# Pot Belly Pig Boar X Yorkshire Guilt



## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Has anyone ever tried grading up a Pot Belly Pig by mating it to a Yorkshire(or any other pig breed)?
I thought it might create a cheap, yet better tasting pork.
Any ideas?


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Hmm... I worry that the bone and other structures may be too genetically different. The largest breed(?) of pig and the smallest breed of pig. This should be interesting. Please do report how they turn out.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Thanks for the kind reply.
I am going to look at a Yorkshire Guilt Saturday, which weighs approx. 25 lbs. NOW, but I know can top out over a thousand.
Figured I'd mate her in 6-7 months to my growing Pot Belly Boar(red haired), then in 35 days AFTER the litter is weaned, again.
Hoping to produce a "mid-sized" pig, with hopefully the qualities of the Pot Belly pension for eating grass, but the better meat qualities of the Yorkshire.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Yorkshires are one of the largest breeds. If you're shooting for a middle-sized pig you might want to consider Hampshire or Berkshire. Most of our Yorkshire cross sows are around 600 to 800 lbs with a couple over 900 lbs. We just took two small ones to the butcher who were 450 lbs. Good sausage sows. The big boars are a lot larger. I think that your choice of the sow being the larger Yorkshire and the boar being the smaller pig, the Pot Belly, is wise. It would be a shame to have a small breed gilt try to farrow a littler of huge farm size piglets. Humans are bad enough on the way out.

Our gilts tend to take their first breeding at about eight months. We tend to wean at four to six weeks. Since we keep the pigs as two herds with the boars in them the sows rebreed as soon as they are ready. For most of them this is around a week after weaning give or take some days. Some sows are much more anxious to get back in the action - they'll even jump a fence to get to the boars if I fence them and then they carry while nursing.

As to the eating grass, our big farm pigs thrive on pasture/hay depending on the season (warm/winter). We supplement that with dairy, mostly in the form of whey from cheese and butter making. Free fed they eat about 90% pasture/hay and 7% dairy by dry matter weight plus about 3% other things such as pumpkins, apples, beets, turnips, etc.

One observation is that the larger pigs graze better. They have bigger jaws, teeth and their bigger gut probably helps too. Older experienced sows are also better mothers in general - in part because those who aren't get culled.

The flavor of ours is superb, according to our customers. We sell weekly to chefs, white table cloth restaurants, health food stores, coops and to individuals. Me, I'm not so sure I can discern finely - meat is meat is meat. The fat on ours does taste sweeter than store meat. I think that is from the dairy. The color is richer. I think that is from walking around the pasture. I like knowing it was naturally raised and not full of chemicals. Mostly at the end of a hard work day I am more interested in filling my belly to get the energy for the next day. Functionalism. I just am lucky and get to eat all the pastured pork I want, so long as I'm willing to eat low on the hog - the high on the hog stuff all sells every week. I guess we're like the shoemaker's children.  Shoeless and happy. 

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Again, thank you for your kind reply.
The Yorkshire is what I have available to me at this time, so I thought I would try it.
I thought I could get two litters before the Yorkshire got to large for the Pot Belly Boar.
I am glad to hear that Yorkshires are grass eaters, for this will help greatly on the feed bill.
I also have access to milk, my goats.
The meat of the Pot Belly Pig is more marbled than normal hogs.
It is much like the old lard hogs.
-Greg
Alger, Ohio


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

highlands said:


> Yorkshires are one of the largest breeds. If you're shooting for a middle-sized pig you might want to consider Hampshire or Berkshire. Most of our Yorkshire cross sows are around 600 to 800 lbs with a couple over 900 lbs. We just took two small ones to the butcher who were 450 lbs. Good sausage sows. The big boars are a lot larger. I think that your choice of the sow being the larger Yorkshire and the boar being the smaller pig, the Pot Belly, is wise. It would be a shame to have a small breed gilt try to farrow a littler of huge farm size piglets. Humans are bad enough on the way out.
> 
> Our gilts tend to take their first breeding at about eight months. We tend to wean at four to six weeks. Since we keep the pigs as two herds with the boars in them the sows rebreed as soon as they are ready. For most of them this is around a week after weaning give or take some days. Some sows are much more anxious to get back in the action - they'll even jump a fence to get to the boars if I fence them and then they carry while nursing.
> 
> ...


I know This was a long time ago. Do you all still do this feeding regiment. Do you mix pig breeds? Do you ever castrate? Do you recommend anything?


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

TribalAcres said:


> I know This was a long time ago. Do you all still do this feeding regiment. Do you mix pig breeds? Do you ever castrate? Do you recommend anything?


I have spring crops that the field hogs eat. Wheat, Oats, etc. Ground corn every morning to make sure all is well. I have mixed some breeds a bit. Yorkshire x Old spot makes for a beautiful Hog. Old spot legs a bit shorter and the old spot a bit broader body. Makes for a beautiful meat Hog. Also raise Large white (Yorkshire) and Old spot for brood Sows for sale. I castrate pigs at 1 week old. I can buy Boars at sale barn for very little. I do not butcher Boars. People will not buy boars from me for meat. To strong a taste for most people. Some people do castrate large boars i don't. Had one Red boar i was planning on using for breeding Sows. At 2 years old he still didn't have any sperm. I fed him till he was 800 lbs. Butcher him and he did not have any taint. Made for some very large Pork chops. 
Most factory Hogs butchered around 300 lbs. The equipment for butchering will not handle a large Hog. I raise my Hog to 400-600 pounds Make a lot more fat in the meat which means a lot more flavor. Sell a lot to the Amish folks. They butcher the Hog. I sell most of my Hogs live and folks i sell to do their own butchering. I use to sell to fancy expensive Restaurants that serve large Pork chops and make the large roasts. They have their own butchers. One has opened back up in North Mo. I will ship a few large meat Hog to them I have used a Butcher that travel around in his truck and will butcher your animal no matter what size. I get a lot better price for my meat Hogs then people that sell to big meat processor.


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

So we have 

Berkshire
Yorkshire
Old Spot / Hampshire

We have three separate pens for them, is that the best option? Also we are giving them corn, limited scraps and a gallon of fat free milk daily. Is this okay? 

thoughts? We are here to learn as much as we can, sorry for all the questions but thank you for your information.


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

101pigs said:


> I have spring crops that the field Hogs eat. Wheat, Oats, etc. Ground Corn every morning to make sure all is well. I have mixed some breeds a bit. Yorkshire x Old spot makes for a beautiful Hog. Old spot legs a bit shorter and the old spot a bit broader body. Makes for a beautiful meat Hog. Also raise Large white (Yorkshire) and Old spot for brood Sows for sale. I castrate pigs at 1 week old. I can buy Boars at sale barn for very little. I do not butcher Boars. People will not buy boars from me for meat. To strong a taste for most people. Some people do castrate large Boars i don't. Had one Red Boar i was planning on using for breeding Sows. At 2 years old he still didn't have any sperm. I fed him till he was 800 lbs. Butcher him and he did not have any taint. Made for some very large Pork chops.
> Most factory Hogs butchered around 300 lbs. The equipment for butchering will not handle a large Hog. I raise my Hog to 400-600 pounds Make a lot more fat in the meat which means a lot more flavor. Sell a lot to the Amish folks. They butcher the Hog. I sell most of my Hogs live and folks i sell to do their own butchering. I use to sell to fancy expensive Restaurants that serve large Pork chops and make the large roasts. They have their own Butchers. One has opened back up in North Mo. I will ship a few large meat Hog to them I have used a Butcher that travel around in his truck and will butcher your animal no matter what size. I get a lot better price for my meat Hogs then people that sell to big meat processor.


There is a man in Maine that build his own butcher shop and he also raises a lot of Hogs. He does not Castrate his young Boar that he sells for meat. He has developed a special Hog that does not have much sperm. Took a few years for him to devolve his Hogs. I think he also butchers them before they get very old. Maybe less than 250 lbs. There is also an herb that grows wild that you can feed the Boars that reduce the smell of sperm. Also there is a company that sell a chemical to inject the Boar with that kills the sperm. One advantage to selling Boar is they gain weigh a lot faster than cut male Hogs.


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