Lesson 2: Breeds of Swine

Breeds of Hogs• Berkshire• Chester White• Duroc• Hampshire• Landrace

• Pietrain• Poland China• Spotted• Yorkshire

BerkshireBerkshire

• Black with six points and erect ears

• Produce high quality meat

• Imported from England in the early 1800’s

Chester WhiteChester White

• White with small drooping ears

• Once popular for their durability and ruggedness; also have good mothering ability

• Originated in Pennsylvania in the early 1800’s

DurocDuroc

• Red with drooping ears

• Used to produce fast-growing market hogs

• Developed in the United States in the mid-1800’s by crossing red hogs from New York and New Jersey

HampshireHampshire

• Black with a white belt around the front of the body and erect ears

• Used to produce lean, heavily muscled offspring

• Imported from England during the early 1800’s

LandraceLandrace

• White with large, droopy ears that cover the entire the entire face

• Used as a maternal breed because of their mothering ability

• Imported from Denmark in the 1930’s

PietrainPietrain

• Spotted with erect ears

• Leanest and most heavily muscled hogs; often carry a stress gene linked to meat quality problems

• Used to produce terminal sires

• Imported from Germany and Poland

Poland ChinaPoland China

• Black with six white points (like Berkshires) but with drooping ears

• Have been used to increase growth rates, but the breed’s popularity has decreased because it has not kept up with the trend toward leanness

• Originated in Ohio in the first half of the nineteenth century

SpottedSpotted

• Black and white spots and drooping ears

• Have been used because of their rapid growth, but their numbers are small in comparison with other breeds used by the swine industry

• Originated in Indiana from the Poland China breed; purebred association formed in 1914

YorkshireYorkshire

• White with erect ears• Used for mothering

traits and for lean, heavily muscled, fast-growing market hogs

• Imported from England in the early 1800’s

2. What are the determining factors in breed selection?

• Breeds used in the past

• Litter sizes

• Leanness

• Muscle

• Current growth rates

• Efficiency in the conversion of feed to pork

3. How are hybrid hogs developed?

• A. Hybrid hogs are developed by crossing multiple breeds and selected for desired traits.

• B. Companies offer hybrid hogs varying in use from a maternal to a terminal emphasis.

4. How are inbreeding, outcrossing, and crossbreeding different?

A. Inbreeding – mating two related animals in an attempt to concentrate desired traits in offspring1) Closebreeding – mating closely related animals2) Linebreeding – mating animals that are slightly or distantly

related, with only one shared ancestor

B. Outcrossing – mating unrelated animals of the same breed; more popular and safer than inbreeding since inbreeding can concentrate undesirable and even detrimental traits

C. Crossbreeding – mating animals of two different breeds, which results in a hybrid offspring that should maximize heterosis, or hybrid vigor