Breeds of Pigs

This page might take a little time to load because of all the images, but we wanted you to be able to browse through all the different breeds because there are some pretty interesting ones out there!

Below you will find many of the different breeds of pigs along with a little information about each breed. The breeds are catagorized alphabetically.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

American Landrace The various strains of Landrace swine are the descendants of the famous Danish Landrace hogs that were developed in Denmark. 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.

American Yorkshire It is thought that the first Yorkshires brought into the United States were brought to Ohio around 1830.

Angeln Saddleback Originated in Angeln, a region of northern Germany. A black-and-white landrace was crossed with Wessex-Saddleback and in 1937 accepted as a new race. Big-sized, high fertility, good mothers with much milk. Rare breed.

Arapawa Island The pigs were brought to the New Zealand island of Arapawa in 1770 by Captain James Cook of England. The breed has remained pure and roamed parts of the island every since.

B

Bazna Found in the central Transylvania region of Romania. The breed originated since 1872 from crosses between Berkshire and Mangalitsa. The Bazna breed is highly adapted for natural breeding conditions. The Bazna pigs are strong and can be raised both extensively and half-intensively.

Bentheim Black Pied This breed originated in the region ”Grafschaft Bentheim” in northern Germany. Local breeds were crossed with Berkshire and Cornwalls. Hardy and long-lived, high fertility (9.2 piglets/litter).

Berkshire The excellent carcass quality of the Berkshire hog made him an early favorite with the upper class of English farmers. According to the best available records, the first Berkshires were brought to this country in 1823.

D

Duroc The Duroc breed of hogs had its origin in the eastern United States and in the Corn Belt. An acceptable color may range from a very light golden, almost yellow color, to a very dark red that approaches mahogany. Durocs have a medium length and slight dish of the face. The ears should be drooping and should not be held erect.

H

Hampshire The Hampshire breed of hogs may well be one of the oldest original early American breeds of hogs in existence today. Good hardiness, vigor, prolificacy and foraging characteristics.

Hezuo The Hezuo pig is from the Plateau region and are located in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province, China. The pigs are out on pasture year round, and are characterized by long, coarse and dense bristles, a slow growth rate, and low prolifacy.

L

Large White It is easily the leading breed of the world if one considers that swine called Yorkshires in the United States and Canada are the direct descendants of the Large White. They have been valued for their bacon production since the inception of the breed. As their name suggests, they are characterized by large size.

Lithuanian Native The formation of the Lithuanian Native breed took place in the ethnic lands of Lithuania and was mostly influenced by the interaction of local short eared and long eared pigs and some cultural breeds.
M

Meishan The Meishan breed was introduced into the United States under a cooperative effort of the USDA, the University of Illinois, and Iowa State University. Meishan pigs are perhaps one of the most prolific breeds of pig in the world. They reach puberty at 2.5-3 months of age, achieve high embryo survival rates, and a large litter size of 15-16 pigs.

N

Neijiang The Neijiang was raised in Southwest China in the Sichuan Basin in China. The pigs are comparatively large in size, with strong body constitution, thick skin (about .7 cm) and thick back fat (3.4 to 5.7 cm). They are also precocious.
P

Poland China The Poland China is unbeatable among various breeds of swine for the characteristic of maximum weight at any given age. The Poland Chinas are excellent feeders and they gain readily under conditions of good care and management. The breed is known for having very substantial bone and for being sound in its feet and legs.

Potbelly Vietnamese Potbelly pigs are a dwarf swine breed which were developed in the 1960's from the Í breed of Vietnam. Potbelly pigs are known for being pets.

S

Spots The present day Spots descend from the Spotted hogs which trace a part of their ancestry to the original Poland China. Spots are popular with farmers and commercial swine producers for their ability to transmit their fast-gaining, feed efficient, meat qualities to their offspring.