Do you raise this kind of pig? I'd love to know more about the variety, its history and use, etc.

George
Tahlequah, OK

DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN OBTAIN the "African giant forest hog "? it is a wild breed weighing 680 pounds and has 38 chromosones .

Hi stoneunhenged,

I am really attacted by your research on North FL.

My husband and I would like to know more about it.

could you email me more info? Thanks

In response to the most recent posts:

The red wattle pig allegedly originated from stock bred by French colonists on an island near Australia and was transfered to the Louisiana Territory a few hundred years ago. It is a good forager and generally hardy. They aren't good factory hogs and have become virtually extinct. About 300 survive today. They produce excellent meat.

I don't know where to buy African giant forest hogs.

I have a 30 acre farm in North Florida and grow fruits, vegetables, and heirloom livestock. Of the latter, I have the red wattles, pineywoods cattle, Gulf Coast native sheep, a dozen breeds of chickens, and tilapia (fish). I'm growing these with an eye towards self-sufficiency and, eventually, a profitable farm.

The farm is in a constant state of re-design as I try to reduce the energy inputs that allow me to grow food. Sunshine is the only free lunch we get, so I try to capture the sun's energy to grow food in a lot of different ways. For example, I'm now installing a windmill to pump water, and I use solar water heaters to heat water for the tilapia. At one time I wanted to have at least half the calories my family consumes come from the food we grow. Now I think something like 80% is achievable, with mostly grain products being purchased elsewhere.

Not trying to steal your thread but you can learn more about red wattles at www.albc-usa.org; they are a wonderful animal and are critically endangered.

Jessie

Here is a link that might be useful: ALBC online

If red wattle pigs are so tasty, why aren't more big food companies raising and producing more of them for mass food production?
I've read that the meat hasn't a great deal of fat/lard so in this day and age, it would seem to be a no-brainer to raise this kind of pig. The meat is quite delicious, or so they say. I just saw a piece on Food Network where they featured a restaurant called Vinegar Hill House and they served red wattle pig. It looked sooooo delicious and good that for a minute I wished I lived in NYC instead of Texas! I quickly got my thoughts under control, but somehow, I can't get that great looking pork dinner out of my mind! If you live in that area, you should go to that restaurant and try this food.

Big producers try to produce as much back fat as possible on a pig because that is where bacon comes from. That's where the money lies. No money in lean pigs so no big production value but certainly nice for home grown pork. Bet it makes a nice Canadian Bacon, which is lean and comes from the tenderloin.

Bacon comes from the belly not the back red wattles don't do well in confinement therefore no big production potential also (big food companies) don't own our farms don't believe propoganda just talk to a real producer .