The Chato Murciano pig is a domestic breed of pig originating from Murcia, Spain. It was and still is currently bred and popular for it’s lean meat and bacon production in it’s native area.
The current Murcian type breed was not meeting the standards of the Spanish in Murcia. They were in need of an improved pig breed. And they mix-bred the Murciano with the Berkshire, Large White, Tamworth and Victoria for solving this problem.
The breed was named from the Spanish due of it’s short nose, with ‘chato‘ meaning ‘short-nosed‘, and ‘Murciano‘ meaning ‘from Murcia‘.
The Chato Murciano pig is the only surviving breed of pig locally and historically produced in Murcia and is at the risk of extinction.
It is a well managed pig which is known for it’s lean meat and bacon production, despite it’s danger of becoming extinct. In 1865, there were about 50,000 Chato Murciano pigs, and more than 100,000 in 1929.
Several Spanish authorities those are specializing in agriculture work on programs aiming to conserve the breed by cross-breeding and artificial insemination. Read more information about the breed below.
Chato Murciano Pig Characteristics
The Chato Murciano pig is a medium sized animal usually with black and white color. But some animals tend to have white patches on parts of their body such as the legs and tail.
It has relatively small sized head which generally grow up to 28.5 cm long and about 20 cm wide after reaching 12 years of age. It’s tail is usually twisted.
Average live body wight of the mature Chato Murciano pig is around 180 kg. Photo from BreedsList and info from Wikipedia.
Special Notes
Chato Murciano pig is a hardy breed and is well adapted to it’s local climates, especially to the southern Spain’s dry and warm climate.
The breed is very good for bacon and lean meat production. The breed grow well if fed raw materials that are gathered locally. It is mostly killed at their 1.5 years of age for good quality pork and bacon when average live body weight of the animals reach around 180 kg.
Average lifespan of the breed is around 12-15 years. However, review full breed profile of this breed in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Chato Murciano | |
| Other Name | None | |
| Special Notes | Hardy, well adapted to local climates, adapted to southern Spain’s dry and warm climates, good for bacon and lean meat production, grow well on raw materials | |
| Breed Size | Medium | |
| Boars | Up to 180 kg | |
| Sows | Around 180 kg | |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates | |
| Color | Usually black and white | |
| Rarity | Common | |
| Country/Place of Origin | Spain |
