GLOCESTERSHIRE OLD SPOTS A RARE HERITAGE BREED HOG TINY TEXAS RANCH  A division of Wolfe Mountain Farms

As members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC), we feel it is our mission to save as many of the rare and endangered breeds as possible, as long as they are productive and useful animals.  After spending many years raising Large Black Hogs, we felt we had it in us to save just one more breed so we set out to find one that would meet our goals.  First, it must produce a pork that is superior enough to bring a premium price and next, it must function well on pasture in a sustainable operation.  We certainly found that and more in the loveable, clownish old spots.

History:

The ALBC has a great description of the breeds history on their web site at http://albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html and they say it better than I can so please check it out.

Our Experience:

We have found the old spots to be very similar to the Large Blacks, probably due to their shared ancestry in Europe.  They do not get as big but otherwise, we can hardly find any difference.  They graze just as well as the Large Blacks and are also easy on the pasture.  They make great mothers and have comparable litters.  They do not spend as much time in the sun as the Large Blacks because of their light skin but seem to make up for it by covering their body with mud.  I wanted to get some great pictures of them but can't seem to keep them clean long enough to get my camera.

There is one important difference from the Large Black and that is they are even more rare and endangered.  We had a very difficult time finding animals to breed.  We traveled all the way to northern Pennsylvania for the females and to West Virginia for the male.  We know of people who have unregistered animals they use in cross breeding but that does nothing to save this fine breed.  We feel it is imperative to breed them and get registered animals to all corners of the US.  To that end, we have begun a serious effort to make breeders available to as many people as possible in 2010. 

If you would like to join us in saving this wonderful breed of pig, send us an email with your name, phone and address and we'll add you to our waiting list.  If we don't have what you need, we'll assist as best we can in finding you a mate for your pig somewhere else.