June 2025 vol. 2
For several years we’ve been raising Red Wattle pigs. A few years back I started crossing them with a more conventional breed trying to get a better fat to meat ratio, but I just wasn’t able to achieve the results I was looking for. The Red Wattle is a great pig – very good mothers, easier on the pasture, and very docile, but we would end up with over 20# of fat after processing. Don’t get me wrong, I like fat, but there is no sense is spending money on feed if it doesn’t convert to something I can sell.
The Red Wattle is a heritage breed from back in the day when fat was essential on the farm and in the kitchen. Not only was lard used for cooking, it was also used for salves, balms, leather conditioners, lubricating machinery and fuel for lamps and candles. In WWII it was even used to manufacture explosives! There are actually pigs that are categorized as Lard Pigs. However, these have fallen out of favor as lard has been replaced with vegetable and seed oils and petroleum byproducts. Today, most producers focus on bacon pigs – pigs that have a higher meat-to-fat ratio. So, in an effort to get a better yield I was crossing the Red Wattle with Blue Butt pigs.
Well, several months back a fellow that I hired to cut the pastures asked if I’d trade some of the mulch I have stacked up around the property for a few pigs. As I didn’t pay anything for the mulch, and I have a million pounds of it, I thought this was a very good deal! After taking as much mulch as he wanted (which didn’t put a dent in my supply) he brought over 5 – eight-week-old male Duroc pigs. Since we had them in hand, I went ahead and castrated them and went about my business.
Three months later 2 of those pigs turned into THE HULK – with massive shoulders and a huge rump. I was kicking myself for having castrated them whishing I could have bread some of those genetics into my herd. When I called him up to find out where he got them, he passed along a number for a fellow a few miles West of Waco. I gave the guy a ring and put in an order for a whole litters’ worth, hoping that I’d get a few with those stellar genetics.
Three months later 2 of those pigs turned into THE HULK – with massive shoulders and a huge rump. I was kicking myself for having castrated them whishing I could have bread some of those genetics into my herd. When I called him up to find out where he got them, he passed along a number for a fellow a few miles West of Waco. I gave the guy a ring and put in an order for a whole litters’ worth, hoping that I’d get a few with those stellar genetics.
After several months waiting, he called me up and told me he had a litter available so I loaded up a crate and made the trek out to his farm. I don’t have a good eye for picking out winners when they’re still babies, so I took what he gave me and hoped for the best. Of the 8 Duroc piglets, there were 3 males and 5 females. Unfortunately, only one of the males looked like he was going to be ripped. There were, however, two females that look extremely promising.
It will take several more months before I know if I got lucky, but regardless, I was very happy with the previous lot of Durocs that we raised and I’m sure these will turn out to be fine animals as well. So, for now, we are going to move away from the Red Wattle and focus on raising Durocs. Don’t worry, they will have the same great flavor that you’ve come to love – the flavor that only comes from raising pigs out on pasture with plenty of access to grass, roots, nuts, and grubs.
See you at the market!
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