Many people have come to the homestead to visit the American Guinea Hogs. Those with small acreages or new to homesteading tend to find the breed more approachable than conventional pigs.
Recently I found this article by Mother Earth News that provides a lot of insight into American Guinea Hogs. For those considering the breed, I highly recommend thoroughly reading it.
A shortcoming of the article is that it focuses exclusively on the positive aspects of the breed, and fails to mention any drawbacks. I’ve noticed this is a common shortcoming of many online articles related to homesteading. This is poor journalism, and does all homesteaders a disservice! In this information age, people should be able to find a well researched article articulating the strengths and weaknesses of a subject.
Since the article highlights many of the strengths of AGHs, I thought I’d balance it out by sharing a few challenges this breed presents.
A defining characteristic of AGHs that many find attractive is their small size. This gives them the potential of being easier to manage. I highlight the word “potential.” An AGH is still 100-200lbs of muscle in a compact little body, meaning it’s a handful if it wants to be. All pigs will be wild and impossible to manage if they’re not handled properly. Do not get complacent with conditioning your pig to human interaction simply because it’s a smaller breed. Pet the pig while you feed it. Walk in its pen daily. Raise the pig so that it’s used to your presence, and is friendly. Do not take the pig for granted just because it’s smaller.
Another possible negative to its smaller size is that you’ll get less pork when you take the pig to the processor. That will also make the pork more expensive per pound. Processors charge a flat fee for killing the pig, which in our area is $40-50. You pay that same amount whether you get 50lbs of meat from an AGH or three times that amount from a conventional breed. Make sure that trade-off is worth it for you.
The article highlights how delicious AGH meat is, and boy is that true! The pork we enjoy from our AGHs is the best pork we’ve ever eaten. The reason it’s so delicious is because the breed grows more slowly than conventional breeds. Unless you’re doing a specialty item like a small pig for a pig roast, an AGH is at least a year old when it goes to the processor. Conventional breeds usually go at about 6 months. That means you’ll take care of your AGH for twice as long to get one third the meat.
I also want to take a moment to say I think the breed is great for cross breeding. An AGH mated with a conventional breed pig could potentially retain many of the positives of both breeds while minimizing the negatives.
We love our American Guinea Hogs, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best pig breed choice for everyone. I view them as a great pig for those who absolutely cannot have larger pigs for whatever reason, and for those who really want the best pork.
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