If you ’re cogitate about raising pigs on your small farm , you may have to put some thought into what breed would be skillful for you .
That ’s smart to do . Not consider the benefit and disadvantage of various slob breeds is a surefire way to localise yourself up for failure .
American Guinea Hogs have promptly risen to popularity in the last few eld . They admittedly might not be for everyone . However , there are lots of good reason to view adding these pigs to your farm .
Here ’s a abbreviated overview – as well as some of the key benefits and challenges to kick upstairs this pig bed stock . I ’ll give you some tips on how to do it , too !
What Are American Guinea Hogs?
Although it seems like American Guinea Hogs have only latterly come on the panorama , the world is that these pig bed have been around for much forever .
In fact , this was the hog breed of option in the southeastern parts of the US during the bulk of the 19th century .
Also known as the Pineywoods Guinea , the acorn feeder , the yard pig , and the Guinea timberland hogget , the American Guinea Hog actually has nothing to do with the country of Guinea ( despite its cognomen ) . Its original lineage may colligate back to West Africa , but it ’s more potential that it spring up from European breeding stock .
So where does “ guinea ” come up from in the name ? Most expert think it is just a reference to the smaller stature of the pig .
American Guinea Hogs are stocky pigs with curly tails , vertical ear , and dense inglorious coats .
There are two primary case of American Guinea Hogs happen here . One is smaller - boned and one is larger - deboned , with the larger - boned variety having retentive legs .
History of the Breed
lamentably , about a decade ago , the American Guinea Hog was believed to be almost out .
Other sloven breeds – like the Yorkshire – sweep over the American Guinea Hog in popularity . This happened as fewer the great unwashed were farm pigs themselves and bank on the market store for their meat alternatively . With few homesteaders put forward pigs , there were fewerheritage breed pigsin macrocosm .
In fact , as of 10 or so years ago , it ’s believed that there were fewer than 150 genteelness animals in macrocosm . How sad is that ?
Fortunately , the American Guinea Hog has had a chip of a resurgence of latterly . More people are turning to it to furnish their homesteads with heart – and affection , of course ! Just as many ( if not more ) citizenry raise these pig as pets as well as farm animal .
Benefits of Raising American Guinea Hogs
1. Friendly Disposition
American Guinea Hogs are some of the favorable animate being you will find . Although pigs have a report for being slightly aggressive , that ’s not the pillow slip with American Guinea Hogs .
They are calm and teachable , making them good beast for when working in close childbed is necessary .
They do well with other animals , too . That ’s just one reason why many people choose to kick upstairs them as pets . you could also habituate these animals as part of a rotational grazing system of rules that integrate multiple coinage of livestock . You do n’t usually have to worry about them going after other animals , like chickens .
2. Excellent Mothering Skills
Because American Guinea Hogs are so docile , they are also well-situated to form with when itcomes to farrowing . They have great innate mothering capability and will more or less farrowing without help .
3. Perform Well on Poor Forage
All heritage pig breeds , for the most part , perform well on pasture .
They like being given the opportunity to root and toil for their intellectual nourishment , nibbling on grass and bugs , rather than being locked up in a barn all day . The American Guinea Hog is no exception – but it takes things to the next level .
In fact , this pig is one of the best when it add up to run through grass .
It can be unmanageable to elevate some kinds of pig bed on pasture . They will cut perfectly good sens in favor of till up what ’s beneath it . However , that ’s not the lawsuit with American Guinea Hogs . They ’ll gobble up grass all day , which can facilitate cut your feed expenses . They are also known for their ability to give themselves well on pathetic - timbre forage , too .
4. Minimal Rooting
American Guinea Hogs are excellent grazers and will inflict minimal damage to your farm .
Other pig breeds will mirthfully tear up a plot of land of nation as they go about their day-to-day business . However , American Guinea Hogs are more modest in their grazing behaviors . They settle minimally as long as they have dependable pasture and plenty of food .
5. Gourmet Quality Meat
The American Guinea Hog is sleep with as one of the best lard species of pigs . Again , this is one reason why the breed started to go out of style . As soon as Crisco was invented , many Americans begin to move away from the estimation of lard as a cooking avoirdupois .
Today , lard is still see as an “ malign ” fat . That ’s despite the fact that there are spate of health benefits associated with eat it , even compared to veg oils !
However , if you truly desire to live a life of self - adequacy , you need to be able to give rise your own cooking fat .
Raising pigs for lard is a great room to do so . These pigs are prized for their ability to produce blank , liberal amounts of lard . you’re able to use it for both cooking and baking .
That ’s not to say that the meat itself is less than idealistic , though . Their meat is prized by epicure chefs . It has a unique marbled fat quality that earn it excellent for serving . It is often compared to Kobe beef cattle for its excellent savor and peculiarity .
They are quick for marketplace at around 6 months of years , producing a marbled carcase weighing around 75 pounds hanging weight .
Many breeders reportthat there is no demand to shorten the young males . The testosterone does not infect the flavor in this breed .
Challenges of Raising American Guinea Hogs
1. Small Size
One of the reason that American Guinea Hogs fall out of popularity in the first place was because they are quite small .
In fact , although many hog stock can well tip the scales at 800 - 1000 pounds , American Guinea Hogs are unremarkably much smaller . They usually count only 250 - 300 pound at their heaviest .
As you might expect , this is not a pig strain that fits well into the factory farm mount . However , its small size does make it idealistic for small farms where space is at a premium .
2. Easy to Overfeed
One of the vainglorious challenges of grow American Guinea Hogs is that they are incredibly easy to overfeed . As lard slob , Guinea Hogs put on fat speedily . If you are in the habit of giving your pigs cereal , you may find that this is a use that needs to stop with this unique pig stock .
Other pig breed thrive on caryopsis , but when American Guinea Hogs are given too much , they will put on exercising weight too chop-chop .
This can head to a pig that , when massacre , is almost entirely juicy with poor meat piece . It can also pass to health problems . prolificacy issues are common in overfat American Guinea Hogs .
Tips for Raising American Guinea Hogs
American Guinea Hogs do beneficial when they are raise on lush ley . If you may , provide your pigs with admittance to clover . you’re able to also give them all the kitchen scraps , quality hay , and other vitamin and mineral - racy foods they can eat . You will also have to supply them with lots of uncontaminating , tonic water , and a muddy wallow .
They do n’t need much in the way of shelter , as their dense coat works well to protect them from the elements .
In wintertime , seek to give them some sort of shelter fromwind and precipitation(along with lots of clean , dry bedding ) . They will be all happier and healthier !
Grain is n’t necessary – at least , not in large amounts . Provide a very little amount of grain , as these pigs will do good when they can exercise for their food . As long as they are move over undecomposed shaving opportunity , you should n’t have to do much else .
Of course , the major benefit of set up these hogs is that they are so small , they are easy to manage .
You do n’t have to put a lot of cause into build up a tax shelter that can withstand a small hurricane . These pig are n’t go to put as much effort into trying to demolish it as other breeds of pigs !
There are certainly challenges associated with kindle this breed of pig . However , it is nonetheless a dandy pick for most backyard farms .
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