Willow Lane Farm

At this point, you may be wondering why we also got the Guinea Hogs.  (Maybe not, but please play along.)  Before we talk about why we selected the Guineas, let’s discuss the life-cycle of the breeding sow. 

A gilt will reach sexual maturity at 8-12 months of age.  The gestation period for a hog is 3-4 months.  It can then take about a year for the shoats (baby pigs) to reach market weight.  This means that our IPP gilts will be bred in the late fall/early winter for springtime babies and the earliest we could have market-ready IPP hogs is spring 2018. 

So, if we wanted to have pork to offer this fall (and we do!) we needed to bring in some additional animals.  The question was which breed?

The Guinea Hog is currently listed as “critical” by the Livestock Conservancy.  Also known as “Yard Pig,” this is a docile breed that stays pretty small in size.  While it does have a narrower snout, the small stature of the breed might play a factor in their reputation for being good pastured animals.  According to the Livestock Conservancy, “Guinea hogs have uniquely desirable flavor characteristics. The fat of the Guinea Hog is abundant and firm, and has found interest with chefs and butchers for making charcuterie (old world style cured meats). Their rendered lard would be of particular interest to pastry chefs for use in crusts and dough. The have an exceptionally tender meat and produce fine hams."

Finally, Goonies’ Guineas.  Need I say more?

We still aren’t sure about how the breed will do on pasture, but we were intrigued enough to give them a whirl.  Luckily, we were able to locate a breeder nearby.  Please check out Aisling  Heights Farm on Facebook. 

So, that’s how we ended up with the Guinea Hogs in addition to the IPPs.

When you come right to it, ANY breed of hog is going to taste better and be better for you when it’s raised naturally and humanely.  There are many methods for doing this and each one has its perks and detractors.  

At Willow Lane Farm, we pasture our animals.  Finding breeds that are most compatible with this approach will lead to improved long-term results all the way around.

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 Our IPP Gilts, Pippa & Paisley

Our Guinea Hog Shoats