Tamworth Pigs

Tamworth Pigs

  Tamworth hogs are known for hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate. They produce a lean meat that has been described as flavorful and tender. The sows are excellent mothers, farrow litters of 10 – 15 piglets, and provide good quantities of milk for their large litters. They have a mild temperament.

  Tamworth Pigs adapt to a wide range of climates. Their active foraging make them a good choice for consideration in outdoor or pasture-based swine production. Their gentle nature lends them well to the small-scale, independent producer.

History and Origins

The origin and history of the Tamworth breed is obscure and many hypotheses have been put
Forward.  The Story goes like this,

 In 1812 Sir Robert Peel imported to his farm in Tamworth, England  some pigs of Irish Orgin
Of these pigs Peel crossed the Irish pigs with the local pigs of Tamworth at that time.
Long, lean, and athletic, these pigs are probably the most direct descendant of the native pig stock of northern Europe. These dark red and grisly pigs were found largely in these Midland counties. of Stafford, Warwick, Leicester, and Northhampton. In this region, there were dense forests of oak and beech trees where the pigs were kept to forage in the autumn and winter.

 This new cross breed was expected to find their own food, especially mast (or acorns) of oak and beech forests. Long heads and impressive snouts enabled these pigs to be efficient foragers. Long, strong legs and sound feet give Tamworth pigs the ability to walk for considerable distances. Ginger red coats make the pigs adaptable to a variety of climates and protect them from sunburn. Tamworths have an active intelligence, and they are agreeable in disposition. Sows are prolific, able to produce and care for large litters. The piglets are vigorous and often have 100% survivability. Both sexes of this breed reach a mature weight of 500-600 lbs (227-272 kg).

These  characteristics of the Tamworth reflect the breed’s centuries of selection for an outdoor life
and thus make an excellent choice for anyone who wants to have a more self-reliant low cost pig
to raise in a free range enviroment.

During the early to mid-1800s, The Tamworth breed was standardized  becoming uniform in type. The Tamworth was recognized as a breed by the Royal Agricultural Society in 1885 and fell under the authority of the National Pig Breeders’ Association of Great Britain.



The first Tamworths in the United States were those imported by Thomas Bennett of Rossville,Illinois in 1882. In the following decade, Tamworths were also imported into Canada and the breed gradually became known in both countries. The American Tamworth Swine Record Association was founded in 1887 with their national headquarters in Ames, Iowa. In Canada the Tamworth was admitted to the Dominion Swine Breeders Association Herd Book in 1893.

The Tamworth has two characteristics for which it was entitled to preeminence; i.e.; an unusual proportion of lean meat, and large litters of pigs; also that Tamworths will make as many pounds of gain, largely lean meat, from a given weight of feed as will hogs of any other breed. From these early imports, the Colorado agricultural College’s three year farm average for all sows was ten live pigs to a litter. A two-year old sow weighing 750 pounds had 18 live pigs at one farrowing, and a Tamworth at the Iowa Agricultural College raised 33 pigs in one year.
 


The Tamworth was traditionally considered a “bacon” breed, meaning that the pigs thrived on low energy foods but grew slowly. They produced meat and bacon that was lean and fine grained. The breed has an excellent carcass yield of up to 70% due to their fine bones creating a more productive meat to bone ratio for finished meat products.
 
The breed takes its name from the village of Tamworth in Staffordshire.

Here are First Three Tamworths we got them in December 2014,   They are Savanna, Guinevere and Sampson