Free Range Pork

In Summary

Colour
Golden red, free from black hair, and as far as possible free from black or blue spots on skin. Spots in front of ears permissible but undesirable.

Skin
Flesh coloured, fine and free from wrinkles.

Hair
Straight fine abundant and free from curls and roses.

Head
Moderately long, snout moderately long and straight, face slightly dished, wide between the eyes and between ears. Jaw not undershot.

Ears
Rather large, fine, carried, rigid and inclined slightly forward, fringed with fine hair.


Tamworth are very deep-sided animals. They have an arched back which is not as wide as commercial breeds such as the large whites and landraces. They do not have the bulked muscled hams and unlike any other breed of pig have bum cheeks.
Colour wise their hair can be from a golden ginger to deep red mahogany. Piglets are born with faint stripes through them a few shades lighter. These stripes disappear within a few days of birth. The deep red seems to be a more dominate gene when crossed with the golden colour. The majority of the animals will have brown and hazel eyes, though it is not uncommon for blue eyed pigs to be born.
The head of the Tamworth gives it a primitive appearance, being much longer in the snout then other breeds of pigs and may be one of the reasons they are such excellent foragers and diggers. Their ears are a medium size compared to other breeds and stand upright. We have experienced that ear tagging at a small age in some animals can cause the ears to slouch forward and as a result we avoid ear tagging.









 

About The Breed

If you talk to any older people in the community that grew up on farms or raised pigs, most will have fond stories and memories of their families keeping Tamworth Pigs. Stories not just of moist juicy tender meat on the table, but of antics of the animals.
Most literature suggests that the Tamworth 'Hog' or 'Swine' breed originated in Tamworth, Staffordshire England, however recently it was uncovered on a an English Tamworth website that the exact origin may actually be unknown. It is true that History is only as accurate as these accounts provided by the Historians. It is further mentioned that a Tamworth Swine Association booklet says:
The Tamworth originated in Ireland where they were called "The Irish Grazer". About the year 1812 it is said that Sir Robert Peel, being impressed with the characteristics of them, imported some of them and started to breed them on his estate at Tamworth, England. They have been bred quite extensively ever since they were imported into that country.

It has also been suggested by numerous persons that the Tamworth are descendants of the wild English hog. This may be one of the reasons that Tamworths are able to thrive in many different environments and are rarely affected with illness.

When comparing purebred Tamworths across the continents some American lines seem to feature much more defined and muscled carcasses then the breeds available in other countries. Some have even gone to the extent of suggesting that some of the American Tamworth's are more akin to an orange Duroc, but this is up to individuals to decide.
The appearance of Tamworths

The Tamworth in Australia


Finding information in relation to the history of the Tamworth pig in Australia has proved to be very challenging. If you have additional information or would like to share your experiences about the breed please feel free to contact us, we would love to gather more information on this wonderful breed and include it on our site.
The following Information was sourced from a document authorized by the Federal Council of the Australia Pig Breeders� Society that was complied and edited by the Promotions Committee in 1982/83. Thanks goes to McIntosh Ranch for providing this document.
It appears the first Tamworths were imported into Australia in the 1890�s by the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. They exhibited as a special exhibit, a boar and sow at the 1899 Sydney � Royal Knowle Lad (imp.) and Knowle Rose (imp.). The Australia Pig Breeders� Association then known as the Yorkshire and Berkshire Society, admitted Tamworths to the herd book in 1914. The first registered pig was Knowle Indian Prince (imp.) by the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Over the years, the Hawkesbury Agricultural College imported a lot of Tamworths, the last being by Mr., G. Carse (chief pig officer) in the late 1930�s. The College, along with the herds at Wagga and Wollongbar, exhibited Tamworths with distinction up until 1956 at the Sydney Royal.
The breed reached its greatest popularity in Australia in the 1950-1960 period when annual registration in the herd book touched 1000 head on several occasions. The breed was ideal for the rough hot Australia climate and thrived under open range conditions. (this quality being one of the many reasons we chose the breed for our herd).
Tamworths proved ideal for crossing with the more compact heavier breeds, particularly with the Berkshire which became a most popular cross for both bacon and pork production. The colour varied from light bricky yellow to a gold red, the later being more popular.
The Queensland Agricultural Journal, Volume 5 July to December 1899 Edited by A J Boyd also provided information in regard to the Tamworth noting it as the 'most profitable pig'.
It is written

"The most profitable pig to breed this year and hereafter is, without questions, the Tamworth. The Tamworth is the pig par excellence for the packer and feeder. Its length and depth of body are so pronounced that no breed of pig can approach it in these important respects. Its shoulder is light but deep through the chest and wide between the forward legs, giving it the indispensable lightness of shoulder with large heart girth and great vitality. The Tamworth is wide behind, with strong back and great depth through the flank and hams well let down; and these points sought by the curer.... More the unexampled docility of the Tamworth can be approached by no other breed. The Tamworth is more prepotent, has the function of motherhood more pronounced and has greater precocity than any breeds of pigs yet brought into public favour"..


"The Tamworth bred in the standard has a slightly prominent pelvic arch, showing her strong maternal power; and the milk giving function is shown by her udder, of long abdominal attachment from front to rear, and well balance as to form, couple with strong, wedge shaped digestive capacity and her constitutional vigour is not only shown by her large heart girth but by they strong navel development.
The well bred Tamworth is a brainy animals (sometimes too brainy in our experiences). This is shown by her lean and smallish head and her bright prominent protruding eyes. By reasons of her highly nervous organism she is as susceptible to kind or abusive treatment as is the gentle kittenish Jersey. From the above it will be seen that the Tamworth is fundamentally a dairy breed of swine; and a successful dairy man should, from his association with high-bred dairy cows make a good breeder of Tamworths and a successful producer of fine bacon."




Over 100 years later and the Tamworth is now a rare breed, less favoured as it doesn't grow as quickly or to the standards now required for it to be a profitable animal in an intensive piggery. However, the quality, durability and mothering ability of the animal hasn't changed. We hope as society's demand for free range animals continues that this breed again will be favoured leading to increased numbers and it being taken off the 'rare breed' status.
It is only through demand for the meat that we can ensure that this breed will survive and not become just another part of history and an animal that our children will only learn about in a book.