Guinea Forest Hog

Characteristics

A small breed of swine unique to the United States, they weigh 150-300 pounds and are 15-20 inches tall when fully grown. They are usually black in color. They have upright ears, a hairy coat, and a curly tail. Also known as the Pineywoods Guinea, Guinea Hog, Acorn Eater, and Yard Pig. There are various theories as to their history, but the original breed most likely originated on the Guinea coast of Africa and arrived in the U.S. in conjunction with the slave trade. These 'Red Guineas' were large and square with reddish hair, but the breed combined with other breeds and disappeared as a distinct population. The name occurred later, describing a small black hog common on homesteads throughout the Southeast. Guinea Hogs were expected to forage for their own food, i.e. eat rodents and other small animals, grass, roots, and clean out garden beds. They produced the hams, bacon and lard essential for subsistence farming.

Species Specifics

Physical Characteristics

Pigs have a tremendous sense of smell. The large round disk of cartilage at the tip of the snout is connected to muscle that give it extra flexibility and strength for rooting in the ground. The saliva of Guinea Hogs contains pheromones

Ecology

Habitat

American Guinea Hogs, also known as Guinea Forest Hogs, are now found on small farms and large ranches throughout the US.

Distribution

Found in the United States, usually as pets rather than being raised commercially.

Diet

Omnivorous. Pigs will eat fungi, tubers, bulbs, green vegetation, grains, nuts, cultivated crops, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carrion.

Ecological Web

Secondary consumer.

Activity and Behavior

Activity Pattern

Behavior

Guinea Hogs make sure their bathroom is very far from where they eat, lie down and rest; even piglets will find a place to go to the bathroom that is far from their nest.- Guinea Hogs do not sweat a lot, that's why they cover themselves in mud

Social Behavior

Pigs are incredibly social animals. When kept in a group they will snuggle close to one another, and prefer to sleep nose-to-nose.

Reproductive Behavior

Female pigs have an estrous cycle of 21 days, are receptive for 2-3 days and have one litter annually. Gestation period is 100-140 days and a litter is usually 4-8 but may include as many as 12. Piglets are weaned after 3-4 months and leave the mother prior to the birth of the next litter. Young females may stay with the mother. Sexual maturity is reached at 8-10 months but females do not mate until 18 months and males cannot compete successfully until around 5 years of age.

Offspring

Conservation

Status

Found only in the domestic state and considered a rare breed. The breed was once the most numerous pig breed found on small farms in the Southeast, but today there are fewer than 200. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) classifies Guinea Hogs as critical on the Conservation Priority List.

Historical

American Guinea Hogs are a critically rare breed of pig that is unique to North America. The original stock for the breed, over the last 200-300 years, developed through adaptation and crossbreeding with Appalachian English pigs to create an American original. There were commonly found on homesteads in the south eastern US.

Current Threats

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