COMMON PIG BREEDS AND

SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK

Common pig breeds

1.1 Hampshire breed
This breed is black in color with a white belt around the shoulder fore quarters. It is a
medium size breed that originated from Southern England. It has a straight face, erect ears,
good nursing ability and also produces an excellent lean carcass.

1.2 Large white breed

This breed is white in color, has erect ears and a ditched face. It originated from Yorkshire,
England. Although it is not quick in maturing, it is a good feed converter.

1.3 Landrace breed

This breed is white in colour with a long and big body that has deep sides. It has a straight
snout and loped ears which cover most of the face. This breed originated from Denmark and
has been widely used for cross breeding especially with the large white to produce prolific
breeding sows. The breed is mainly used for bacon.

1.4 Duroc breed

This breed is mahogany to red in colour. It has good mothering ability. It is resistant to stress
and is adaptable to various environmental conditions and is very useful in crossbreeding
programs.

1.5 Crossbreed
Cross breeding is practiced because it combines the desirable traits in the parent breeds into
one animal. The major traits that a pig producer should target to improve in a crossbreeding
program include, fast growth rate, good feed efficiency, resistant to diseases and good litter
size and mothering ability. All cross breeding programs should be followed by good
management practices in
order to benefit from the good characteristics that are targeted.

1.6 Local pigs:

Most of the local pigs that are kept in villages have arisen as a result of improper
management of the exotic or crossbred pigs. It is only those that can survive the poor
management practice that stay. The biggest advantage of these pigs is that they are able to
survive on low quality feeds and are resistant to some diseases. However, such pigs have low
growth rate.

2.1 One can select pigs for stocking using pedigree

When selecting a pig for rearing, base on the following:
• Individual merit whereby the pig selected must have the desired characteristics. The pig
must be a good feed converter and the female pig must have at least 12 to 14 well developed
teats.
• Based on records, where the pig will be selected using the available records. The records
used must have the information about the sow and boar and their performance. Such pigs will
be selected with a view that they will be able to exhibit the characteristics of their
predecessors.
When selecting pigs basing on individual merit, the pig must be of' the following
characteristics:

• Females:
Females to be selected must have a good body condition, teats should be well developed (at
least 12-14 in number), the pig must not have abnormalities like lameness and the posture
must be normal.

• Males
The male selected as a future boar to be used for mating must be selected from a sow which
gave birth to at least 10 piglets with 8 or more at weaning. The male should be selected from
a sow with 12 or more fully developed and well-spaced teats. In addition, it must have strong
feet and legs with a weight of about 110kg live-weight at 155 days.

Many farmers obtain their replacement stock through breeding and reproduction on their own
farms. Farmers that adopt this practice must note the following:
• Under poor management, losses due to sterility, abortion and death of immature animals can
reduce the number of animals available for replacement.
• Farmers must avoid underfeeding and other factors that retard growth and delay puberty.
• Always have a pool of' young females and males from which to select replacements.

Caution must be taken to avoid over feeding as it can lead to: excessive fatness, high expense
on feeds and may be a danger to the production and reproductive ability of the animals.