# Breeding a Blue Butt



## TripleTreeHogs (Jun 25, 2007)

I am new to this forum, so I am hoping some of you could direct me. I have 5 Blue Butts right now. I am planning on keeping one gilt to breed over winter. Well actually late winter, like Feb. But anyway, what should I breed her with to keep the traits of her. I like her lines, color, and dispostion. Should I find another Yorkshire or a Hampshire? I have ran feeders for about 5 years and I want to take the next step to farrowing. It is becoming harder to find feeders in my area (Northwest PA). Being as this will be her first time I doubt I can A.I. her. At least that is what I have been told. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you in advance.


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## Misty (May 29, 2005)

we AI gilts all the time with success. The smallest litter we have had is 9 pigs. The largest gilt litter was 12. 
Unless you know her lineage, there isn't really a way to know if you will get blue butts or what. If you breed her to a york, you may get blue butts and whites. If it isn't a pure york, but just an "exotic" white, they could come out belted, blue butted etc. If you breed her to a hamp, or other belted hog, you could get hamps and or blue butts.


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## RedHogs (Jul 7, 2006)

Blue Butt is either a generic term to some and used as a term to mean a mutt hog with alot of white but some color..... Or a specific F1, which is a 1st generation cross of a york and hamp with both being pure blooded. With your offspring, if it's a true F1 - you can look at dominance traits and see exactly what the percentage of chance is of getting each trait....Without knowing they are f1's it will be a crap shoot. The highest percentage of hogs raised today.... and I mean 70% of all hogs in america are white f1's bred to a ducoc. A duroc will give you more growth as they are large hogs and pass the most hybrid vigor to white hogs. These would be the meat cross.... A maternal cross of chester white or maybe york would be good to develop your gilts. but the best option would be to use these sows for meat production and get a purebred gilt for producing keeper offspring (_reproducing your current blue butts_), purebreds are very consistent in what they throw. Your blue butts are used for meat production for a reason. They may throw the mother side and then they may throw the father side, you just don't know.


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## jvicars (Apr 20, 2007)

my blue butt hogs grow faster than anything. I have a york and he does not hold a candle to the blue butts in growth. maybe i am just lucky but these hogs grow every day and are musclar.


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