Duroc Pig
Place of origin: The exact origin of the Duroc breed is unknown.
. A number of red pig strains developed around 1800 in the United States in areas such as New York and New Jersey. The modern Duroc originated from crosses of the Jersey Red of New Jersey and the Duroc of New York. https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/
What makes Duroc pork special?
Produces pork which is dark red in color, has good fat marbling throughout. These qualities are highly desirable in cuts of pork. These pigs also possess a significant amount of lean muscle. And all these qualities and features have made Duroc pork special.
Breed characteristics
The Duroc pig is a medium-sized animal with a moderately long body, which is supported by straight, strong, legs. The coloration of the animal’s coat is often an orangish-brown, however, the colours can range from a light golden shade to a deep mahogany red.
The Duroc’s head is reasonably small in comparison to the size of the rest of the animal’s body, displaying semi-lop ears. Its snout length can vary, which presents a small amount of dishing.
Other Special Characteristics:
•Very hardy & active
•They take very good care of the piglets
•They are known for their calm temperament
•Average litter, litters of 10 to 15 piglets
•Climate Tolerance: All climates
•Produces pork which is dark red in color, has good fat marbling throughout.
Hi, my name is Chantel Clarke and live in the County of Claire. We had always reared our own pigs for our own consumption, but after the last ones went to fat we gave up, on the idea of rearing our own. However, after watching nationwide we decided to give it another try, but before we did, we decided to research everything we could about pigs.
We also talked to our customers, and they said they would be interested in buying our free-range pork and bacon.
We then looked at our costings in rearing out own pigs, which then helped us in how much we needed to sell our products for, we already had a butcher for our other animals that we had on the farm, such as, our lambs, turkeys. etc. We then discussed where and how many pigs we could manage.
The most important things we wanted for our pigs were that they lived as naturally as possible 24/7 and 365 days. However, realistically we also needed to have a place for them when they were farrowing or if they were to ever get sick…but keeping it as natural as possible.
The food that they eat was very important to us, by that I mean to feed them a balanced diet that will always take care of all their needs throughout their lives.
From a personal point of view, we never bought pork products from any butchers because we didn’t agree with the way it was farmed. I had bought it a couple of times from another free-range farm but unfortunately the butcher was too far away, to make it a practical purchase.
So, by rearing our pigs was the perfect solution for us as we had small pockets of land that we couldn’t use for any other animals that would be ideal for pigs.
I researched the different pig breeds, and we came to the conclusion that the Duroc boar was ideal as we could use him to cross any other breed and the meat would be leaner and have a better flavour.
This has definitely worked out well for us, as our customers love our pork and bacon.
We use a small family butchers Michael Healy in Banaher, Co Offaly, they work well with us and it’s a pleasure to do business with them.
Biodiversity is very important on our farm; we use the dung on the field for fertiliser. We don’t use Chemicals or antibiotics; we use homeopathy and keep our animals in a stress free as practically possible.
This year we start our journey into an Organic Conversion which is very exciting for us.