WILD BOARS
NOT SO TAME PIG
The wild boar has spread to Finland from Estonia and Russia in the mid-20th century.
The wild boar belongs to the genus of pigs (Sus) and has 32 subspecies that can be divided into four groups. Wild boars found in Finland and elsewhere in Europe belong to the group of pigs (Sus scrofa scrofa) and wild boars of this group can also be found in North Africa and West and Central Asia.
OUR BOARS
The first wild boars came to our farm in the spring of 2008, and since then the size of the herds has varied between 20-100. All sows and boars living in us are given names that they also know and come to us by invitation (if they bothered).
STRIPED PIGLETS
Sows give birth to three to nine pigs one to three times a year. The piglets are a sweet sight: small striped “gooseberries” weighing about 400-500 g, coming out of the nest for the first time at about three days of age.
Before giving birth, we isolate the mothers from the rest of the herd so they can give birth and care for the little ones in peace. At about 2-3 weeks of age, they return to their herd.
If the piglets die for any reason, the sow will quickly re-heat. For this reason, some boars need to be kept away from piglets, as they may kill the little ones to get the sow back into heat faster.
However, the most common cause of piglet deaths is that they have been lying under their mother so far. Fortunately, little pigs are rarely killed these days.
NIGHT LOVERS
Our wild boars are sleepy in the morning and preferably move in the twilight. The wild boar has poor eyesight but good hearing and a very good sense of smell.
Despite its large size and clumsy appearance, the wild boar is a very fast and agile animal. It can instantly reach speeds of up to 70 km/h and take it with a few jumps.
The wild boar herd has a clear order of values, with command is on one sow. Male piglets come last in order of value.
Boars have enough to do in herds: During the rut season, one boar can make up to 15 sows pregnant. Because boars usually forgot to eat during that time, a 300-pound boar may lose up to 80 pounds.
THE BOAR KNOWS ITS CARETAKER
The wild boar is a gourmet by nature and knows its caregiver. Especially young pigs make a really loud noise when the caretaker approaches the shelter (maybe something good to eat is coming).
The caregiver can move around the shelter relatively peacefully, except in some special situations. Although a wild boar is able to bite a person across the thigh with its strong jaws, it usually first “warns” by pushing the snout between its legs and “throwing”.
Indeed, many novice and careless keepers have experienced handsome air flights. In the caregiver’s job, it must be remembered that the wild boar is a wild animal, however.
When wounded, a wild boar is very dangerous and has killed countless people.
OMNIVORE
The wild boar is a omnivore, meaning it eats basically everything, It eats about a bucket of food a day. Unlike other even-toed ungulates, it is not a ruminant and its digestion is much better than normal pigs – the stomach acid of wild boar has been compared to even battery acid.
Thanks to its incredibly strong trunk, the wild boar digs roots and worms, for example. As you can see from the our orchards, the animals are eager to poke around every possible corner. The biggest treat, at least for our pigs, is fish, but the main source of food is grain.
The wild boar grows in size for about one and a half years, three times longer than the domestic pig. In this case, its live weight is one hundred kilograms on each side. Older boars and sows are considerably larger, for example, our “grand old lady” Sohvi is estimated to weigh over 300 kg. The wild boar is one of the largest wild animals in Europe.
INSPECTED MEAT
Due to its wildlife classification, wild boar may be killed on the farm. In practice, the pig is killed on its food cup so that it does not even have time to realize what is happening. This ensures that it does not become so-called stressed meat due to long transport times. Before killing the animal, the veterinarian will inspect the pig on the farm.
All our meat is slaughtered in approved slaughterhouses. We also do a trichinae test on all individuals. Wild boars usually have very little diseases and a good immune system. Therefore, they do not need to be medicated, so no drug residues are created in the meat.
The meat of wild boar is darker red in color than that of ordinary pork and has a slight game-like taste. In addition, wild boar differs in composition from ordinary pork in that it is significantly less lean and protein-rich than regular pork. In these respects, wild boar meat is closer to the meat of other game animals, such as moose. Like moose, wild boar has clearly more carbohydrates than regular pork or beef.
You can taste wild boar in many forms in our restaurant! We also sell meat both canned and frozen.
