The Meishan pig is a breed of domestic pig from China. It was named for the Chinese prefecture of Meishan and it is a sub-group of the Taihu pig.
It is actually native to the Southern China and is best known for it’s large litters of 15-16 piglets. It was imported to the United States in the late 1980s due to it’s fecundity.
And the breed was imported to the United States by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
But due to the abundance of fat and slower growth rate, the breed has not found much use in farms. But due to the early maturity of both sows and boars, the Meishan pig is one of the most prolific pig breeds in the world.
Currently the breed is raised in China, United States and some other countries around the world. Read more information about the breed below.
Meishan Pig Characteristics
The Meishan pig is a small to medium sized breed of domestic pig. It is mainly black in color and has large drooping ears. But it is known for it’s wrinkled face and skin.
The mature Meishan pigs height around 57.8 cm. And average live body weight of the mature animal is around 61.6 kg. Photo and info form ansi.okstate.edu and Wikipedia.
Special Notes
The Meishan pig is a highly prolific breed. It’s a pretty slow growing animal and fat, but it has great taste. The animals are pretty hardy and considered to be resistant to some diseases. They are able to consume large amounts of roughage.
The Meishan pig is well fed and managed, being fed farm by-products and water plants, as well as concentrates. It has a backfat thickness of 2.5 cm and a dressing percentage of 66.8 percent.
The breed is probably one of the most prolific breeds of pig in the world and reach puberty at 2.5 to 3 months of age. It achieve high embryo survival rates and it’s litter is of large size of 15-16 piglets.
It is also quite common to produce two litters per year. However, review full breed profile of the Meishan pig in the chart below.
| Breed Name | Meishan | |
| Other Name | None | |
| Special Notes | Highly prolific, sows can produce 15-16 piglets per litter, slow growing, early maturing, fat, great taste, pretty hardy, considered to be resistant to some diseases, able to consume large amounts of roughage, well fed and managed | |
| Breed Size | Small to medium | |
| Boars | Around 61.6 kg | |
| Sows | Around 61.6 kg | |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates | |
| Color | Mainly black | |
| Rarity | Common | |
| Country/Place of Origin | China |
