. Wild pigs, more than any other pig I am familiar with, love to wallow. During the exhausting days of summer, I suspend a sprinkler hose, connected to a timer, from the ceiling.
The feed bowls-I keep one for each sow in the pen at all times-are filled with water when they are not filled with feed. Watering means letting the sows tip the water bowl as often as they want to until they are satisfied and they leave the water in the bowl. I keep a foot-deep watering trough filled with water at all times in each pen but they seldom drink from it, having gotten used to the watering times.
Of course any work would be futile if the pork were not delicious. One taste convinced us that we would never raise another market hog for pork. Wild pigs raised in captivity give the quintessential roast pork flavor. They are not fatty and not lean. The pork is perfect on a spit, cooked slowly on a grill, in the slow cooker, or in the frying pan. Prepared in any way one desires, a captive- raised wild pig is the best eating on the planet. Coupled with their economic size, hardiness, and easy management, I am certain the nuisance animal for state agricultural departments will find a new niche on the small homestead.
