The Lacombe pig is a critically endangered breed of domestic pig which are native to Canada. It was the first strain of livestock developed in the country.
The breed was actually named for the Lacombe Research Center in Lacombe, Alberta. Through crosses of Berkshire sows to boars of Danish Landrace and Chester White ancestry, the development of the breed began in 1947.
Main aim of that crosses was to produce a pig that would be appropriate for crossing with the Yorkshire which at that time was the dominant pig breed in Canada.
The Lacombe pig quickly grew to be a popular breed in Canada after it was eventually unveiled to pork producers in 1957.
The breed was estimated to carry 21 percent Chester White, 23 percent Berkshire and 56 percent Landrace blood when released. It is the 5th ranking pig breed in Canada.
There were only 1,743 registered animals in 1981. Among this 1743 animals 1095 were sows and 648 were boars.
Today the Lacombe pig is considered as ‘critically endangered‘ by Rare Breeds Canada, and the breeding stock is held by a few private corporations. Read more information about the breed below.
Lacombe Pig Characteristics
The Lacombe pig is a medium sized animal primarily with white color. It is a long bodied animal with large drooping ears. It is quite meaty in conformation and has relatively short legs.
Average live body weight of the fully grown sows is about 222 kg. And the boars are pretty heavier than the sows.
The fully grown Lacombe boars on average weight around 272 kg. Photo from Prairie Swine Centreand and info from Wikipedia.
Special Notes
The Lacombe pig breed is well known for their docile temperament, and the animals are of very good behavior. The breed is especially noted and selected for it’s fast growth. Especially the sows grow relatively faster.
The Lacombe pigs have very good feed conversion ratio. And they have very good carcass quality and physical soundness. However, review full breed profile of the Lacombe pig in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Lacombe | |
| Other Name | None | |
| Special Notes | Well known for docile temperament, very good behavior, fast growth, god feed conversion ratio, good carcass quality and physical soundness | |
| Breed Size | Medium | |
| Boars | Around 272 kg | |
| Sows | Around 222 kg | |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates | |
| Color | White | |
| Rarity | Critically endangered | |
| Country/Place of Origin | Canada |
