5 Pig Breeds For Your Hobby Farm

Q:

What are some skilful pig breeds to get up on a lowly - musical scale farm ?

There truly is a pig breed for every individual and husbandry method . All differ in outgrowth pace , bedding sizing , mature eubstance size , sentence required to attain market place weight unit and grazing ability . Here are five to deliberate .

Gloucestershire Old Spots

originate in Gloucestershire , England , Gloucestershire Old Spots ( render above ) were valued as orchard hog because they are minimum rooter and do n’t damage tree root . Traditionally , they were used to scavenge up yield orchards , nut tree stands and crop residue . GOS are big and white with black spots , and their spike are large and lopped and get over the entire face to the snout . Mature sows are be intimate for bombastic bedding material and abundant milk . Full - sized GOS will arrive at 400 to 600 pounds by age 2 . They are a gentle , odorous - tempered and extremely adaptable stock that can be raised with a mixed bag of management practice and in varied climate . Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders Unitedis the big breed register in the U.S.

Hereford

This breed has a violent coat ; clean markings on the font , feet and belly ; wilt pinna ; wide , slightly dished face ; curly tails ; and even bodies from shoulder to ham with a slight arch to the back . They can be raise on pasture or in semiconfined experimental condition , and they rise well on a mixed bag of feed . Boars are know for their aggressive and prolific upbringing habits ; litter sizes average eight or nine piglets . Full - size of it Herefords graze from 600 to 800 pounds at 2 years old . For more entropy , impinging theNational Hereford Hog Association .

Large Black

This breed has an intensely black paint in the hair and tegument to protect it from tan . They have long , inscrutable consistency and longsighted , straight grimace and snouts . Their expectant drooping ( or lopped ) ears almost underwrite their faces . Large Blacks average out 500 to 600 pound and were originally raised in harsh conditions , will to clean up fall yield and nuts from fields , brush , crops and hardwood wood . Mature seed fair eight to 10 piglet per bedding material and produce rich Milk River to prey them . Large Blacks outride in production for eight to nine years , which is a extremely desirable trait for homestead . For more information , reach theLarge Black Hog Association .

Berkshire

Originating in Berkshire , England , this big black pig has white invertebrate foot , nozzle and tail crest . It was import to New Jersey in 1823 , pretend it the first purebred swine in the U.S. In 1875 , theAmerican Berkshire Associationwas forge to continue the purebred inventory . Berkshire meat is said to be richly flavored , dark cerise and well - marbled . Boars average out 500 to 750 pounds ; sows average 450 to 650 pounds .

KuneKune

This friendly breed comes from New Zealand , where it has been domesticated since the mid-1800s . Kune intend “ fat and pear-shaped ” in Maori . The KuneKune ’s body is round and uncompromising with short legs , an upturned honker and two tassel hanging from its lower jaw . They usually librate no more than 260 pound . Kunes have a great disposition and fat readily on grass , being considered a shaving cop instead of a forager . They produce a character carcass , though it ’s fattier than that of a commercial-grade pig stock . For more information , contact theAmerican Kunekune Pig Registry .

This article was extract fromHobby Farm Animals(2015 ) .

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