# Hereford Hogs



## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

Anyone here ever raise them? Pros? Cons? I am going to be buying a registered boar and possibly making an offer on the sow. A co-worker of my hubby has a breeding pair and they have had two nice litters. Now they have decided breeding pigs is not for them. I don't know of anyone else who has the breed around here, even in the state. He drove to PA to buy them.
I was planning to use the boar to breed to some of my cross bred sows, my customers buy pigs from me to raise for the freezer so crossing them works fine. Then I was told that the guy was probably going to eat the sow after he sold me the boar. It seems a shame to eat her so I think I might make an offer. Just wondering if anyone out there has any experience with the breed.


----------



## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

The Hereford Hogs I have ssen were narrow-based, and seriously lacked muscling. 

It seems to me that the Hereford and most of the other 'Heritage' breeds need a specific preservation program with quality selection criteria. At this point it seems that the preservation scheme is merely "I have a boar, you have a sow". These breeds were not developed with such a willy nilly breeding program. It bothers mee when an entire litter of 'Heritage' hogs is sold as Breeding Quality, this just can not be the case. Breed improvement comes from breeding the Best to the Best, not just anything.


Good luck with your new acquisiation, though.


----------



## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

I've seen some nice Herefords. Are they muscled like CAFO hybrids? No. Do we want them muscled like CAFO hybrids? No. Some people do just breed willy nilly and that's a problem for sure, but I think it's actually less so in Herefords than some of the rarer breeds. I'd say look at the hogs and decide if they're worthwhile and then go from there.


----------



## rustyfordgarage (Oct 4, 2011)

I went to the Hereford Hog Association national show last year. I was very impressed with the pigs and the group. Pictures


----------



## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

the man I got my ossabaw from LOVED his. i was very tempted but I need a small breed.


----------



## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

Is the Hereford Pig the right breed of pig for me?

This web site has a couple of video's showing Hereford boar. 
Indian creek farms in Charteston, Ill. has been raising them for 100 years.
Looks like a very good hog. I plan on getting a boar when i can find one close.
There are some in North West , Mo. i may get one there.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWM2aOQLdck[/ame]

You tube link shows AI of Hereford boar. http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-breeds/others-profiles/hereford-hog-2.aspx


----------



## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

as for breeding willy-nilly. it depends on your gene pool. sometimes a breed as a whole may be wiped out by being too picky too soon. some you need to build a good # of individuals then cull from there. 
this is easier with livestock since you can eat your mistakes.

Hereford are only on the watch list so you can be more picky.


----------



## happymainepigs (Jul 19, 2011)

Thanks for the link Gerold. I think I will give it a shot, hopefully the guy will sell the sow to me also. 
I am breeding to produce feeder pigs for customers(mostly just regular people who want to raise their own pork for their freezer). I am happy so far with the results of crossing heritage breed boars with my commercial cross sows. They grow fast and the meat quality has been great. I think these two herefords look great and by looking at them I think they would make great groceries. They do not look thin muscled at all. This guy drove to PA to buy these registered breeders from a supposedly responsible breeder(hopefully not a willy nilly one LOL). He has produced two litters so far and has just raised the offspring for meat-from the first litter, the second litter was only born a few days ago but he is planning to do the same,he has not registered the offspring or sold any for breeding. His complaint is that they are costing him more $ than he is making from them and his weaning rate is low, but my opinion is that you can't profit from owning only one boar and one sow and you have to put some time in the first several hours after birth to make sure the babies survive. 

I was just wondering if anyone had any input on meat quality or growth complaints or anything like that...of purebred herefords. This will be my first time with purebred anything. I have googled them and found lots of information that goes both ways. Some say they grow too slow, some say they reach butcher weight by 5-6 months of age. I don't have many calls for breeder stock, occasionally someone wants an uncut boar or a gilt for breeding but those people don't care about pedigrees because they just want to produce groceries too. Any time I get a call like that I help them pick the very best of my litters. If I end up with the sow I will likely still be selling them for meat purposes and not for the papers on them. Up here in Maine most people don't want to keep pigs year round and especially during the winter, but more and more people are interested in raising their own food. Lots of people have silly reasons for choosing the piglets they choose too. Everybody likes colorful piglets, some say the girls taste better than boys, some will only buy boys, some say the white ones don't taste good. So far they all taste good to me. I own two york/landrace sows and no matter who I breed them to, they have more pink piglets than colored. By the time the last customer shows up to get piglets, he will get pink pigs because they are always the last to go. if nothing else this boar will add some color to my feeder pigs which will make the customers happy. 

On another subject, I keep reading on here about the difference in com. breed pink pigs and wild boars and heritage breeds. I find it interesting that com. pink pigs are described as "hairless". My york/landrace sows have hair. They don't have a thick coat like my Old Spots Boar, but they have quite a bit of hair. They live outside. I bring them into farrowing stalls where they live for about 5 weeks or so twice a year. By the time they are in there for 3 -4 weeks, they lose most of their hair. When I let them back outside, they grow it back within a few weeks. I wonder why this is. Lack of sunlight? I have windows in my farrowing house, white walls and bright lighting and it's heated.


----------



## gerold (Jul 18, 2011)

happymainepigs said:


> Thanks for the link Gerold. I think I will give it a shot, hopefully the guy will sell the sow to me also.
> I am breeding to produce feeder pigs for customers(mostly just regular people who want to raise their own pork for their freezer). I am happy so far with the results of crossing heritage breed boars with my commercial cross sows. They grow fast and the meat quality has been great. I think these two herefords look great and by looking at them I think they would make great groceries. They do not look thin muscled at all. This guy drove to PA to buy these registered breeders from a supposedly responsible breeder(hopefully not a willy nilly one LOL). He has produced two litters so far and has just raised the offspring for meat-from the first litter, the second litter was only born a few days ago but he is planning to do the same,he has not registered the offspring or sold any for breeding. His complaint is that they are costing him more $ than he is making from them and his weaning rate is low, but my opinion is that you can't profit from owning only one boar and one sow and you have to put some time in the first several hours after birth to make sure the babies survive.
> 
> I was just wondering if anyone had any input on meat quality or growth complaints or anything like that...of purebred herefords. This will be my first time with purebred anything. I have googled them and found lots of information that goes both ways. Some say they grow too slow, some say they reach butcher weight by 5-6 months of age. I don't have many calls for breeder stock, occasionally someone wants an uncut boar or a gilt for breeding but those people don't care about pedigrees because they just want to produce groceries too. Any time I get a call like that I help them pick the very best of my litters. If I end up with the sow I will likely still be selling them for meat purposes and not for the papers on them. Up here in Maine most people don't want to keep pigs year round and especially during the winter, but more and more people are interested in raising their own food. Lots of people have silly reasons for choosing the piglets they choose too. Everybody likes colorful piglets, some say the girls taste better than boys, some will only buy boys, some say the white ones don't taste good. So far they all taste good to me. I own two york/landrace sows and no matter who I breed them to, they have more pink piglets than colored. By the time the last customer shows up to get piglets, he will get pink pigs because they are always the last to go. if nothing else this boar will add some color to my feeder pigs which will make the customers happy.
> ...


Thanks for sharing. Reports i have read say they do reach butcher size in 6-8 mos. I plan on crossing with my Yorkshire sows. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk8zwRQKhJ0&context=C4515ee6ADvjVQa1PpcFPxjGCbi04DMYP0yKMyLug0xcfmjScUvN0=]Buster takes a bath.3GP - YouTube[/ame]

Another youtube on Buster taking a bath. . From Hangier farm.


----------



## FlowerFieldFarm (Feb 5, 2011)

I have purebred herefords. The two sows are unregistered but our boar is registered. I actually prefer the unregestered stock we bought, they are more true to the 'old style' very wide and thick... while the boar is more 'show type' - long and lean. It makes me very hesitant to go use AI as I don't want to lose the qualities I like in our sows. 
We have been very happy with their temperament compare to the yorkshires we phased out, they do stay calmer when we are working them. 

We butchered the last of our yorkshires about a month ago and were down to one pack of pork chops... then we sent in a 2 year old hereford sow as a cull because of her mothering ability. I cooked up two pork chops from each pig and had everyone try some. The two year old sow was much more tender and juicy than the young yorkshire. You could also visually compare the marbling in the chop before it was cooked. I was very please with all the meat from the herefords... feel like I am on the right path for direct marketing quality meat. 

Also, we brought back an extra boar with our gilts and gave him to my BIL's. They have been crossing him on york & blue butt sows with very good results. 2/3 of the litters are colored (but each one is different), really good looking little feeder pigs. And with the crosses, they do get bigger litters than I do with the purebreds... I am averaging 6 born, would love to increase that to 8!


----------



## Jessilee7 (Sep 26, 2011)

We have a small herd of herefords and a little herd of hamps. They are all still fairly young but here's what we've seen and our comparisons to the hamps. 

Very good natured pigs. Calm, friendly, not pushy. Our hereford boar is an absolute sweetheart. 
They eat less grain than the hamps and seem to pasture better but they have grown about a month to a month and a half slower than the hamps. 
Great looking pigs. We always get comments on them. 
Hamp gilts first litter she had 11, one still born. She weaned the other 10 and was a great mother. 
Hereford gilts first litter had 9, weaned 8. Again great mother. The one she lost I don't believe was any fault of hers. 
I can't comment on meat quality yet. 
We absolutely love ours though. Down here in OK they sell really well. Our Hamp litter averaged $90 as 6week old weaners and sold within 24 hours of me placing an ad. Our hereford litter averaged $180 and were all spoken for before weaning without placing an ad.


----------



## HardBall (Dec 23, 2010)

Lazy J said:


> The Hereford Hogs I have ssen were narrow-based, and seriously lacked muscling.
> 
> It seems to me that the Hereford and most of the other 'Heritage' breeds need a specific preservation program with quality selection criteria. At this point it seems that the preservation scheme is merely "I have a boar, you have a sow". These breeds were not developed with such a willy nilly breeding program. It bothers mee when an entire litter of 'Heritage' hogs is sold as Breeding Quality, this just can not be the case. Breed improvement comes from breeding the Best to the Best, not just anything.
> 
> ...


I could not agree with you more! Proper selection is the ONLY way to advance the breed to get it where you want (even on the small farm scale) just grabbing hogs and crossing them doesn't mean they are better quality. Look into the pedigrees, the traits, and then look at your current stock and what you are missing in the mix.


----------



## HardBall (Dec 23, 2010)

happymainepigs said:


> On another subject, I keep reading on here about the difference in com. breed pink pigs and wild boars and heritage breeds. I find it interesting that com. pink pigs are described as "hairless". My york/landrace sows have hair. They don't have a thick coat like my Old Spots Boar, but they have quite a bit of hair. They live outside. I bring them into farrowing stalls where they live for about 5 weeks or so twice a year. By the time they are in there for 3 -4 weeks, they lose most of their hair. When I let them back outside, they grow it back within a few weeks. I wonder why this is. Lack of sunlight? I have windows in my farrowing house, white walls and bright lighting and it's heated.


They have hair just not as much of it since they were bred that way and most are indoors their whole life.


----------



## Hagler's Farm (Jan 9, 2012)

I have two Hereford gilts that I've breed, they actually be delivering within a couple weeks. These are the first pigs I've raised, so I don't have anything to compair to, but I've found them to be great pigs. My two girls are very gentle, I can actually feed them an egg and they will take it out of my hand without breaking it. I have made it a point though to spend time with them since we brought them home at least a few minutes a day, some times longer, they love being rubbed down. I've also found that they reached market weight on par with other breeds, they where both right around 250lbs at 6 months. They're now easily 500lbs at 1 year old, though I haven't measured them since they where 8 1/2 months old at which point they calculated out at 380lbs. Mine are nicely filled out one is longer and alittle leaner than the other but I think they'y both look like they'll put off fine hogs for eating. As for tast that I don't know as I've not eaten a Hereford yet, that won't be till this fall. I A.I.'d my gilts from different stock to make sure to provide better genetic diversity. As for down falls I've not yet found any myself other than being abit difficult to find them.

I also made abit of an instuctional video of A.I. on my gilt

[ame=http://youtu.be/bWM2aOQLdck]A.I. Hereford Hog - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

gerold said:


> Buster takes a bath.3GP - YouTube
> 
> Another youtube on Buster taking a bath. . From Hangier farm.


LOLOLOLOL!!! so pretty


----------

