Heritage Books about Hogs

by Brian Wright. 

Since I raise Heritage breed hogs I am always interested in how they were raised back when they were considered as every day hogs. I try to replicate the conditions that made them successful; try to provide them with the environment their ancestors had. It can be difficult since most of the references published today are all about raising hogs in large barns.

A very good source I’ve found is the Internet Archive, an online repository and search engine for digitized collections of books, photos and other media. Using this source I’ve found several old books from the 1800s that detail how hogs were raised back then; giving me some really interesting insights. Here is one paragraph from a book published in 1899 that may make you really appreciate the different economies of then and now:

Here is a link to that book.

For all of those who are raising these old hogs, I encourage you to do the same and learn about the “old ways”. Your research may provide some really good tips on how to make these old breeds more successful.