Pigs

Well, we talked about chickens and cattle now it is the pigs turn!  Like with each of the other breeds, in the pigs we are picking the same type of qualities, an animal who will contribute in multiple ways, a breed that can handle the Minnesota winters and an animal who can sustain primarily on forage with ease of care.  With pigs I also want to find an animal with the genetics to avoid "Boar Taint".  Boar taint is a combination of chemicals in male pigs that give the meat a bad taste.  Traditionally there are two ways to avoid it.  Castrate the baby piglets or butchering before 6 months.  Both of these I would like to avoid, the castrating because, well unlike cattle or goats where castration can be done with a banding machine, pigs testicles are held to close to their body as piglets.  this means surgical removal is required.  I really do not want to do this myself and I do not want to add the additional expense of having a vet do it, neither way is fun for the animal.  On top of that "intact" boars put on weight about 10% faster then "barrows". I also do not like the idea of having to butcher them on a 6 month time frame  before they have put on the proper weight depending on the season.  To avoid that I plan on sticking to breeds that have not typically had an issue with boar taint and purchasing my stock directly from farms with a history of producing "taint free" boars.

We plan on having a base of three pigs, a boar and sow "Large Black Hog" and a sow "Tamworth".  Both breeds are heritage breeds rather then the commercial breeds typically found today and both breeds are known to be excellent foragers and very resistant to cold weather, first qualifications check!.  They are both also known to be pretty docile animals although the Tamworth can be a little protective of its foraging territory.  The Large Blacks are another rare breed, that is the reason we want a breeding pair for them, similar to the Galloways those offspring will mostly be resold to keep the breed going and preserve the traits that will be valuable to homesteaders and to preserve the breed.  I say mostly because the blacks are also have a good combination of meat and lard with good marbling where the Tamworth's are more a leaner breed so at least an occasional one will find its way to the butcher block.   The Tamworth is known as a "Bacon" pig versus a "lard" type pig (the blacks are kind of a combination of the two).  Bacon pigs being more of a lean meat with less fat compared to a lard pigs having alot of fat on them that is used for making lard.  From what I have been able to find the Tamworth as a breed seem to have a lower rate of boar taint, that in combination of carefully picking my breeding stock should reduce the chance of boar taint.  The TamworthXBig Black offspring will mostly be the animals going to see the butcher.  Both of these breeds have good history of being maternal and producing consistent 6-10 piglet litters with the big blacks breeding well into their teen years.

We plan on putting the pigs on about 7 Acers of woodland as their main area along with having them follow the cows and chickens in the pasture rotation during the growing season.  We will be supplementing their winter diet with chickpeas harvested from the fields as well as excess eggs and milk produced by the other animals.  We may also see what the possibility is  of letting them range on other wooded land owned by my wife's parents in order to help it a little clearer, of course that makes the fencing a little more challenging!  Let me know your thoughts and experiences!