G day Guinea Hogs

G day Guinea Hogs

     American Guinea hogs also known as the pineywoods guinea hogs are a heritage breed of pig native to the USA. They are smaller than the industrial type hog. They are an over 200 years old breed and are known as grazing hogs.

     An adult male can range between 17 and 22 inches high. Females may be a few inches shorter. Their length is between 46 to 56 inches long measuring from the middle of the ears to the tail end. Their bodies are of rectangle shape with a straight to slightly curved back. Weight wise they can weigh between 150 to upwards to 300 pounds. They are all black with very coarse hair, length of medium to long hair which can cast a reddish to blue black color and sometimes even curly. They have a single curl to their tail. Their life span is between 10 to 15 years.

     They are very friendly pigs often given the name floppers because if you scratch their backs, they fall over wanting their bellies scratched as well. They are a great breed of pig for a young child to raise as they are calm and tend to want to be with people. Since they are of the smaller breed of pig they are excellent for 4 H projects.

     The females are very good mothers and sometimes will feed another mother’s piglets.  Bearing litters between 1 to 14 but more than usual 6 piglets are born.  The males are also very laid back and do not disturb the piglets if they are in the same pen.

     Care for these hogs are pretty basic, with dry bedding, clean water and a mud hole in a grazing field is about all they need. Very little grain is needed to feed them and discouraged as it will later give problems in mating and add extra fat. They require very little shelter and love to burrow into ground and sleep all together in a pile. They love left overs and scraps.

Our G daughter Grace is our little pig whisperer and if we have escapees, she is good to get them back to the pen. Many days we can find her at the barn hanging out with them. She loves to scratch Shorty’s belly, he is my favorite pig of all.

      Their meat is one of the best in my opinion, they have a wonderful sweet taste with a good measure of marbling in the meat. Many will make prosciutto with it, and Many gourmet cooks welcome it in their kitchens.

    

 

     I love my pigs here at Earthsblessing  farm and we are a registered breeder with the American Guinea Hog Association. We are trying to preserve this wonderful small pig for generations to come. They have been put on the endangered list. So if anyone would like to add these wonderful small heritage pigs to their farm please feel free to contact us at earthsblessingfarm@gmail.com or call us at 706 499-6356 and we will be glad to help out. We are expecting piglets soon.                                      

                                                                          (2020 American Guinea Hog Association, Inc)