Quite possibly the best pork yet has arrived to our farm family. Almost four months ago we had a vision of what could produce some of the best pork available. Our American Guinnea Hogs and Kune Kune hogs make some really great pork and amazing fats. However it takes them a long time to produce, something that would grow a bit faster and have a bit higher of a meat to fat ratio was desired. This new hog would have to be great being paddocked through our woods and orchards as well.
This desire led us to breeding our Tamworth/Gloucestershire Old Spot gilt with our American Guinea Hog/Ossabaw boar. By combining the size, foraging and pasturing abilities, docility, intelligence, and prolificacy of the Gloucestershire with the long body, leanness, and small bones of the Tamworth gave us the base for our gilt. The American Guinea Hog provides excellent fat, foraging abilities, docility and a deep flavor. The Ossabaw brings in amazing marbling, great foraging abilities and heat tolerance. By combining these four heritage breeds we are able to produce a larger body that is long for more bacon and chop with excellent marbling and fat caps, while retaining it’s foraging and pasturing abilities as well as remaining friendly and calm. This is our F1 generation of the Cider Hollow Orchard Pig or C.H.O.P for short. Which will be producing our best pork ever.
Knowing that babies are due on the farm is always exciting. Friday morning when we made our first round we found a proud mom and her babies. It wasn’t the mom I was expecting though. The proud mom was our American Guinea Hog/Kune Kune gilt. I had hoped that she was pregnant but didn’t think that she was. She had 7 happy babies 6 black 1 spotted. Between then and now 1 of them has come up missing so she is down to 6 babies.
Friday evening Eve the Tamworth/Gloucestershire gilt was acting like she was ready to have her babies. A few hours later she had 5 feeding babies and 1 stillborn baby. A short while later she had given birth to 1 more live baby and 1 more stillborn baby. Giving her a total of 6 babies, 4 spotted ones and 2 black ones.
These babies are C.H.O.P.s after pasturing them through our woods and orchards for about a year the best pork in Tennessee will be available. Some of these will be reserved as breeders for here on the farm. The remaining bacon seeds will be available to be reserved very soon. If you want to try some of Tennessee’s best pork reserve your share as soon as they are ready. Sign up at the bottom of the page for our mailing list if you want to be notified in a few weeks when they are ready for reservations. No Spam Ever We Promise.
