# Orange spotted pigs? and seperate AI question



## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

I have seen several pictures of orange pigs with black spots all over them... and I can't figure out what makes this cross...

see here: James Ranch -:- Whey-good Pork
and here: North Mountain Pastures by Brooks &mdash; Kickstarter

The ones on the first website seem to have some hereford in them? I have a small herd of hereford's... and one gilt that I saved back from last fall - I don't want to breed her to her father... so I wanted to attempt to AI her next month when she cycles again. So if I could figure out what would make orange spotted piggies, I would be tickled! I am considering crossing with a berkshire...

Also, when I do AI her I would like to order semen that is not geared completely for show pigs... I am selling meat, and most of my customers are most interested in sausage and lard. Most AI studs seem to focus on show pigs which seem a little too lean.

Also, I found this hereford boar I am considering: Sycamore 21-1 - PSSS Boars on Stud

How do I find out his litter size?

Thank you


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

A black poland china crossed with a duroc will produce these pigs. Just about any black hog bred to a red hog will.


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

Thanks for that info Pancho... my BIL has a 1/2 duroc 1/2 hampshire boar down the road that is mostly black a few miles, maybe it would be easier to put her in with him...


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

The color of the boar or sow matters. Can't remember which one has to be red and which ones has to be black. Reversing it doesn't produce what you want.
I can't remember which way it needs to be. Years ago they were popular.

Just called a friend of mine and he said the boar should be red and the sow black to produce red pigs with black spots.
A duroc boar over a poland china sow.


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

From your second link:


> Our sows are heritage breed pigs, including Tamworth, Berkshire, Yorkshire, and English Black.


Tamworth (pig) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berkshire (pig) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Yorkshire (pig) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Large Black (pig) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

Oh duh... I guess I didn't read that well enought. Thank you for pointing that out  I am going to guess one in the pic is a tamworth/berkshire...


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

Pancho - thanks for getting that detailed info... Wouldn't be too hard to add a black sow here and let the hereford cover her...


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

FlowerFieldFarm said:


> Pancho - thanks for getting that detailed info... Wouldn't be too hard to add a black sow here and let the hereford cover her...


I always wanted some herefords but could never find any. Thought they were a fine looking pig.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We get this coloration a fair bit of the time. We have a mix of Yorkshire, Large Black, Berkshire with a little Tamworth, Glouster Old Spot and other. Good Old American Pigs (GOAPs).

I suspect the red with black spots is coming from the Large Black and Tamworth, maybe Berk too. We have had them come out of white, colored (red-black) and black sows mated to white or black boars. We don't have any red breeding boars so a red boar is not required.

From what I've read and what i've seen in our breeding the inheritance of color is roughly:

White is dominant
Black is 2nd
Red is decidedly recessive.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
ButcherShop | Sugar Mountain Farm
CSA | Sugar Mountain Farm


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

If you cross a doruc boar with a berk sow you get red pigs with black spots and some white markings like a berk. Those are suppose to be the best pigs that a man can cross breed. Of course everybody thinks the pigs they raise are the best to so who knows.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2012)

People around here (including us) used to raise a LOT of pigs- until the abattoir closed down and put everyone out of business.

Hardly anyone had a purebred pig. Most of the pigs had been going around and around for generations. Everyone would trade boars with each other to avoid too much inbreeding, but of course they were all related to each other anyhow.

Who knows what they were originally 50 or 100 years ago. But lots of them were orange with black spots.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

I agree with pancho.

pigsonpasture

Scroll down to the second photo. We got that barrow and his pasture mates from some people who raised durocs and poland chinas. There are more of that color pattern on the second page.


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## Karen in Alabam (Jul 21, 2010)

That picture looks just like my Jackie and I was told he was Poland China/Duroc.


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## Feathers-N-Fur (Dec 17, 2007)

I have seen orange with black spots from quite a few crosses....
Duroc boar on a Spot sow
Duroc boar on a Berk sow
Berk boar on a Duroc sow
Duroc boar on a York/Hamp cross (this gave us a wide variety of colors, including red Hamps)
Berk boar on a Berk/Hamp cross (supposed to be all registered purebred grandparents so no idea where the red came from) 
The only red to black cross I've seen that didn't give your desired coloring is Duroc to Hamp, those all look Hamp.


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## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

I have had several orange piglets with black spots. My 2 large York/Landrace sows have had quite a few when crossed with the duroc I used to have.


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## Karen in Alabam (Jul 21, 2010)

I didn't know there was that many kinds of pigs out there.

There used to be a lot of hog farms around here (my neighbor and vet that I know of) but they got out, I forget the reason now--something changed either the sale barn shut down or something like that.

Looking in Craigslist--you just don't see a lot advertised and they never say what they are. Just feeder pigs.


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

Wow... I'm glad I asked!! I wouldn't have guessed they were so common at one time... but I can see why. Too bad they didn't breed the orange spots to orange spots until they bred true and formed a breed. 

I haven't found many feeder pigs on CL out this way, or in any advertisement for that matter... I had to drive quite a ways to get my gilts and boar.

I am brinding home a landrace/duroc gilt from my neighbor that is red with a white belt around her middle... was planning to breed her to my hereford boar... will have to see if I get anything of the sort. 

Thanks again for all your help!


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

I would like to get some Tamworths,or Gloucester Old Spots,or our favorite is the British Saddleback.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

FlowerFieldFarm said:


> Wow... I'm glad I asked!! I wouldn't have guessed they were so common at one time... but I can see why. Too bad they didn't breed the orange spots to orange spots until they bred true and formed a breed.
> 
> I haven't found many feeder pigs on CL out this way, or in any advertisement for that matter... I had to drive quite a ways to get my gilts and boar.
> 
> ...


We had Poland China/Duroc when i was a kid. Lots of red and orange with black spots. Beautiful pigs.
Now i have Yorkshire sows crossed with Duroc/Hamp boar. Half the pigs are all white. Half are blue butts. The blues have just blue spots on the back end. No real solid blue. The boar was red with white belt. Had one odd one a deep Red. It got crushed. Now looking for a Hereford boar for the Yorkshire sows.


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## matt_man (Feb 11, 2006)

We get red spotted pigs too. Our first sow was hamp and a bit of duroc?? and so was the boar - they looked hamp but their hair was red on the black skinned parts of their bodies. 1/2 her litters would look hamp and the other were different shades of red with the white band and all the reds always had black spots. 

We have 2 of her daughters still and they throw the same - about 1/2 look hamp and the other 1/2 are red and white with spots. 

FWIW...our red ones always grew a lot faster than the hamp looking ones. We just bought a Berkshire boar in the fall and should have our first litter in about a month.We get red spotted pigs too. Our first sow was hamp and a bit of duroc and so was the boar. 1/2 her litters would look hamp and the other were red with the white band and all the reds always had black spots. 

We have 2 of her daughters still and they throw the same - about 1/2 look hamp and the other 1/2 are red and white with spots. 

FWIW...our red ones always grew a lot faster than the hamp looking ones. 

We just bought a Berkshire boar in the fall and should have our first litter in about a month.


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## Fineswine (Aug 25, 2011)

Duroc/Old Spot/York


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

You can get red spotted pigs from several crossbreeds along with other colors.
The duroc boars and poland china sows produce over 90% red spotted pigs.


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## matt_man (Feb 11, 2006)

I don't know why it copied everything in my post...weird. I cannot edit it, sorry.


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## barefootflowers (Jun 3, 2010)

We have a berkshire boar and a duroc sow. Every single litter for the past four years has produced black piglets with sometimes a faint brownish stripe down the sides. We also crossed a large black boar with our duroc sow and got the same thing, with floppy ears.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

barefootflowers said:


> We have a berkshire boar and a duroc sow. Every single litter for the past four years has produced black piglets with sometimes a faint brownish stripe down the sides. We also crossed a large black boar with our duroc sow and got the same thing, with floppy ears.


That is usually how it will be.
Now if you change it around where the boar is duroc and the sow is berk or large black you will get red spotted pigs.


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## Farmerga (May 6, 2010)

I had piglets that were red with black spots out of Red Wattle/Mulefoot/Berkshire

http://www.dostershertiagefarm.com


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

FlowerFieldFarm said:


> Too bad they didn't breed the orange spots to orange spots until they bred true and formed a breed.


They're called Oxford Sandy & Black. Don't know of any in the US though.


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## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

Thanks for the link. Interesting.


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

Thanks for that link Olivehill... those are exactly what I want... in America!! Who wants to mail me one? =)


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

The breed we want is the British Saddleback,it is also not readily available here in the USA.


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## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

So I have made a final decesion to add 2 Berkshire gilts to our lineup... I will breed them to one of our purebred herefords.

Hoping that the hybrid vigor will increase litter size by a bit - maybe I will get lucky and get a few of those red spotted pigs =) and should have excellent meat!!


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