The Hampshire is an American

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

domestic pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

. It derives from saddlebacked pigs imported to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

from about 1825 from the English

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. It has a black body with a white band or sheet over the shoulders and extending down the front legs; the ears are erect.

History

The Hampshire derives from pigs imported to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

between about 1820 and 1830 by a Captain John Mackay of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, a

ship-owner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the sea transport, shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and expl ...

. They were said to originate in the

in south-east England, and were initially known as Mackay Hogs; it is not certain that they were belted. Some of these were taken in 1835 from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

by a Major Joel Garnet, where they came to be known as the Thin-Rind. A

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the American Thin-Rind Record Association, was formed in 1893, and in 1904 changed its name to become the American Hampshire Swine Record Association. The American Hampshire was not widespread at this time: a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in 1907 found 337 head in a total of over in the state, while an estimate of the numbers of

pure-bred Purebreds are cultivars of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Purebreds breed true-to-type, which means the progeny of lik ...

pigs nationwide reported Hampshires in a total of just under , in fifth place behind the Poland-China, the Duroc-Jersey, the

American Berkshire American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and the

Chester White The Chester White is a breed of domestic pig which originated in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly known as the Chester County White. History The Chester White was first developed around 1815–1818, using strains of large, white pi ...

. In the twenty-first century it is among the most numerous pig breeds of the United States, where approximately three quarters of all registrations are of Duroc,

American Yorkshire The American Yorkshire is an American breed of large domestic pig. It is the most numerous pig breed in the United States. It derives from pigs of the British Large White or Yorkshire breed imported from the United Kingdom or from Canada at var ...

or Hampshire stock. It has been exported to almost sixty countries, in all five inhabited continents. The total population reported world-wide is approximately , of which over are in the United States; the largest population is in Argentina, where there are more than head. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

world-wide is "not at risk".

Characteristics

It has a black body with a white band or sheet over the shoulders and extending down the front legs; the ears are erect.

Use

Hampshire hogs are noted for being well-muscled and rapid growers, and for exhibiting good carcass quality when used as meat animals. When used as breeding stock, the sows of this breed have been praised for their capacity as mothers, having "extra longevity in the sow". Hampshires are good-tempered; they do not grow as fast as many cross-breds, but they do grow faster than American Yorkshires.

References

Pig breeds originating in the United States {{bots, deny=Citation bot