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