|
Another exceptional example of pasture pig, the Tamworth hog is
heavily muscled and beautifully lean. These attractive 'ginger' pigs
are friendly and incredibly hardy. Each one is so individual, in
appearance, and in personality. While they are known as 'ginger'
pigs, the Tamworth come in an array of colors, ranging from a light
golden blonde to a deep brick red. I absolutely adore my Black pigs,
but I have to admit, there is something undeniably more eye
appealing about the rainbow of red you see in the Tamworth herd. It
certainly makes it easier to tell them apart. Tamworths are
efficient grazers, but do a bit more rooting than the Blacks. They
are not destructive rooters if their pastures are rotated and there
is good grass on the surface for them to graze, but they are really
good at turning dirt and can be effectively utilized to turn your
garden or to improve scrubby areas on your property. My rototiller
lost its job this year, except for evening out the edges. I am told
that they can even be used to uproot decent sized stumps, with
proper use of some strategically placed corn. They are also slightly
more prone to challenging the fence, although if you use hotwire,
you shouldn't have that issue with either breed. I contained all of
our hogs in chainlink for much of the year this year. You couldn't
do that with most pigs.
Like the blacks, Tamworths produce a phenomenal pork, which is
sought out by great cooks and chefs around the world.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/420298
The meat of the Tamworth is leaner than that of the Large Black hog,
and personally I prefer certain cuts from each breed. I will also be
breeding some cross bred pigs out of these two varieties to combine
the lean Tamworth carcass with the extensive marbling of the Large
Black pigs. For pork, you truly can't go wrong with either breed. If
you would like my opinion on which is better for certain things I
will be happy to share my insights, but I encourage you to sample
both for yourself. Pasture raised heritage pork is an incredible
culinary experience, in addition to being much more nutritious and
heart healthy than grain fed meat.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-01-25-pork_x.htm
We are expecting our next litter of Tamworths in the late fall/early winter this year. We lost our big boar, so we are just waiting for some of his offspring and our 'Tuffy' gilts to get big enough to breed with one another. We have some stunningly beautiful stock in our Tamworth pigs. If you are considering adding tamworths to your farm, please let us show you what we have. We also will have breeding age animals
available on occassion so please check the What's New page for
announcements. |
