So you know you want to keep pigs. Why? Do you want to raise pork just for your own consumption? Do you want to sell pork or weaners, (just weaned pigs) to other people?
What type of accommodation do you have? A barn with access to pasture or just an outside run. Or do you want to raise them on pasture with individual huts, mobile or not?
Once you have the answer to these questions it becomes much easier to narrow down the breed that will be best for your needs.
If you want to raise a pig just for meat, have a barn and are just interested in feeding the crap out a pig and raising your own meat, then there is nothing wrong with the modern commercial white pig. In fact there are many good things going for them. They grow like crazy, they are easily able to achieve 600 – 900 grams/day. Like all breeds an F1 cross will grow faster than a purebred of any breed. Hybrid vigor is on your side. However, any animal that is fed hard, will add on layers of fat. White pigs tend to add fat higher on the carcass, so in the roasts area. If you are going to put them in a pasture they need shade or a reliable mud patch as they are more active than most heritage breeds and will burn and suffer from heat exhaustion. White pigs will mind insect bites / stings more than a heritage pig as they do not have the fat layer or the hair that heritage breeds have.
There has, in the past ten years been a resurgence in the heritage breed pigs. The most common breeds are the Berkshire, the Tamworth and the Duroc. The red wattle and large black are also increasing in popularity. There are advantages to each.
Berkshire sow and piglets on pasture
The most common is the Berkshire, they are known for their rich flavour. They are the best at laying on inter muscular fat, also known as marbling. However, they also have a tendency to lay on excessive back fat, as much as two inches. This is highly individual and has a lot to do with how and what they are fed and their weight at slaughter. They are great for in the pasture, but they can sunburn and can suffer from heat stroke. Despite what you may have heard, they will not graze grass. They will tear it up, they are looking for roots and bugs They will uproot trees. Our current boar, has a fascination for rocks and has upturned granite boulders. The Berks tend to average 600- 650 grams of gain /day. They have only average litters, 6 – 10 piglets, but are are generally good mothers. Despite rumors to the contrary, Berkshires, and all heritage breeds for that matter, are not more immune to, or resistant to any of the “modern” diseases.
Tamworth gilt
The Tamworth are your four legged tractors. They are built for digging. They are a long narrow pig, hardier than the Berk, and more self reliant but tend to be a little more skittish than the other breeds. As they were originally bred to be a bacon pig, they are long and lean with very little back fat and marbling. Like all heritage breeds their meat tends to be darker and more reddish than the white pig. They are slightly slower growing than the Berk, but will put on much more fat than the Berk if pushed. Bigger litters than the Berkshire, but tend to be much more aggressive, especially a sow with a litter. In my humble opinion, they are the prettiest of the heritage breeds. They have a tough hide and coarse hair. They make a great f1 cross with Berks for a hardy quicker growing pig. If you are keeping pigs on straight pasture and predators are a risk, I would go with Tam sows and a Berk boar. If your business plan includes having an open gate policy, ie: people can visit the farm to see where their food comes from it would be better to flip that and have a Tam boar and Berk sow. The Berks will be more tolerant of people around. If your pig area has a lot of wooded areas Tams would be my personal choice, they seem more relaxed in a forest environment.
Young large Black Boar.
Photo credit Einstein H&A Fainting Farm
Large Blacks are starting to become more popular. They are still VERY rare. If you are going to invest in a large black get a registered one. There are a lot of pigs for sale that people say are large blacks, but if they aren’t registered, they probably aren’t. Large Blacks have a great feed conversion rate, and the boars are great breeders. They also have a great reputation for being docile around people, be warned large black boars are very territorial, and while generally great around people will often fight if placed with other boars.
Red Wattle Pig
Photo credit: http://www.thatsfarming.com
The newest of the heritage breeds, the red wattle pig is thought to have originated in Texas in the 1970’s. They are still very rare but easily identified by the presence of the wattles which hang on either side of the neck. This trait is usually passed on to offspring even in a crossbred littler. They are known for being a docile breed to handle, they do well on pasture and tolerate hot climates. They achieve the same size as the other heritage breeds listed here with the sows having good reputation for mothering abilities. Note the coat on red wattles can be any shade of red from light to a very dark almost black colour.
Little Turtle Farm 