Breeds Of Swine

Swine : Beijing Black

2008-06-04T10:45:00.005+07:00

Beijing Black

Also Known By: Peking Black

This breed is found throughout China. They are a meat breed, usually black but occasionally with white markings. The breed originated in 1962 from crossing Berkshire and Large White with local breeds including Dingxian, Shenxian and Zhouxian.

Reference:

Mason, I.L. 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. C.A.B International. 273 pp.

Photographs:

We are currently searching for photographs or slides of this breed.

Swine : Belarus Black Pied

2008-06-04T10:45:00.004+07:00

Belarus Black Pied

Also Known By: Belorusskaya chernopestraya, Byelorussian Black Pied, White-Russian Black Pied, White-Russian Black Spotted

This breed is found in the region surrounding Minsk in Belarus. It is a meat and lard breed which was developed from Large White, Large Black, Berkshire and Middle White crossed with local breeds in the late 19th century and in the 1920's.

Reference:

Mason, I.L. 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. C.A.B International. 273 pp.

Photographs:

We are currently searching for photographs or slides of this breed.

Swine : Bantu

2008-05-20T21:14:00.004+07:00

Bantu

The Bantu is found in southern Africa. It is thought to have been developed from early importations of swine from Europe and Asia. The breed is usually brown but it is also found in black and white with black spots.

Reference:
Mason, I.L. 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. C.A.B International. 273 pp.

Swine : Bazna

2008-05-20T21:14:00.003+07:00

Bazna

Also Known As: Porcul de Banat, Basner

Found in the central Transylvania region of Romania, the Bazna are black with white belt. The breed originated since 1872 from crosses between Berkshire and Mangalitsa. The resulted offsprings inherited superior productive traits of Mangalitsa breed so that the hybrids might quickly spread around the towns of Mediash, Sigishoara, Sibiu and Fagarash due to their superior precocity and prolificacy as compared to their native maternal breed.

In 1885, and after 1900, Berk boars were imported from England and were used to improve and homogenize the Bazna breed during its formation and development. From time to time Yorkshire and Sattelschwein breeds were used for improvement. For 30 years the Bazna pigs have been improved by using the Wessex and Hampshire breeds.

Bazna was officially recognized as a breed (herdbook established) in 1958 and then several selection populations were established.

Distribution:

Shortly after their formation, the Bazna pigs were spread around the towns of Mediash, Sibiu and Fagarash and they prezented traits superior to Mangalitsa and Stocli breeds; after the Second World War, the Bazna breed also spread in other Transylvanian areas (Cluj, Alba, Hunedoara, Muresh, Hargita counties, especially in the hills and mountains areas) as well as in Banat during some population movements.

Morphological and productive traits:

The Bazna pigs present medium withers height and a body structure characteristc for fat meat production. The head is medium with slightly concave profile. The ears are also medium, forward and laterally or horizontally placed. The neck is short, wide and deep, strongly attached. The trunk is average wide, quite deep and almost round. The top line of the body is slightly convex. The withers is well built, the back and the loins are medium and so is the chest with barrel-attached ribs. The rump is quite long and wide, slightly oblique and muscular. The hams are well developed, but lacking depth. The limbs are medium, strong enough, the pigs have good mobility. The belly is large due to the feeding with rough fodders (beet-Beta vulgaris, potatoes, turnips) and the udder has 12 nipples symmetrically placed.

Adult pigs present 74-78 cm withers hight, the body length is 140 cm and shinbone perimeter is 18-20 cm, and the body weight is 160-180 kg in sows and 180-220 kg in adults boars. The characteristic color of hair in Bazna breed is black with a white belt which surrounds the trunk at the shoulders, including the forelimbs. The width of the belt reaches 30-40 cm. As it is characteristic for all black and white breeds, between these two colors there is a grey zone because of the pigmented skin and unpigmented hair. In some individuals the hindlimbs, snout and tip of the tail are also white as in the Berk breed. The hair is quite dense, smooth, slightly curly, with average length of 4 cm. Genetically the white belt is dominant as compared with the black and red colors and recessive as compared with the white color. Few individuals are entirely black or white with black head; these are excluded from reproduction.

The prolificacy of the breed is good with the average of 9.5 piglets per farrowing, weaning approximately eight piglets. The three weeks litter weight is approximately 38-42 kg. The product longevity is 8-12 farrowings. At 2 months the piglets reach 14-15 kg and are weaned.

The precocity is not satisfying. The young pigs are used for reproduction at the age of 10-11 months becoming adults at the age of three years. The body weight is as follows: 1.2 kg at birth, 5.6 kg at one month, 14 kg at two months, 60-65 kg at six months, 125-135 kg at one year. The daily weight gain during the fattening period is 550-600 g with a food conversion of 5.5 kg. The young pigs are fit for early fattening, weighing 90-110 kg at slaughtering. The best results are obtained at 140-160 kg, when the lean/fat ratio is 1.3-1.4.

The Bazna breed is highly adapted for natural breeding conditions. It is not very demanding and varied food sources can be successfully used: roots, pasture, potatoes, corn, food wastes. The Bazna pigs are strong and can be raised both extensively and half-intensively.

Importance and development perspectives

The Bazna breed has limited perspectives as compared with lean breeds with high productive traits. These breed will be raised as before, in the same areas where it is very appreciated by the natives due to its lard and lean firmness.

It is also kept as a gene source.
Reference:

Prof. Dr. Emil Sas & Asst. DMV Ioan Hutu. - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Timisoara - Romania Email: emilsas@mail.com or ihutu@mail.com

Mason, I.L. 1996. A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. Fourth Edition. C.A.B International. 273 pp.
Photographs:
Prof. Dr. Emil Sas and Asst.DVM Ioan Hutu, Romania

Swine : Ba Xuyen

2008-05-20T21:13:00.001+07:00

Ba Xuyen

Ba Xuyen is a composite of the Berkshire, imported from 1932-1958, and the Bo Xu that is itself a composite of the Craonnais, imported around 1920 by French planters, and Chinese pigs imported around 1900 by Chinese traders. Ba Xuyen is adapted well to the salty-water zones of the Mekong River delta in southern of Vietnam. It has short body, medium-sized ears and small legs, with roughly similar proportion of black and white areas on the body. The average number of piglets born alive per litter is 8. Pig weighs 100 kg by 12 months of age with high backfat thickness of 42 mm.

Reference:

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and Tran Thi Dan. National University of Ho Chi Minh City, College of Agriculture and Forestry, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Photographs:

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and Tran Thi Dan. National University of Ho Chi Minh City, College of Agriculture and Forestry, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Do Duc Luc, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Hanoi Agricultural University, Vietnam

Swine : Arapawa Island

2008-05-20T21:12:00.002+07:00

Arapawa Island

The exact origin of the feral pigs of Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, is not known, and has given rise to much speculation. It has been suggested that they are descendants of animals released in the Marlborough Sounds area by James Cook in 1773 and 1777. A far more likely explanation is that they were introduced by whalers and early farmers on Arapawa Island during the middle of the nineteenth century, as no feral livestock was seen on Arapawa Island by visitors who described the island in some detail in the late 1830s. The breed has remained pure and roamed parts of the island every since. The wild pigs have stories of ferocity, but first hand encounters reveal they have more or a "leave us alone and we'll leave you alone" attiude to humans. They are similar to the original Oxford Sandy-and-Black or the unimproved Berkshires and Tamworths.

Several attempts were made over the years to catch some of the pigs, but until the late 1990s there were only a few adults on the mainland of New Zealand, and they were critically endangered on Arapawa Island itself. Then in 1998 four healthy piglets were recovered from the Island and these have been successfully bred from, although numbers over-all are still critical. Arapawa pigs are somewhat larger than some other New Zealand feral pigs and many are an attractive tan with black patches. However, other colours also occur, including pure black.

Reference:
Porter, Valerie, 1993, Pigs - A Handbook to the Breeds of the World, Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, pp 256

Betty Rowe, Picton, New Zealand
Photographs:
Betty Rowe, Picton, New Zealand

Swine : Angeln Saddleback

2008-05-20T21:11:00.002+07:00

Angeln Saddleback

Also known as: Angler Sattelschwein

Originated in Angeln, a region of northern Germany that belonged to Denmark before 1885. A black-and-white landrace was crossed with Wessex-Saddleback and in 1937 accepted as a new race. In the 1950's the Angler Sattelschwein had a big share of the market, but a few years later it seems to be too fat for the consumer and the breed is nearly extincted.

Characteristics: White belt on a black body, big-sized, high fertility, good mothers with much milk. Rare breed.

boar: Height: 92 cm Weight: 350 kg
sow: Height: 84 cm Weight: 300 kg

More information: GEH (society for the protection of old domestic animal breeds), www.g-e-h.de
Warder Haustierpark (Zoo for endangered domestic breeds), www.tierpark-warder.de
Reference:
Beate Milerski, Theodor-Heuss-Str. 42, D-71735 Eberdingen, e-mail:b.milerski@web.de.
Photographs:
Beate Milerski, Theodor-Heuss-Str. 42, D-71735 Eberdingen, e-mail:b.milerski@web.de

Swine : Yorkshire

2008-05-20T17:42:00.003+07:00

Yorkshire

Some believe that pigs were the earliest animal to be domesticated, not the cat or dog. Paintings and carvings of pigs over 25,000 years ago have been found. The Chinese domesticated pigs 7,000 years ago. When William the Conqueror ascended the throne in England in 1066 he decreed that anyone shooting a wild boar would be punished with the loss of their eyes. Hogs have been condemned and idolized throughout history and the Bible. They have also been one of Agriculture's best income sources, but best of all a very good source of protein.

The story of the Yorkshire is the story of England. All through the early times, the fortunes of the hog was bound up with the forests of England. In those days, over vast areas, stood forests of oak and beech. From them came the timbers to build the ship that made England a great maritime power. From the forest of Hampshire came the timbers to build that Mayflower which carried the Pilgrim Fathers to New England. And what a wonderful storehouse of feeding stuffs in acorn and beech mast. There was enough, and more than enough, to fatten all the hogs for the killing season, which in those days was late Autumn and early Winter.

By the beginning of the 16th Century hogs had become much more numerous. In towns the hog owners kept their hogs in sties and tended to their stock themselves. No longer did the swine herd lead them forth to feed abroad in the woods. In some towns it was the custom to clean out the sties once a week. since on Saturdays the hogs were allowed to run about the streets from noon ill evening. At times they must have been a bit of a nuisance, for King Henry VIII ordered all the inhabitants of Wimbledon to ring and yoke their hogs before the feast of St. Martin under penalty of 12 pence per hog, a stiff fine in those days. It seems appropriate that those hogs should have been in China, for the origin of roast pork, according to the legend, is of that land.

Long, long ago, a poor Chinese peasant one day returned home to find his bamboo house burned down. All that remained was a heap of glowing embers, and his hog, his cherished hog that was to have supplied boiled meat for the family, lay here beside the embers. dead and roasted. Without thinking what he was doing he rushed forward, grabbed a leg, and drew it clear. Boy, oh boy! Was it hot! He put his tender fingers to his lips to soothe the pain and found to his surprise a pleasing taste. Could it be that the taste of roasted hog was good, far better than the taste of boiled meat? The flesh was sampled to confirm the fact that it was indeed delectable fare.

In the 1770's a number of the Chinese hogs were brought to England. Sus indicus, which had stayed apart for all those centuries, was now to mingle its blood with that of sus scrofa.

The hardy artisans of the North of England liked their hogs to be large. and they liked the meat to be full flavored and red.

Those Northern Shires became the cradle of the Yorkshires, moulded in the main, and in some strains exclusively from the indigenous English hogs. The early years of the nineteenth century saw the face of the country-side steadily changing. The Georgian enclosures had created a pattern of farms and estates. Lawns were crowing around the cotton mills of Lancashire. and the woolen mills of Yorkshire. The population was increasing, and throughout the Northern Shires the cult of the hog was strong. It was here, in the heart of the industrial belt that the big rugged white hogs found their most ardent supporters.

They set in motion the great institution of the Agricultural Show. Gradually throughout the land, local and county shows became the focal point where livestock breeders could compare their stock with the best in the locality, or in the case of the National Shows with the best in the land. Nowhere in all the Northern Shires was interest in the Showyard greater than in the town of Keighley in Yorkshire.

By now it was the middle of the nineteenth century, Victorian times. Some twenty years earlier the first railway in the world had been built linking Stockton with Darlington in Yorkshire. Travel became swifter and easier and the great National Show, the "Royal" was able to go on circuit. visiting various pans of the country in turn.

In 1851 Joseph Luley, one of the greatest breeders of his time. showed a team of his hogs in the classes for the Large White Breed. where they immediately attracted wide attention. Now they were more than a breed of local repute, they were a breed of National repute. Luley the weaver linked them forever with Yorkshire, and started them off on a great journey that was to take them to the ends of the earth.

The Yorkshire hogs owed much in those early years to the herd of N. Wainman of Carhead, in the Kneighley district. He chanced to be riding by as a working man was exercising his sow during the mid-day dinner break. Delighted with the glimpse he had, he turned back an bought her there and then on what he described as an "uncontrollable impulse." She went back to Yorkshire, to Kneighly, for she was one of Luley's hogs. and it is through her descendants that some of the entries of the first herd book can be traced back to Luley's hogs. He founded it, great Duchess family at Carhead, and was the dam of Cheimsford Duchess, the first Carhead winner at the "Royal" Show, and one of the first, if not the first Yorkshire to be exported. She was sold to go to France and when put on rail in Yorkshire turned the scales at 1307.

Now the hogs were coming out from the Shire where so many Bakewell's improved Leicestershire hogs had gone. The big white hog of the Northern Shires, of Yorkshire and Lancashire, of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, had become numerically the largest breed in the land, and were looking to be the largest breed in the world, the Universal Breed

But farther afield they went, to the United States, and to Australia. Exports were now a trickle, but in the years to come grew into a flood. Those breeders knew the ancestry of their hogs and kept their own private records, but as yet there was no Breed Society. By 1883 a move to form a Breed Society, which would keep a central record of pedigrees, was decided upon. They had the good hogs and they now sought to maintain the standard and maintain the purity of their strains. By this time Pedigree had acquired a new and more vital meaning.

In 1865 the monk, Gregor Mendel, had read a paper to the Brunn Society a paper which was published in 1866, in which he expounded his Laws of Inheritance, and illustrated them by his experiments on peas. His attention was not directed to the plant as a whole, but to individual characters, color, shape of seed, etc. He had found two distinct groups of characters, which. he named Dominant and Recessive. He had discovered the existence of what were later to be called "genes".

In 1884 the National Pig Breeder's Association was founded. with Lore Moneton as its first President. The Association began the task of compiling annually a volume of the Herd Book. Now the Yorkshire hogs were classed as belonging to the Large White breed, but for fifty years and more they were as often as not referred to as Yorkshires.

Let us dwell awhile on the lofty idealism on which the N.P.B.A. was founded. By its very nature the recording of births and parentage must rest solely upon the word of the individual breeder, and the value of the Association rest upon the probity of its members. Such has been the standard of conduct, throughout the years, that the guarantee of pedigree given by the N.P.B.A in an export certificate is accepted without question in every land.

It is thought that the first Yorkshires brought into the United States were brought to Ohio around 1830, which would have been sixty years before the American Yorkshire Club was organized. There was not a National Pork Producers Council or even State or County Swine Organizations in those days.

The Yorkshire breed saw many ups and downs over the years. In the early 20's, the Morrell Packing Company of Ottumwa, Iowa, and the Hormel Packing Company at Austin, Minnesota, under the direction of the late Lew Reeves who was head hog buyer at Hormel, tried promoting Yorkshires to farmers around the area. This was following World War I and the market for lard was vanishing. It was unfortunate at that time that too many Yorkshires had far too much Middle and Small White in them and consequently were very slow growing and had very short and pugged noses. Yorkshires had failed to gain a foothold with farmers.

It was nor until the late Jess Andrews, Sr. of West Point. Indiana, imported many English Large Whites from the British Isles for the Neville's, Curtiss Candy Company and others, that the Yorkshire breed started to find favor with farmers. Farmers saw what Yorkshire could do for them and soon started to accept Yorkshire breeding stock. Mothering ability, larger litters, more length, more scale and frame were so badly needed by many producers that they were again ready to try Yorkshires, and this time they were satisfied!

Yorkshires were on their way. Alfred Accola of Iowa topped the first test in the Iowa Test Station, which was the first station of this kind in the United States. Yorkshires led all breeds on rate of gain and feed conversion after the first eight tests. Today Yorkshires have grown at over 3.00 pounds/day with feed conversions at 1.94.

The first Yorkshire registered in the United States was Clover Crest A. a boar imported from Canada by Wilcox & Liggett of Benson, Minnesota, who were officers of the Yorkshire Club. They purchased the boar from the Ontario Agriculture College. However I.E. Brethour of Burford, Ontario, Canada, bred or owned many of the animals that made up this first Yorkshire in the United States.

The first herd book was published in 1901 and was edited by Secretary Maj. A.G. Wilcox and Professor Thomas Shaw of the University of Minnesota. It was published by the Webb Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. who now own and publish the National Hog Farmer. In this first herd book, Volume I of the American Yorkshire Club there were 37 members listed from the United States and two from Canada. The state of Minnesota led with 14 members; North Dakota was next with 4; Iowa had 3; Illinois, Michigan, Kansas and Wisconsin followed with 2 members each; and Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, South Dakota and Nebraska had one member each. There were a total of 309 breeders from the United States who registered Yorkshires in Volume 1.

The first sow registered in tire United States started with No. 405 as the boar and sow numbers were kept separate in those days. Her name was Thomas' Hester not much of a female name and was bred by the Wilcox Company, known as Clover Crest Farm at White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Volume I shows that John Morrell & Co., of Ottumwa, Iowa purchased their first Yorkshires at the turn of the century. The first Yorkshires from Scotland were imported by Hills & Price of Delaware, OH. Volume II was printed in 1904. again by the Webb Publishing Company. There were 1,346 boars; and 2.772 sows listed in Volume II. Volume III was printed in 1906 with 869 boars and 1,129 sows in it for a total of 1,998 head.

World War I was adding problems for Yorkshire progress. All oils and fats were badly needed for production of ammunition as well as food and many other things. There were no soybeans and fewer other vegetable oils to turn to. Consequently, the progress already made in the trend from a lard hog to a so-called "Bacon Hog" in those days was wiped out in a hurry. There was little incentive to produce hogs with "Muscle" which was a much better word than "Bacon". Lard was selling for as much as muscle, which left little argument to try and convince a farmer that he should be producing a "Meat Hog".

Yorkshire pushed forward. There were 488 head registered in 1940 and the Secretary's salary was half of the fees, or $260. A low was reached in 1935 with 150 head registered and 25 transferred. You could call these 'lean years'. a 'Yorkshire Depression'.

Other problems existed in the transportation of breeding stock sold by breeders. There were no Interstate roads in those days, no Hertz trailers or any trailers of any kind and no pickup trucks. In fact, there were very few gravel roads, let alone any paving. If you have never shipped by railway car on a fair circuit, you have really missed something.

1948 was also the year the American Yorkshire Club was reorganized and became a membership organization. Martin Gannon followed Robert Shannon as secretary in 1954 and he served until 1957. Wilbur L. Plager became secretary on October 1, 1957 and served in that capacity until October 1. 1972. or fifteen years. During those fifteen years the Yorkshire breed became known universally as "The Mother Breed" and it would flourish under Plager's leadership. Around 500,000 Yorkshires were registered, in comparison to a little over 200,000 in the first 64 years. Wilbur helped put the Yorkshire breed in a position to be accepted by the commercial producer and Yorkshires were on their way to national prominence.
Reference:

National Swine Registry, P.O. Box 2417, West Lafayette, IN 47906-2417 Phone: (765)463-3594
Photograph:

National Swine Registry, West Lafayette, IN

Swine : American Landrace

2008-05-16T16:06:00.003+07:00

American Landrace

1895. It resulted from crossing the Large White hog from England with the native swine. It was largely though the use of the Landrace that Denmark became the great bacon-exporting country, with England as the chief market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture received a shipment of the Danish landrace in 1934 from their native country. Many of those hogs were used in cross breeding by the Department and by Agricultural Experimental stations to which they were made available, and became ancestors of a number of new breeds. The foundation stock of the American Landrace were those hogs that were bred pure or carried a small infusion (one-sixteenth to one-sixty-fourth) of Poland China blood. The Department of Agriculture followed its policy of selling desirable seed stock to private individuals. Thirty eight head of boars and gilts were imported from Norway that carried Norweigan, Danish and Swedish Landrace blood. Their blood is being blended into the American Landrace and gives a broader genetic base to the breed.

The American Landrace is a white hog of long body length, having sixteen or seventeen pairs of ribs. The arch of back is much less pronounced than on most other breeds of swine. For some hogs the back is almost flat. The head is long and rather narrow and the jowl is clean. The ears are large and heavy and are carried close to the face. There is an admirable meatiness about them on foot and particularly on the rail. The rumps are long and comparatively level and the hams are plump but trim. The sides are long, of uniform depth, and well let down in the flank. The sows are prolific and satisfactory mothers. The sow have always been noted for their milk producing abilities. Studies have shown that they reach their top milk production after five weeks of lactation which is later than other breeds compared.

The hair color of the American Landrace must be white. Dark skin spots are considered undesirable. A few freckles on the skin are allowed but black hairs are not. Black Spotted pigs are not eligible for registration.

Reference:
Briggs, Hilton M. 1969. Modern Breeds of Livestock. Third Edition, MacMillan Company

Photograph:
National Swine Registry, West Lafayette, IN