Guinea Hog Management

Management

Our Guinea Hogs are housed with our Nigerian goat bucks, ducks, and chickens. They always have access to the outside pasture which is forested and diverse with lots of different plants to forage on and a spring fed mud wallow to relax in. We live in a mountainous, forested area so our pasture is fenced with electric netted fencing that keeps out predators and so far seems to deter larger predators like coyote, bear, and cougar as well.

They have straw bedding and free choice hay at all times as well as fresh water. Grain is given in small amounts if needed; however, Guinea's have the ability to fatten up fast so we have to watch their weight.

If you are raising your Guinea for meat, you can butcher them at around 8 months old and they will be about 100 pounds; however, their hanging weight is about 50 percent of the live weight so this would be on average 50 pounds.

Breeding and Piglets

It takes about one year for hogs to mature and begin breeding. Once bred, they are pregnant for 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. An average litter size is 6-9 piglets and they can be weaned and ready for their new home at 2 months old. If you are interested in buying a piglet please reserve yours now as often times there is a waiting list for them.

Breed Description and History

The Guinea Hog is a small, black breed of swine that is unique to the United States. The breed was once the most numerous pig breed found on homesteads in the Southeast, today however, there are fewer than 500 left.

Back in the pioneering days, Guinea Hogs were expected to forage for their own food, eat rodents and other small animals, grass, roots, and nuts, and clean out garden beds. The hogs were also kept in the yard where they would eat snakes and create a "safe zone" around the house. These Guineas were hardy and efficient, gaining weight well on the roughest of forage and producing the hams, bacon, and lard essential for subsistence farming.

The Guinea Hog became rare in recent decades as the habitat of the homestead hog disappeared, and it survived only in the most isolated parts of the Southeast. During the 1980s, new herds of Guinea Hogs were established, partly in response to the pet pig market. Because of this, the breed is genetically distinct from commercial hog breeds.

Like other lard-type breeds, these hogs do not produce a conventional market carcass, since they are smaller and fattier than is preferred today, however, their meat is one of the best tasting and most desired on the market. These hogs are the perfect solution for small-scale farms as they require little to no grain, are excellent grazers and wonderful at pest control. They are gentle and docile compared to the commercial breeds we've witnessed and they can be housed with other creatures such as goats, ducks, and chickens.

Generally, Guinea's are small, weighing 100-300 pounds, and black or bluish-black in color. They have upright ears, a hairy coat, and a curly tail. Beyond this, conformation varied, as hogs can have short or long noses and be "big boned," "medium boned," or "fine boned." It is likely that many strains of Guinea Hogs existed.

Why American Guinea Hogs?

The Guinea Hogs are Eric's favorite animal on the farm. They are very sweet and gentle creatures with much milder tempers than commercial breeds of pigs. They are a small pig that's easy to handle and are such easy keepers your only worry is to watch that they don't get too fat. They are hardy and very low maintenance, eating mainly hay or grazing pastures. Their meat is exquisite and is a rare delicacy to have. The sows birth piglets with no help at all and are excellent mothers. The piglets are born strong and energetic and are running around their birthing pen in a matter of minutes. These hogs are an all around wonderful animal to have on the farm.