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African Guinea Hogs Make Great Pets
"They make great pets because they're intelligent, have a gentle nature, and love people," says Gary Spencer, Webster, N.Y., about his rare African guinea hogs.
Guinea hogs are unusual because of their small size and unlike most hogs they prefer grazing for food rather than rooting. They're about the same size a
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African Guinea Hogs make Great Pets CROPS New Crops 14-4-18 "They make great pets because they're intelligent, have a gentle nature, and love people," says Gary Spencer, Webster, N.Y., about his rare African guinea hogs.
Guinea hogs are unusual because of their small size and unlike most hogs they prefer grazing for food rather than rooting. They're about the same size as Vietnamese potbellied pigs and come in two types - small-boned and big-boned. At full maturity the small-boned type is 20 to 22 in. tall and weighs up to 125 lbs. The big-boned type range is 30 to 36 in. tall and weighs up to 300 lbs. Both types have a shiny black coat and small pointed ears.
"From a distance they look like small cows grazing in the grass," says Spencer, who owns nine purebred guinea hogs and has started a registry for purebred members of the species. "They're good pets because they won't root up a lawn when it's dry, but you have to watch them after a rain because they'll dig it up when it's wet.
"They were originally brought into the U.S. for the lard they carry. They have very little meat. The big-boned variety can weigh up to 400 lbs. if overfed so they must be limit fed and allowed to exercise. They can withstand cold temperatures in unheated facilities and can survive solely on forage. I feed them alfalfa pellets and pig chow which has 8 to 10% protein. They like anything sweet, especially ice cream. They smack their lips and savor the flavor."
"Guinea hogs most likely originated along the Guinea Coast of Africa," says Spencer.
"They were distributed over much of the world when they traveled on slave ships from Africa to England, France, Spain, and America. They were common as homestead pigs in the southern U.S. where they flourished because they were hardy grazers and foragers that could be raised on minimal pasture. When the demand for pork in-creased, farmers crossed the little guinea hogs with other, larger species, and the pure bloodlines were diluted. Today, they're practically unknown although many people own crossbreds."
Spencer sells males for $600 and females for $800.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Spencer, 518 Lakeview Terrace, Webster, N.Y. 14580 (ph 716 671-3062).
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