# What's the best small pig breed for a small homestead?



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

I used to raise minis and pot bellies years ago but they were expensive little suckers so we never got a chance to eat any. I want to buy some breeding stock next spring and have another go at it. For various reasons (mainly safety) I'd like to stick with small pigs again on my little farm. 

I really enjoyed raising pigs, but now I want to eat them too. (gee, that sounds so mean, sorry )

What is the best small breed of pigs as far as eating quality? 

Thanks in advance.


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## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

You should look into the Guinea Hogs. They are great little guys, and they do get big enough to eat.


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## postroad (Jan 19, 2009)

Berkshires are not concidered minis but they are somwhat smaller than many breeds.

As with many heirloom breeds they tend to get a little lardy but the meat is concidered to be a premium product.

My small herd including the boar seem to be a easygoing friendly bunch.


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## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

You can get more information on the Guinea Hogs here...

http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/guinea.html

http://www.guineahogs.org/

We bought ours earlier this year, and our first litter is 6 weeks old now. They are all doing great, and are tons of fun to watch. They graze with the horses, goats and sheep and clean up acorns every day.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

PotBelly Pigs!


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## Bfly Farmer (Aug 8, 2006)

I second the Guinea Hogs! We have 2 gilts and a boar which run with our goats and poultry. They are so easy to care for and cheap. Our particular line is getting fat off pasture and scraps alone. I am not quite sure how they are pulling it off, but it definitely saves me on the feed bill. We only give fthem minimal feed during the cold weather along with hay.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I vote for Tamworths.
A nice sized pig, lean not too fat and very athletic and a great forager. Red so sunburn isn't a problem. Easy to breed and successful mothers.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

As usual, it's unanimous, lol. I probably should have said we'll be pasturing them so toughness and ability to forage is important. And I'd like to keep them with or near my cows, poultry, and whatever else we end up with to make it easier for the dogs to watch over everybody. 

We're in the NC mountains and it doesn't get hot here. So far I'm leaning towards the guineas. I'm wondering how hard it will be in the future to get a new boar if need be. Although I s'pose that would be the case with any unusual breed.

Thanks for the replies and I'd love to hear more. I'm curious how the guineas and pbs compare meat wise? I see the guineas are "fatty" though I'm guessing that's not a bad thing?


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## Bfly Farmer (Aug 8, 2006)

As far as guineas go, you are located in a great place to find a pair if you are willing to travel a few hours. There are a variety of breeders in SC, NC, and Virginia. The tricky part arises if you wish to breed for sale of breeding stock. Then you want to get unrelated hogs which means you may need to travel further, but if you are only interested in feeder pigs, then closer related pigs are not such a big deal.


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## Beggs n Achin' (Feb 26, 2021)

My vote is there cheapest option of AGH/KK. Small, Easy keeper for three feed bill. Relatively mellow. Does well in the field. Don't let anybody tell you they don't root. Mine do. And they love to make a mud wallow with the water trough you just filled up, even though you just stayed water and made them one. That one wasn't good enough. Lol. For home processing, me and my daughter can do one in three hours bullet to cut and wrap. I use all the lard for salves, soap, pie crust... You name it. But I don't get monstrous amounts bc I don't feed a lot of grain, like they are designed to be fed. I'm complaining about the grain bill for my larger hogs now. It's ridiculous! I like that I can have a bit of meat for a little while and then go process another one or two. The Pacific Islanders in the city drive two or three hours to come buy my piglets for pig roasts. In started to mix big and little, still aiming for self sufficiency but some size hopefully. Documenting everything I do here:. 

beggsnachin.webstarts.com

And here a pic of the latest piglets bc they are so sweet. I just love them. Big/little mixes.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

*PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE* look at thread dates before responding to a poster. This particular thread is 11 years old and the original poster has not logged on in 10 months.


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## Cairnstone Farm (Apr 30, 2020)

happydog said:


> I used to raise minis and pot bellies years ago but they were expensive little suckers so we never got a chance to eat any. I want to buy some breeding stock next spring and have another go at it. For various reasons (mainly safety) I'd like to stick with small pigs again on my little farm.
> 
> I really enjoyed raising pigs, but now I want to eat them too. (gee, that sounds so mean, sorry )
> 
> ...


Potbellies are probably the cheapest heritage hog you will find. The American Guinea Hog averages only 15 percent heavier than pot belly pigs, and the two are close to identical in many ways, except he AGH tends to be quite pricey.
What were the problems you had with potbellies?


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