VIETNAMESE POTBELLY PIG:
Potbellies have long been shown in zoos around the world.
They originated in Vietnam
and were brought to the U.
S. through Canada in 1985 by Keith Connell
with the intention of supplying zoos. Instead people started buying them as
pets. The first potbellies were much larger pigs weighing between 150 to 200
lbs. Their general appearance is a swayed back, pronounced potbelly; erect
ears, short turned up nose with a straight tail. The main color is black, but
potbellies can also be white, black and white (including pinto and fancy pinto
coloring), spotted, collared, and even a silver color. Potbellied pigs reach adult size at about 4
years. Weights vary with averages ranging from 90-150 lbs.
KUNEKUNE:
KuneKune pigs are thought to have originated in China from an
old Polish Breed. They arrived in New Zealand sometime in the late
1700s. In New Zealand
they were kept by Maori communities and were unknown to the rest of the world.
In the early 1800s they were introduced to Europeans by whalers or traders.
They are now widely spread throughout New Zealand with some being
exported to the United
Kingdom and the United States.
They are a relatively small pig with a short-legged, round
appearance with a short upturned nose and curly tail. KuneKune is a Polynesian
word for plump. A distinctive appearance on some KuneKunes is their piri piri
(tassels or wattles) hanging from their lower jaw. Colors range from black, black and white, gold, tan and brown.
KuneKunes have a calm, friendly temperament and seem to
thrive on human companionship. During summer months they can easily maintain
themselves on grazing alone. Therefore, they make excellent lawnmowers and
don’t typically root.
GUINEA
HOGS (AFRICAN PYGMY):
Guinea Hogs are a breed of pig unique to North
America and it is believed they are the descendants of pigs
brought over from Africa with the slave trade.
The early African pigs were red, large, and bristly. Modern Guineas are a
smaller, all black pig. They were common in the South prior to the Civil War as
they were small, docile pigs and considered easy keepers. They provided food
for the poor in the rural U. S. Over the years they have been called many names
such as acorn eaters and yard pigs.
Homesteaders would tether them in their yard because of their great foraging
abilities and to catch and eat snakes. They prefer grazing rather than rooting
for their meals.
Guinea Hogs have a very gentle temperament and small size
making them easy to handle. Their
weights average from 100 to 300 lbs.
They are not sway backed or potbellied. They are a stocky pig with short legs,
moderately short snout, medium sized upright ears, and tails with a kink. Their
coats are shiny black in color and very bristly.
After the Civil War, when farmers went to confinement
methods of farming their numbers declined. They are now considered by the
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy as critical in need of conservation.
FERAL PIGS:
Note: Feral pigs and European Wild Boars may not be
considered by some to be a mini-pig. However, because of their smallness when
compared to a farm hog, I’ve included them in this article.
Feral pigs go by many names depending on the part of the
country where they reside. Some names
include: Razorback, Gulf Pig, Florida
Swamp Hog, Pineywoods, Pinewoods Rooter, Choctaw, and Catalina. The most common
states where they can be found are Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and California.
They are shaggy rough-looking pigs with forward-pointed to
upright ears, long snouts and very lean bodies. Feral pigs are descended from
domesticated pigs that escaped or were released. Some even have some Eurasian
Wild Boar in their ancestry. Solid black is the most common color, but you can
find almost any color or color pattern.
EUROPEAN WILD BOARS:
European Wild Boars are also called, Eurasian Wild Boars or
Russian Wild Boars. They have a long narrow snout with long tusks, pointy ears
with a tufted straight tail. They have a very bristly coat with an undercoat in
the winter. They range in color from blackish brown to tan to gray with a
lighter colored belly. They also have grizzled hairs on their face and throat
which contrast against their dark colored snout. They range in size from 160 to
500 lbs.
Piglets have a striped body making them resemble a chipmunk.
As the piglet matures it looses its striping.
Wild boars have been introduced to a wide variety of places
around the world. Since they share the same habitat as feral domesticated pigs,
most populations of wild pigs are probably mixed with the wild boar.
OSSABAW ISLAND PIG:
Ossabaw pigs are a feral pig that can be found on Ossabaw Island off the coast of Georgia. They
were brought for food by the Spanish when they first came to the New World five centuries ago. Since pigs were a fresh
food supply, the Spanish routinely dropped them off on large islands all over
the Caribbean from Cuba to Ossabaw. They come in a
wide variety of solid and spotted colors although solid white is rare. They are
a lively, friendly pig with a long snout, heavy coat, and prick ears.
Ossabaws have a low-grade form of diabetes and have a unique
system of fat metabolism. During times when food is sparse, they can live off
the fat stored in their bodies. Because of the diabetes and their system of fat
metabolism, they are valued highly as laboratory animals to study diabetes,
nutrition, and obesity.
JULIANI (PAINTED MINIATURE):
Many older books on mini-pigs mention the Juliani pig.
However, while researching this article, I could find no mention of them on the
Internet or in books on pig breeds. Therefore, there is some doubt about their true origins and some thought
that they might have been a cross for the purpose of marketing them as
something different during the height of the pet pig craze. Older mini-pig
books state the same information regarding the Juliani pig which I’ve included
in this article.
According to the older mini-pig books, Juliani Pigs can be
traced back to Europe and were developed
through a selective breeding program to enhance their small size. Their colors
can be red, red and black, red and white, white, white and black, black, silver
and silver and white. They have longer legs than a potbelly and are usually
smaller with a slight potbelly. Their ears are small to medium in size and they
have a straight tail. Some of our pet pigs might be a mixture of Juliani and
potbelly pig.
YUCATAN
PIG (MEXICAN HAIRLESS):
Yucatan
pigs originated in Mexico
and Central America. They are slate gray to
black in color with very sparse hair to completely bald. They have straight
backs and bellies, short snouts and medium sized ears. Their temperament is
very gentle. Because their skin and body systems are similar to humans, they
are often the pig of choice for laboratories. Normally their size can range up to 210lbs but laboratories have bred
them even smaller with weights ranging from 50 to 100lbs.
PECCARY:
Peccaries or Javelinas as they are sometimes called are not
really pigs but are the closest relative to the pig. They differ from pigs in
that they have a second navel located on the lower back about a half-foot from
the end of the tail. This nipple gives off a musky secretion which is used for
marking territories. They also differ in that pigs have four toes on each foot
while a Javelina has four on their forefeet but only two on their hind. Pigs
also have six to twenty mammary glands while Javelinas have only four.
Javelinas have a complex chambered stomach with no gallbladder. Pigs have a
gallbladder and a simple chambered stomach.
Peccaries weigh from 35-65 lbs and look like a small bristly
pig. Their bristles are dark brown or black-gray with white tips. They also
have a white collar which goes from the chest to over the shoulders.
Peccaries are native to Southern Texas,
Arizona, and New Mexico. Their herds are ruled by a female and can
vary from 2 to 20 members, some even reaching 50.