Experienced breeders do not have a question whether the hog and boar are different. The difference between them is obvious. Specialists know exactly how it differs from one another. However, many believe that both terms mean roughly the same thing. Undoubtedly, both words refer to a male pig - a boar, but the difference between a hog and a boar is significant. This article will be devoted to the article.
A bit of history
Scientists believe that man tamed a pig back in the era of primitive communal society. The finds of archaeologists prove that these animals began to be “domesticated” by humans 13 thousand years ago. At first, the pigs were half-wild, no one thought about breeding or feeding them. These days, these animals live this way next to the Papuans of New Guinea. Villagers feed them, but raids are organized on wild representatives. Caught piglets most often go to the table, but some of them take root next to the person and gradually become domesticated.
According to historical data, in the third millennium BC. e. tribes living on the territory of the Dnieper, Dniester, and Southern Bug basins raised pigs for food. Similarly, the peoples of the developed powers - Egypt, India, Greece - were engaged in pig farming. During the Mongol-Tatar yoke, Russians actively raised these animals, since the Tatars did not touch the latter because of a religious ban.
It is not known whether the difference between the boar and the boar was understandable in those days, but the meat of both was already actively used for food.
The need to understand the difference
The Russian language clearly distinguishes between these two concepts - hog and boar. The difference between them is extremely important in animal husbandry.
As soon as pigs were domesticated by humans completely, they needed special premises for keeping - pigsties. This, in turn, entailed an increase in costs, and getting high-quality meat in larger quantities than before was a priority. At this time, people begin to monitor the number of pigs, so boars are limited in the process of fertilization. There is a difference in the quality of boar and hog meat. The difference is that in the latter, the taste of meat is more juicy. It is gentle and does not give an unpleasant aftertaste.
Boar and hog - who is it?
So, we come to the main issue. As soon as a person became aware that if a male pig is neutered, his growth will increase, and his meat will become tastier, this knowledge was actively used. Hog (castrated male) gave more meat than a boar.
What is the procedure? In order to “turn” a boar into a hog, the male glands are removed from the male pig at the age of 10-45 days. During this period, the cub is still with the mother, which means it will be easier to undergo surgery and survive stress from it. True, it happens that a sow, smelling blood, can harm offspring. Therefore, the responsibility and choice lies with the breeder.
Experienced amateurs advise not to delay the procedure, since at an older age, the operation is more difficult for the males to carry out, and in the six months it may not help.
After castration, piglets are selected a special diet and regimen. In appropriate conditions, young animals quickly walk on tasty and soft meat.
Sometimes there is a confusion of the concepts of castration and sterilization. The difference is simple. Males are castrated, and females are sterilized.
Thus, a boar is a male from which offspring are possible. They are also called producers, since it is the boars that can fertilize the female. Whereas the hog is exclusively used to get delicious meat. It is also worth noting that male and domestic pigs are called hogs and boars; wild males are wild boars.
More about the boar
So, a boar, or a cord, or a producer - that’s what they call a male domestic pig, which is directly involved in breeding. Representatives who give excellent performance in obtaining offspring and have good hereditary qualities are highly appreciated by the owners of pig farms.
It is live producers that are needed by breeders working to create new pig breeds and improve existing ones.
Of course, the conception of offspring is often performed using artificial methods, but do not forget that high-quality seminal fluid can only be obtained from live boars. And the procedure of artificial insemination itself is not cheap, for this reason, owners of medium and small farms prefer to use the old natural methods of increasing the number of livestock.
But what about the hog?
Continuing to sort out what differences the boar and the hog have, let us dwell on the second. As already mentioned, castrate gives high-quality meat, and in larger quantities than the boar (about 25-30%). The consumption of feed in quantitative terms in the hog is no higher. This explains the benefit in the content of castrates, when compared, for example, with sows that do not give offspring (infertile).
If you compare the meat of a hog and a boar, the difference will be noticeable in taste, aroma and texture. In a castrated piglet, it is juicy, tender, without any unpleasant aftertaste. At knur, meat is stiffer and has a peculiar smell and taste. The difference is due to a change in the hormonal background and behavior of the piglets.
Most often, at the pig farms, most males go to slaughter, but for the tribe they leave only some representatives.
In russian language
In speech, both concepts are denoted by different words, and from ancient times. The word form of "hog" goes back to the language of the Indo-Europeans. They had the word "borus", meaning "clipped."
Dahl's dictionary also defines a hog as an animal intended for slaughter, while a boar is a tribe, this is their main difference.
The substitution in modern speech of these concepts is explained solely by their synonymy and lack of understanding of the exact meanings. Of course, today few people are aware of the difference between these animals, therefore, they often mean a male pig.
To summarize
So, if we summarize the above and once again answer the question, what is the difference between hog and boar (the photo in the article shows these animals), then we should highlight this:
- A boar is a male pig capable of fertilizing a female. Hog is a castrated piglet that is fed for meat.
- Hog gives more tasty meat in larger quantities than its prolific fellow boar, whose meat does not differ at such high rates.
- In behavior, the boar is more active, and sometimes aggressive, than can cause a lot of damage to the economy of its owner. During the period of sexual hunting, the boar in pursuit of the female is able to destroy the fences and escape from the yard. Hog is inactive and calm, does not cause any special problems in maintenance. Hormones do not play in castrate, he slowly gains weight. All he needs is an established regime.
So, we examined the differences between castrated and non-castrated piglets - hog and boar. The difference in the photo is also visible. The first is more well-fed, unlike the second, which is understandable if you know the characteristics of each lifestyle.