I think you'll be surprised at how unfatty the meat is. The fat tends to be in a layer under the skin and not marbled at all. I butchered a non-productive sow that had BLOCKS of fat (yeah for me and fat for soap and cracklins for dogs!) I carved off the hide and carcass (SKIN THEM - scalding leaves all the skin on and hence the layer of fat may be too much). I realized I had to skin them when I noticed the fat layer. You CANNOT treat them like a commercial hog in that respect. Commercial hogs have been bred to have a relatively thin layer of fat beneath the surface. These AHH can have that layer of fat - but some do not and tend towards lean when you don't overfeed them (especially the boars). Even the fattest AHH I butchered (the mentioned non-productive sow) had just that THICK layer of fat and then the underlying meat was lean and very good. I've noticed with commercial hogs, when you make cracklins/cook down the fat there is a lot of tissue left. Not with these hogs. Lots of lard released and then just small amounts of tissue left. Perfect for what I want. It's like any animal really. Butcher it and then make your adjustments on how to deal with it. You can't expect a Leghorn chicken to butcher out like a Rock Cornish cross. Yes, they are both chickens, but their body style is completely different... Different ducks have different body styles, as do cattle, sheep, etc.
Depending on the genetic variety of AHH/PbP - whether Mong Cai, I, etc. - you may have a smaller pig or a larger pig. Flat sided & deep or not, long-legged or not, long-nosed or not but usually with short, stubby ears. There are AHH breeds with flap ears and LONG ears but mostly we see short, stubby ears. Most all have straight tails (an easy way to determine whether it's a true AHH/PbP or not) with a tendency towards hirsute. Just another reason to skin.
She may be lonely with just one though. Please consider two and know that you will probably need to butcher within several years as there is a tendency towards developing uterine tumors. And then she'll cycle into heat repeatedly and will be very obnoxious. Not all get them though...
Put out a round bale for her and experiment with overwintering! They don't take much food, not much water and have been very hardy for me here in NorthWest/Central Indiana... I know you are much more north of me though... Good luck and have fun experimenting! I still am after years of playing with the genetics and VERY inexpensive pork in the freezer!
I do sell Guinea feeders for the going price, but it's hard to beat $25 for year olds PB's that are just down the road. I'd take them both.
