Duroc - What to cross with

[dougsfarm]

I am looking for advice on whether I should breed pure Duroc, or if I should cross (and if so, with what).

I have a small farm, selling the meat direct at market. A year ago I started raising pigs, buying them in at 25kg weight and raising them to maturity. I now want to buy a male and 2 to 4 breeding females instead of buying in the young pigs. However, I am unsure as to what race combination.

The pigs we currently buy in are a cross between Duroc male and Landrace female. However, we have two problems with this combination:
- The adults tend to have a lot of under-skin fat, which has to be thrown out (not suitable for our customer base at the farmer markets), which reduces our profit.
- The adults are not as big as I would like (100kg slaughter weight, at 6-7 months). Half of our costs (e.g.slaughtering and butchering) are the same regardless of how big the animal is, so our profit is much better on a larger animal than with a smaller animal.

Consequently, I am looking for an animal which will have a bit more meat and a bit less fat (although it should still be nicely marbled). From what I read about Durocs, they are less fatty but still have good marbling and taste. This leads me towards have Duroc on both the male and female side. I know that Duroc litter sizes are smaller, but this is not an issue for me.

Our pigs have lots of room inside and over 10 square meters outside space per pig. Next year we are hoping to move the pigs to pasture (free range) for 8 months per year, so we also need a pig which is suitable for this. Again, the Duroc seems to be suitable for this, while the Duroc-Landrace cross is less suitable as it's white color tends to result in sunburn.

So in summary, my needs are:
- A relatively large and fast-growing animal (minimum 100kg slaughtered weight at 6 months),
- With good taste and marbling but minimum under-skin fat
- Suitable for being kept outside on grass (with shelter) from spring to fall

Should I go pure Duroc or for a cross? If a cross, what should I cross the Duroc with?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[SwineGuy89]

You cannot go wrong with Duroc hamp crosses, growth rate is extrodinary (240 at 5 1/2 months). Also the tasties, Durocs are lean, but have nice marbling while hampshires are also lean in back fat, but have amazing meat qualities.

[dougsfarm]

Hi SwineGuy89,

Thank you for taking the time to reply and suggest!!

Is that 240 live weight or slaughter weight? On what feed (e.g. specially formulated pig food or just grain and leftovers)?

If I read your post correctly, you are indicating that a Duroc-Hampshire cross would be superior to a pure-Duroc, specifically in terms of taste. Have I understood that correctly?

Ideally I would like lean in all under-skin fat (although not too lean in the muscle fat). With my current cross there is not only a lot of back fat, but also a lot of belly fat that gets thrown away.

I have been trying to find information comparing the weights of different races at 6 months. There is information about final adult weight but that does not give much indication of how fast different breeds grow to slaughter weight.

Doug

[SwineGuy89]

I have found Duroc to add the marble to the meat, whilst the hamp adds more muscle, and less skin fat. at 5 1/2 to 6 months on just left overs you could reach a live weight of 240, however on an industrial or good quality custom mixed feed they can be 300 lbs live weight at 6 months, i Do not recommend this however, due to the fact that it takes away from the reason you bred the hampshire in in the first place (little skin fat). Fat at 300 lbs is inevitable so it depends on frame size i suppose. I find most hogs at about 280 live weight are prime pickings. Do you plan on Artificial insemination or live cover?

[SwineGuy89]

As far as taste goes, i know that heritage breeds impart great marbling and a redder meat that is also said to be tastier (Berkshire, Hereford etc.) please take into consideration that heritage breeds do take longer to grow and finish, however Durocs are liked and known for their rate of growth being faster, so would it balance it out? I don't know. Just my two cents.