When shote are born , they havethin , acerate leaf - similar teeththat farmers often clip to minimise potential wrong to the bedding material . ( Left alone , these teeth grind down eventually . ) Afterward , hog Fannie Merritt Farmer do n’t typically need to heed what ’s in the mouths of their swine other than to keep their extremity a serious distance from the interior of a terminate hog ’s maw .
One exception resides with entire manlike pigs , or boars , who sometimes need oral treatment . Have you ever seen a wild boar with big , intimidating tusks stick out from their oral fissure ? Given sentence , the wild boar ’s domestic cousin also sprouts some jolly blatant canine teeth — really , even female and neutered pig grow some oversized teeth , but the boar ’s testosterone - fueled growth results in a larger , potentially more dangerous , set .
tusk are found on several mammalian , admit narwhals , hippopotamuses and , of track , elephants . These elongate ivories serve up principally as weapons of defense team , but they can also help with contention for food and mates as well as other animate being - specific purposes . The wild grunter uses its four tusk for defense force . The bottom two are call “ cutters ” for a wild boar ’s tendency to utilize them to slash and twinge , while the upper two usually grow to about four inches in length .
Our boar , like many farm pigs , is a steady of an fauna , and we move around him without fear of attack . So , do we still necessitate to trim his tusk ? The answer is , well , complicated . Though he ’s never shown any signal of aggressiveness , he ’s also a 700 - punt animal that can turn steel from his sassing . He ’s curious and have it off to play , and even a loving swipe from a tusk pig ’s head can open up a potentially fatal wound in a keeper ’s body .
rid of this scourge is a topic of trimming the Sus scrofa ’s ivory . How does one go about this ? To be honest , we do n’t , and aNational Hog Farmer reportsupports our decision free-base on findings that ivory contain nerve fibers that , when scupper , present chance for transmission and a likelihood of causing pigs pain . We ’re very careful around our handsome George , but sometimes when we ’re in the field with him , we do care we ’d determine to go the other road . If you make the completely apprehensible determination to defend your Sus scrofa ’s mouth , the methods are pretty standard .
The recommended method of trimming tusk involve using orthopedical conducting wire or a Gigli wire saw to saw the teeth off . There is an art to this . The soul performing the act postulate to cut at the proper angle and monitor the rate to ensure the telegram does n’t get red-hot and burn the pig ’s rima oris . It ’s best to note this a few times before trying it yourself . Many farmers , though , just grab a pair of hoof clippers of deadbolt cutters to do the occupation . Like I say , it ’s not the urge method , but it is common .
Veterinarians prefer to tranquilize pigs before trimming tusk , but many Farmer eschew drugging or painkillers . Do what you conceive is best , but think back that there are nerves in these teeth and do n’t cut too close to the gum tree note . This flies in the face of what ’s usually done — hack off as much as possible — but it ’s really skilful to leave at least an inch of ivory to minimize the probability of exposing the queasy tissue in the pulp chamber .
So , should you lop tusks or not ? As is often the case with farming , there ’s no true “ correct path , ” and you should make decisions about your animal ’s mouths free-base on what feels best to you .
