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Get Started In Pig Keeping: Pig breeds

by Tony York

In the UK pig breeds can be divided into either native or commercial breeds. Native breeds tend to be fewer in number and are usually kept and fed naturally in an outdoor environment by smaller farmers, or those who want to know where their food comes from and how the pig is fed - the ‘self sufficient’ route. Commercial breeds are often imported and/or genetically cross bred to meet the supermarket demand for faster growing pigs. These pigs are often kept indoors and live under “factor farming” conditions to ensure they mature early. This is perceived to be ‘what the public want’ although in many instances this may not be the case.

Traditional and Rare Breeds include the following:

Tamworth Middle White Welsh
Large Black Gloucestershire Old Spots British Lop
British Saddleback Oxford Sandy & Black Berkshire
Mangalitza Kune-Kune Iron Age Pig
Wild Boar Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pietrain

Commercial Breeds include:

Meidam Large White Hybrid Sows
Hampshire Duroc British Landrace

Pigs are not solely bred to produce either top quality pork or outstanding bacon/ham/gammon. The breed is important but so too is the age of the pig. It is a myth that real top quality pork and bacon can be obtained at the same time from the one pig. It is like lamb and mutton. Top quality pork comes from a younger pig around 26 weeks and top quality bacon from an older pig around 10 to 12 months old. The old time pig farmers maintained that the best bacon came from a sow that had produced one litter at around 15 months old.

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Get Started In Pig Keeping: Teach Yourself

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