American Yorkshire Pig

By Martha .R.Wadman

American Yorkshire Pigs

American Yorkshire pigs are white in color. They have erect ears and a high proportion of lean meat. They are the most common breed of pig in America. Yorkshires are found in almost every state in America today, they have the highest populations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio. Yorkshires are muscular.

A female pig is called

a sow. A male pig is

called a boar

Baby Yorkshires pigs.

AMERICAN YORKSHIRE PIG HISTORY

Yorkshires were developed in Yorkshire England in about 1761.

Farmer Robert Bakewell crossed a number of Leicestershire breed pigs

into large hogs, making the Yorkshire breed. They were

imported to America in about 1830, but they did not become popular until the 1940s, when many large Yorkshire pigs were imported from

Canada and England for there ruggedness and favored carcasses. The breed improved rapidly though selection. When Yorkshire pigs were

imported to America people say they landed somewhere in Ohio. Long long ago people boiled pigs but one day someone said they tasted a lot better when cooked

over a fire.

American Yorkshire pig.

Pig parts There are lots of meats using

pigs. Bacon, ham, hot dogs and pork are pig meats. Many products are made with pig

parts, like whipped cream and energy bars and many things that are often used today like crayons and toothpaste. Fruit juice and shampoo are also made with pig parts. We use

almost all the parts of a pig for a lot things that are man made.

AMERICAN YORKSHIRE

PIG RECORDS

 

The biggest American Yorkshire pig was named Big Norm, he weighed 1,600 pounds! They usually weigh 550 to 600 pounds. The oldest pig was 21 years old. His name was

Oscar, but he was a pot belly pig. The biggest American Yorkshire pig litter

had 37 piglets! The average is 12.

Big Norm the biggest Yorkshire.

bibliography

• http://en.wikipeida.org/wiki/Americanyorkshirepig

• http://www.nationalswine.com/homepages/breedpages/yorkshirebreedpage.html

• http://www.grit.com/pigs/pig-breed-guide.aspx

• http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/swine/yorkshire/index.htm

• Know Your Pigs, Jack Byard, 2009

• World Book Encyclopedia, Volume H, Hogs 2011

Vocabulary

SOW A female pig

BOAR A male pig

DOMESTIC Not wild

LEAN MEAT Meat with not a lot of fat in it

MUSCULAR Full of muscles