Best homestead breed

KDJarvis

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Hi, We are looking to add pigs to our grazing rotation on our homestead. We want a small breed with good graze-ability. Can anyone compare American Guinea Hog to Kune Kune to Ossabaw Island Hog? Wondering things like - how long from birth to butcher? How much lard do they carry? How long are they (amount of bacon & chops)? How well do they marble? Etc...
Thanks!
 

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Greetings and welcome to BYH. It might be helpful to know where you're located... Also whether you want (mind) pigs who root more or graze more... Rooting pigs will bulldoze your pasture and basically ruin it for grazing other animals. It will take much longer to recover. In addition, many folks don't like to graze other animals behind pigs.

For carcass yields, here's some info: https://dhn-hes.ca.uky.edu/content/heritage-hog-carcass-yields
Here's some more info on many common domestic breeds: http://tcpermaculture.com/site/2014/01/15/domestic-pigs-breeds-and-terminology/
These sites may provide additional links that could be beneficial for you.

There's also quite a bit of info in the various hog threads here. Browse around a bit and you may pick up useful info. Make yourself at home.
 

KDJarvis

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Thank you! We are in Houston, TX area, and do not mind the rooting of any of these smaller breeds. I'll chheck out those links and am definitely reading around all the various info y'all have here!
 

Baymule

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I did research on Idaho Pasture Pigs, if I were to raise pigs, they would be my breed. They are a composite breed of Kune Kune and Berkshire, with short snouts, good disposition, small enough for a small homestead and retain the grazing of the Kune Kune.

That said, we have raised pigs twice since moving here. The first were Large Black/Berkshire crosses and they made major rooting holes. We raised them in our newly fenced garden area over the winter. When we took them out, I ran the tractor in the garden and disced it smooth.

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/feeder-pigs.32154/

This year we raised Red Wattles. I liked them better than the first batch, but we raised them in the spring/summer. I won't do that again. It was hard to keep them cool, there was a little odor, not bad, but it was there, and flies, again not bad, but there. Winter raising, there is neither. It is easier to keep them warm than cool, in our climate.

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/feeder-pigs-2017.35395/

Both times we have raised feeder pigs, we took advantage of their natural behavior to root out weeds, briars, roto-till and fertilize the area they were in. We are on 8 acres, much of it wooded. Using the pigs to condition the ground has been a good thing.

We have horses (3), sheep (4 ewes and 1 ram plus lambs) chickens, muscovies, dogs. Because of all that we do have, we made the decision not to keep breeding sows and a boar, it is easier to just go buy feeder pigs. So we support those who breed hogs and it is a good decision for us.

Is most of your land wooded or pasture? If you have clearing to do, large breed feeder pigs might be a good decision for you. We are currently clearing briars out of the pasture we raised the Red Wattles in. We kept sheep in it and they did a good job of grazing down the brush and briars. I pulled briar vines out of the trees and the sheep ate the leaves off. Free food! LOL Then we put the Red Wattles in there and they also did a good job of clearing. They even straddled sapling trees, walked them down and ate the leaves off. Smart pigs, huh? So the past few days we have been working in that pasture picking up dead branches, clearing the mass of briars out that neither of the animals could reach, but leaving the strip of trees in the middle of it. There is at least one wild persimmon tree and several acorn bearing oaks, free livestock feed. Use your animals to help you work your land.
 

Mini Horses

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I had AGH from babes to butcher to farrowing. The love to eat grass but, love roots more! I supplied fresh cut lawn grass almost daily, had source for loads of fresh, close dated produce & used some pellets. They tend to like to root as they move along. Not the actual "rather graze" of some other breeds but, do graze.

Personality wise they were wonderful! Excellent moms and safe to be in the field among them, handle young ones, etc.

The boars were butchered about 30 days after breeding had ceased and there was NO taint. The carcass was 140-145# @ a year. The meat is tasty, marbled but not heavy fat. They are a lard hog & they had beautiful white leaf fat, with about 2" on back, jowls, neck & less lower on body. Rendered fat, excellent.
Here's a couple pics to show, although called a "lard hog" they are very meaty animals. Great size for a small family.

They do not reach butcher size as quickly as the larger ones but, if I were to raise more, I'd sure use them. Short legged, bulky body and really non=aggressive.....follow you anywhere.

chops..
hogs butchered 006.JPG


a pork belly for bacon..
hogs butchered 007.JPG
 

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Three are actually several members that are down in the Houston area... Not all are hog people, but they are members.
 
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