British Lop Pig

Facts about British Lop Pigs, The "British Lop Pig" is sometimes called the Cornish White pig and the Devon Lop pig. It is native to the southwest of England and is one of the nation’s most endangered breeds of swine.

About the British Lop Pig

The British Lop pigs are good foragers and are considered part of an outdoor agricultural system, feeding on acorns and green forage like peas. The "British Lop Pig" were historically allowed to forage on otherwise unproductive land and graze. British Lop pigs efficiently convert low quality feed into high quality meet, primarily used to make bacon and ham. The British Lop Pig are well muscled and lean.

British Lop pigs have large liters of twelve to fourteen piglets two to three times a year, producing abundant milk for all of the young. The mothers have strong maternal instincts. The pigs are placid and easily handled, despite being large. Sows reach (300 kg) while boars reach (350 kg). The British Lop Pig are some of the largest pigs in England. Those readily fed can reach slaughtering weight in four to five months. The British Lop Pig look like British Landrace or Welsh swine but have deeper bodies. The British Lop Pig have straight backs and long, fine and silky white hair. The ears are large, thin and droop down into the face, hence the "lop" name. A female adult pig is called a (sow) and the male adult pig is called a (boar).
The British Lop Pig are leaner than many modern pigs and other rare breeds, and British Lop pigs are less likely to become overly fat. The British Lop Pig can gain up to half a kilo or one pound of weight per day. The British Lop Pig can be kept outdoors year round, in line with being raised as an outdoor grazer. They need little care.

British Lop Pigs do not sweat a lot, that's why they cover themselves in the mud to keep their bodies cool. The expression "sweating like a pig" comes from a reference to pig iron, which comes form iron smelting.

British Lop Pigs are healthier than some inbred rare breeds and have few genetic disorders despite the small population size.

History of the British Lop Pig Breed

The British Lop pig originated around the Cornwall / Devon border in England. The British Lop Pig is native to the Tavistock area. The remaining population is still focused in the southwest of England, though not limited to just Cornwall.

Their original founding stock is unknown. The British lop has not been crossbred with Asian pigs as many modern pig breeds were.
The British Lop Pig breed was first formally recognized in 1920 by a group that shared the same name as the breed.
Today it is one of the rarest native breeds of British pigs, though it is closely related to the British Landrace. The British government in 1955 decided the British pig industry wasn’t competitive. British Lop Pigs lost out to the decision of breeding societies to focus on saving the British Landrace, Large White and Welsh swine instead of it.

The British Lop pig breed was included in the 1983 International Pig Breed Encyclopedia.

Preservation of the British Lop Pig Breed

There were 360 breeding sows left in the early 2000s, approximate 200 breeding sows registered in 2010 of ten different breeding lines. The British Lop Pig breed is championed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. It is less popular than some other rare breeds because it lacks a distinctive look of its own.

There are British Lop hybrid pigs with other rare breeds, raised for pork and bacon production. The British Lop Pig are popular for the ham market, but not enough to foster commercial development of the breed. The British Lop Pig breed and its hybrids still win swine shows across England.

British Lop Pigs Feet

The four feet and four toes of the pig are called "trotters" that humans eat as a delicacy called pigs feet or pigs knuckles. A British Lop Pigs foot has four toes that are pointed downwards when the pig walks, it walks on the tips of its toes, rather than its whole foot and only uses two of the toes in the middle and the outside toes for balance. The British Lop Pig has tougher feet at the ends that are hooves. The two toes in the middle of the foot are slightly webbed, this helps the pigs balance for walking.

British Lop Pigs are very intelligent, not like people think, that pigs are dumb animals. A British Lop Pig can drink between 10 and 14 gallons of water in a day. British Lop Pigs are omnivores like humans, an omnivores, (definition-they eat both other animals and plants). The British Lop Pig snout is its most important tool for finding food. The pigs snout is used for their excellent sense of smell.

The saliva of British Lop Pigs contains pheromones-( A chemical substance used to attract a mate) similar to that of other pig breeds that communicate their sexual wants. The male British Lop Pigs discharge this steroid and female pigs will go to vast lengths to acquire a smell of the stuff.
British Lop Pigs are raised for there meat such as ham, sausage, bacon and pork chops. British Lop Pigs can make great pets. A wild male pig is called a (boar)- meaning uncastrated male pig, that lives in the wild and can be hunted. Feral pigs (means wild) can be a very big danger where humans habitat. British Lop Pigs can carry a variety of diseases and can pass them to humans. British Lop Pigs have small lungs compared to their body size.

Swine: is any variety of omnivorous, even-toed ungulates of the family Suidae, this includes hogs, boars and pigs having a short neck, thick skin a movable snout and a stout body.

British Lop Pigs have 44 teeth when full grown, when they are baby pigs (piglets) the have 28 teeth which will fall out when they are 12 months old. Just like human teeth, the British Lop Pig has an enamel coating that makes the pigs teeth stronger and helps it curb disease. British Lop Pigs chew their food because pigs have a digestive system similar to a human digestive system and cannot digest food that is not chewed.

The scientific name for Pig (Sus scrofa), the wild swine (Boar) from the old world with a narrow body and prominent tusks is from where most domestic swine come from and introduced in the United States and bred to what we have as today's pig. The "fear of pigs Swinophobia".

>British Lop Pigs unlike is said, happen to be very clean animals. British Lop Pigs make sure their bathroom area is far away from where they eat, lie down and rest, even piglets (baby pigs) will find a place to go to the bathroom, far away from their nest.