Idaho Pasture Pig Update - 7/16/2013

[TamiJoyFarm]

Well my Idaho Pasture Pigs are doing quite well on our small acreage (3.67 acres). Their routine is to rise about 9 am and go out and graze for an hour or two and then they head into the barn or their pasture shelter and sleep most of the day. It has been hot here in WA during the day and given that the gilts are primarily black, understandable why they don't want to graze in the hot sun. The two gilts are not prone to hanging out in a wallow. They prefer to be in the barn that has a dirt floor and is covered in hay. The IPP boar on the other hand does prefer the wallow.

Our pasture is irrigated and I was concerned they might want to build wallows around the sprinklers but they have not. In fact, there has been no rooting other than the one wallow we designed for them which the boar uses.

They are true grazers. Our pasture is orchard grass, clover and alfalfa. They love treats from the garden and hydrated peas which we only give them as a treat and sparingly.

My gilts are extremely friendly, docile and smart! Earlier this year, Penelope Pig found a way out of the pasture and came to me where I was working in a garden. I coaxed her back into the pasture with a few hydrated peas.

Both gilts are pregnant, due around the end of September. I'll post more as we approach due date. Can't wait to see what the piglets will look like and if they will resemble the KuneKune or the Duroc/Berkshires?

A local pig farmer is interested in breeding his Hampshire to my IPP boar. He is hoping for grazing pigs as his feed bill is quite high. Mine is $0.00..

[Pig in a poke]

I am not familiar with IPPs. I gather this is a hybrid of several breeds. Are there strict percentages on crossings of specific breeds?
Would love to see some pictures.

[mzgarden]

Yes, pictures please.

[HardBall]

They are hybrids, good to see Idaho getting exposure in the hog industry here.

[TamiJoyFarm]

Here are pictures of the Idaho Pasture Pigs, gilts and the boar.

[Pig in a poke]

Oh wow, they are very different in type. From reading about the development of this new breed, I was under the impression it had a fixed phenotype and habit. I hope you don't mind a few questions, as I am interested in the IPPs.
Did the breeder say there would be such variation in type?
Did they deliberately choose this type boar for these specific gilts as a breeding group in order to achieve an ideal cross, or is it just a guess which of the ancestor breeds they will resemble?
Do you find your boar, who looks like a more conventional type, roots more or grazes less than the gilts?
Is he as docile as they are?
He is attractive, I like him. Kind of what I am thinking would make a nice cross for my Am. Guinea Hog gilt next spring. So, to me, he does look like a nice cross for your KK-type gilts.
I hope you don't take my questions as criticism. I'm just curious about this breed. The pictures I have seen on breeders' websites make it appear that all examples of the breed share a standardized look. Do you know how many crossbred generations along your pigs are from the original purebred stock?
I hope you do post pictures when the piglets arrive. it will be interesting to see the results of this cross!

[TamiJoyFarm]

Originally Posted by Pig in a poke

Oh wow, they are very different in type. From reading about the development of this new breed, I was under the impression it had a fixed phenotype and habit. I hope you don't mind a few questions, as I am interested in the IPPs.
Did the breeder say there would be such variation in type?
Did they deliberately choose this type boar for these specific gilts as a breeding group in order to achieve an ideal cross, or is it just a guess which of the ancestor breeds they will resemble?
Do you find your boar, who looks like a more conventional type, roots more or grazes less than the gilts?
Is he as docile as they are?
He is attractive, I like him. Kind of what I am thinking would make a nice cross for my Am. Guinea Hog gilt next spring. So, to me, he does look like a nice cross for your KK-type gilts.
I hope you don't take my questions as criticism. I'm just curious about this breed. The pictures I have seen on breeders' websites make it appear that all examples of the breed share a standardized look. Do you know how many crossbred generations along your pigs are from the original purebred stock?
I hope you do post pictures when the piglets arrive. it will be interesting to see the results of this cross!

Went out today and notice Penelope Pig had discharge and noticed she wasn't with the other two. Well that is because she had piglets. Not sure when but by the look of the piglets I would guess them to be at least a week old as they are running around in the shelter, very playful.

I am not offended by your questions. I plan to post an update about the IPPs later today so will address your questions in that summary. Thanks for your interest.