Danish Landrace Pig

Facts about Danish Landrace Pigs. If you enjoy a nice canned Dak ham, you are probably eating a "Danish Landrace pig". These white pigs are natives of Denmark and have been raised in a scientific fashion for over a century.

History of the Danish Landrace Swine

The Danish landrace was first registered in 1906, from a mixture of many swine breeds. The Danish landrace of pigs are a foundation stock of many other industrial pork breeds. The Danish landrace pigs have long been subject to industrial breeding standards, due to the early regimentation and standardization of the pork industry there. In 1931, Denmark established a National Committee for Pig Breeding and Production. This group directed the breeding of the Danish Landrace Swine as well as restricted export of Danish white pigs to England until after World War 2 to protect their industry.
The major impact of the scientific breeding efforts were an increase of (20 grams) per day of feed conversion, meaning the animals gained more weight per pound of food without needing more feed. They raised the percentage of meat and decreased the percentage of fat in the carcass, such that it approached 65% meat. Meat quality scores improved.

Appearance of the Danish Landrace

This is a medium to large swine. The Danish Landrace Pig is raised primarily for pork. They are the foundation of the Danish pork market and bacon market; Danish hams are still a major export by companies like Dak.

The Danish Landrace pigs have a white color, long snouts, fine hair and drooping ears. The Danish Landrace Pig have long bodies with little excess fat. The Danish Landrace Pig have deep smooth sides and they lack the wrinkles found in some other breeds. The Danish Landrace Pig have more awkward gaits, weaker backs and weaker legs.

Danish landrace swine are very fertile and good mothers. The Danish Landrace Pig been bred to handle the stress of factory farming (total confinement systems).
The Danish landrace pig should not be confused with the Dutch landrace pig, which is similar in appearance but native to the Netherlands. The Danish landrace pig has been crossbred with the German landrace pig to create the Dutch strain.

Future of the Danish Landrace Pig

Danish landrace pigs are the dominant swine breed in Denmark. Danish landrace pigs are a carefully managed breed and too numerous to be considered endangered, unlike the Danish Protest Pig, sometimes called the Husum Red Pied pig. The Danish Protest Pig was popular with Danes living in German controlled area who couldn’t fly their national flag but raised the Danish Protest pig with its stripes reminiscent of the Danish flag instead. The Danish protest pig was probably a cross of the marsh pig, Tamworth pig and red Angeln saddleback pig. The protest pig has little to no relation to the Danish landrace pig, and they are not crossbred for the pork market.
The Danish landrace pig was exported to the United States to create the American Landrace pigs. The American landrace pig is a mix of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian swine. The America landrace pigs retain the Danish landrace pig’s white color, long snout, fine hair and drooping ears.

Danish landrace pigs are sometimes bred with large white pigs, with hybrids bred with Danish landrace boars to maintain fertility and hybrid vigor.

The Dutch Yorkshire pig is a three quarters large white pig (Yorkshire) and one quarter landrace mix.

Danish Landrace 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 Danish Landrace Pig has an enamel coating that makes the pigs teeth stronger and helps it curb disease. Danish Landrace 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 average weight of the male Danish Landrace Pig at slaughteded is 350 to 375 pounds (160 to 170 kg).
The Danish Landrace Pig breed full grown has an average to big-sized body. The Danish Landrace Pig average mature weight of the female (Sows) 450 to 600 pounds (204 to 272 kg) and the average weight of the male (Boars) is 500 to 700 pounds (226 to 318 kg). Danish Landrace Pigs are very intelligent, not like people think, that pigs are dumb animals. A Danish Landrace Pig can drink between 10 to 14 gallons (37.8 to 53 liters)of water in a day. Danish Landrace Pigs are omnivores like humans, an omnivores, (definition-they eat both other animals and plants). The Danish Landrace Pig snout is its most important tool for finding food. The Danish Landrace Pigs snout is used for their excellent sense of smell.

The saliva of Danish Landrace 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 Danish Landrace Pigs discharge this steroid and female pigs will go to vast lengths to acquire a smell of the sent.
Danish Landrace Pigs are raised for there meat such as ham, sausage, bacon and pork chops. 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 or hog means wild boar" can be a very big danger where humans habitat.

Danish Landrace Pigs can carry a variety of diseases and can pass them to humans. Danish Landrace Pigs have small lungs compared to their body size.

The term 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.

Danish Landrace 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.

Danish Landrace Pigs unlike is said, happen to be very clean animals. Danish Landrace 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. A Danish Landrace Pig averages 6 to 10 baby piglets in a litter and will have two to three litters per year

Danish Landrace 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 Danish Landrace 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 Danish Landrace 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.

A pig is the last of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The pig represents, happiness, honesty, fortune and virility in China. A female adult Danish Landrace Pig is called a (sow) and the male adult Danish Landrace Pig is called a (boar).
"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. The "fear of pigs Swinophobia".