Hampshire pig
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| Conservation status | |
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| Country of origin | United States |
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The Hampshire is an American breed of domestic pig. It derives from saddlebacked pigs imported to Kentucky from about 1825 from the English county of Hampshire. It has a black body with a white band or sheet over the shoulders and extending down the front legs; the ears are erect.
History
[edit]The Hampshire derives from saddlebacked pigs imported to Kentucky between about 1825 and 1835 from the county of Hampshire in south-east England.[3]: 184 [4] Pigs remaining in this part of England developed later into the Wessex Saddleback.
The American National Swine Registry notes this as the fourth "most-recorded breed" of pig raised as livestock in the United States, and probably the oldest American breed of hog.{{r|nsr}
It has been exported to almost sixty countries, in all five inhabited continents. The total population reported world-wide is approximately 160000, of which over 20000 are in the United States;[2][5][6] the largest population is in Argentina, where there are more than 125000 head.[5] Its conservation status world-wide is "not at risk".[5][6]
Characteristics
[edit]It has a black body with a white band or sheet over the shoulders and extending down the front legs; the ears are erect.[7]: 609
Use
[edit]Hampshire hogs are noted for being well-muscled and rapid growers, and for exhibiting good carcass quality when used as meat animals.[8] When used as breeding stock, the sows of this breed have been praised for their capacity as mothers, having "extra longevity in the sow". Hampshires are good-tempered; they do not grow as fast as many cross-breds, but they do grow faster than American Yorkshires.[4]
References
[edit]
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b Breed data sheet: Hampshire / United States of America (Pig). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.
- ^ Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300088809.
- ^ a b Hampshire. West Lafayette, Indiana: National Swine Registry. Archived January 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c Transboundary breed: Hampshire. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.
- ^ a b Transboundary breed: American Hampshire. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ R. Blair (2007). Pig Farming. The Canadian Encyclopedia, online edition. Toronto, Ontario: Historica Canada. Accessed December 2024.