I first saw these in New Zealand- in a wildlife park. They seemed enormous in comparison to what I was expecting- not small or miniature in any way. The ones in the UK actually seem a little smaller. Some of them lack either one or both of the 'toggles'(or whatever the correct term is in pigs) under the neck- its usually genetic if they have them or not.
Filey's two are very large whereas Sewerby's (an elderly mother and son plus a much younger unrelated female) are a good bit smaller, although the boar, Pugwash (he became a teenager in October), is a much more fearsome looking beast due to his quite impressive tusks and also his habit of rearing up on to the wall of his pen.
although the boar, Pugwash (he became a teenager in October), is a much more fearsome looking beast due to his quite impressive tusks and also his habit of rearing up on to the wall of his pen.
Someone I know had a couple of these- the Boar was the stuff of nightmares, with huge curling tusks and a hairless black body-the dark ones often seem to lose their hair. The sow was bigger,fat and greedy and despite his tusks he was frightened of her.
and you can see why the breeds died out, they are slow to mature and especially the chickens, fail to reproduce in any numbers. It has been said they are breeding themselves to extinction.
Yes, the Dinosaurs of the farmworld. I wonder if the very slow/poor breeding may be due to limited 'bottleneck' stocks resulting in too much inbreeding when at their lowest ebb, I don't know really.
Someone I know had a couple of these- the Boar was the stuff of nightmares, with huge curling tusks and a hairless black body-the dark ones often seem to lose their hair. The sow was bigger,fat and greedy and despite his tusks he was frightened of her.
The vari-coloured ones don't seem to suffer the same hair loss- its possible the black skin absorbs more heat and the hair loss is connected with that.
