Ossabaw Island Pig

Facts about Ossabaw Island Pigs, Ossabaw Island is a pig breed, which is derived from inhabitants of feral pigs on the Ossabaw Island in the State of Georgia in the United States. The unique Ossabaw Island pig breeds are descended from the pigs that were unconfined on the island during the sixteenth century by the explorers of Spain. A breeding inhabitant of the "Ossabaw Island pig" breed has been established on the ranches in the United States off the Ossabaw island, but the Ossabaw Island Pig breeds continue to be a critically endangered breed of pig.

History of Ossabaw Island Pig

When the explorers from Span investigated the American coast during the sixteenth century, farm animals, like pigs were regularly left on islands as an upcoming food resource. This was the source of the pigs that would turn out to be the Ossabaw Island pig breed. Over the subsequent hundreds of years, the inhabitants of these feral pigs continued isolated on the Ossabaw Island, which is one among the Sea Islands, obstacle islands off the Georgia coastline, and there was extremely little beginning of other domestic pig breeds. The Ossabaw island has been possessed by the Georgia State and administered by the Department of Natural Resources of Georgia as a preserve since 1978.

Features of Ossabaw Island Pig

The breed features of the Ossabaw Island pigs in both genotype and phenotype have been formed by the pressures of feral existence in an island home. The Ossabaw Island Pig breeds are small in body size, with the height of 20 inches (510 mm) and have a maximum body weight of 200 lbs (90 kg) when the Ossabaw Island Pig fully grown. This size is partially because of the occurrence of limited dwarfism, and pigs that are kept in off-island ranches may cultivate somewhat bigger in consecutive generations. The Ossabaw Island Pig breeds are strong and extremely good foragers, as well, making them constructive in wide farming in place of rigorous pig farming. Ossabaw Island Pigs are omnivores like humans, an omnivores, (definition-they eat both other animals and plants).

The Ossabaw Island pigs appear in an extensive range of colors, with the most common color being the black and a dotted variety. The piglets of the Ossabaw Island Pig breeds do not demonstrate the lines that the wild pigs of Eurasia have, and due to their separation from the island the Ossabaw Island Pigs are not hybridized, like the Razorback, a wild pig of America, may be. Additionally, the Ossabaw Island Pig breed has an elongated snout, vertical ears, and an intense fur of bristles when compared to other breeds of Island pigs. Ossabaw Island pigs are renowned to be clever and friendly pigs in terms of character.

As a consequence of life on an island where the profusion and shortage of food is seasonally changeable, Ossabaw Island pig breeds use to store fat in a different way than most other household pigs and they boast a frugal gene. In the situations with steady supplies of food like in the laboratory and in pig farms, the Ossabaw Island Pig accumulate more fat than other breed of pigs and may build up a pre-diabetes disorder. As this attribute makes them helpful as a model life form, systematic studies on Type II diabetes and the metabolic syndrome have been carried out on the Ossabaw Island pig. The Ossabaw Island Pig breeds as well, have tailored to the towering salt diets and minimum accessibility of fresh water on the Ossabaw Island.

The meat of the Ossabaw Island pigs is dark in color, with a matchless texture, and their meat is valued for looking like the ham of the Black Iberian pig breed. The meat of this pig breed is measured to be artisanal, inheritance product, particularly well-suited to exploit in pork, treated meats, and entire pig roasts.

Ossabaw Island Pigs are very intelligent, not like people think, that pigs are dumb animals. A Ossabaw Island Pig can drink between 10 to 14 gallons (37.8 to 53 liters)of water in a day. The average lifespan of the Ossabaw Island pig ranges from 10 years to 15 years.

Ossabaw Island 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 pig or hog is defined as a wild boar" can be a very big danger where humans habitat.

Ossabaw Island Pigs can carry a variety of diseases and can pass them to humans. Ossabaw Island Pigs have small lungs compared to their body size. Pigs have poor eyesight.

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.

Ossabaw Island Pigs unlike is said, happen to be very clean animals. Ossabaw Island 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 Ossabaw Island Pig averages 6 to 10 baby piglets in a litter and will have two to three litters per year. The Ossabaw Island Pig sows nurse their piglets for about three to five weeks. When Ossabaw Island Pig Piglets are weaned off of their mother’s milk, they are not called piglets but are known as shoats. Piglets at birth weigh about 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms), and on average, will double their weight in one week.

Ossabaw Island 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 Ossabaw Island 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 Ossabaw Island 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.

Ossabaw Island 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 Ossabaw Island Pig has an enamel coating that makes the pigs teeth stronger and helps it curb disease. Ossabaw Island Pigs chew their food because pigs have a digestive system similar to a human digestive system and cannot digest food that is not chewed.

A female adult pig is called a (sow) and the male adult pig is called a (boar).

Ossabaw Island 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.

The Ossabaw Island Pig snout is its most important tool for finding food. The Ossabaw Island Pigs snout is used for their excellent sense of smell.

The saliva of Ossabaw Island 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 Ossabaw Island Pigs discharge this steroid and female pigs will go to vast lengths to acquire a smell of the sent.
"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".