Lesson 2: Breeds of Swine Swine Production Lesson 2: Breeds of Swine

Breeds of Hogs Berkshire Chester White Duroc Hampshire Landrace Pietrain Poland China Spotted Yorkshire

Berkshire Black with six points and erect ears Produce high quality meat Imported from England in the early 1800’s

Chester White White with small drooping ears Once popular for their durability and ruggedness; also have good mothering ability Originated in Pennsylvania in the early 1800’s

Duroc Red with drooping ears Used to produce fast-growing market hogs Developed in the United States in the mid-1800’s by crossing red hogs from New York and New Jersey

Hampshire Black with a white belt around the front of the body and erect ears Used to produce lean, heavily muscled offspring Imported from England during the early 1800’s

Landrace White with large, droopy ears that cover the entire the entire face Used as a maternal breed because of their mothering ability Imported from Denmark in the 1930’s

Pietrain Spotted with erect ears Leanest and most heavily muscled hogs; often carry a stress gene linked to meat quality problems Used to produce terminal sires Imported from Germany and Poland

Poland China Black with six white points (like Berkshires) but with drooping ears Have been used to increase growth rates, but the breed’s popularity has decreased because it has not kept up with the trend toward leanness Originated in Ohio in the first half of the nineteenth century

Spotted Black and white spots and drooping ears Have been used because of their rapid growth, but their numbers are small in comparison with other breeds used by the swine industry Originated in Indiana from the Poland China breed; purebred association formed in 1914

Yorkshire White with erect ears Used for mothering traits and for lean, heavily muscled, fast-growing market hogs Imported from England in the early 1800’s

2. What are the determining factors in breed selection? Breeds used in the past Litter sizes Leanness Muscle Current growth rates Efficiency in the conversion of feed to pork

3. How are hybrid hogs developed? A. Hybrid hogs are developed by crossing multiple breeds and selected for desired traits. B. Companies offer hybrid hogs varying in use from a maternal to a terminal emphasis.

4. How are inbreeding, outcrossing, and crossbreeding different? A. Inbreeding – mating two related animals in an attempt to concentrate desired traits in offspring Closebreeding – mating closely related animals Linebreeding – mating animals that are slightly or distantly related, with only one shared ancestor Outcrossing – mating unrelated animals of the same breed; more popular and safer than inbreeding since inbreeding can concentrate undesirable and even detrimental traits Crossbreeding – mating animals of two different breeds, which results in a hybrid offspring that should maximize heterosis, or hybrid vigor

The End !