Prolific hogs with longevity

Poland China hogs have droopy ears and are black, with white points on the nose, tail and feet.

By the time Brian Bauer was in fourth grade, he and his brothers were staying with the family’s hogs at the Nebraska State Fair for a week, sleeping in the hog barn, caring for the pigs, and tagging along as their dad sold boars to farmers.

Their dad, Harold Bauer, was a renowned Poland China breed producer, traveling to state fairs across the nation.

He was awarded for exhibiting hogs at the Nebraska State Fair for 50 years, and Poland Chinas from his herd were exported to the Dominican Republic in the mid-1950s as part of an agricultural development program.

Brian’s maternal grandfather, Herman Bartels, also raised Poland Chinas on his farm south of Tobias in the early 1900s.

That makes Brian the third generation on both sides of his family to raise the breed, which he cares for on his farm near Gladstone, Nebraska, west of Fairbury.

Poland China hogs are black hogs, with white points on the nose, tail and feet, and droopy ears.

The breed, commonly called Polands, did not originate in Poland or China, but had its beginnings in Ohio.

In 1816, the Shaker Society in the Miami River Valley in Ohio secured one boar and three sows, known as Big China hogs. The boar and two sows were white, while the third sow had sandy to black spots. Historians think these were the same hogs that were so popular about this time in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

At that time, two main characteristics were required of hogs: a large size and the stamina to travel long distances, because they were often driven to market, sometimes up to 100 miles. The Polands fit this well, being known as large hogs with lots of fat.

Historians believe that by 1846, there was no new genetic influences on the Big Chinas, and eventually their name came to be Poland Chinas.

When the Polands were developed in the 19th century, their make-up was different than it is now.

“When these hogs were developed, the fat of the hog was just as important as the meat,” Bauer said.

Hog types changed after World War I, toward a leaner animal with less fat. Wartime rations included lard, to provide energy for soldiers.

Poland Chinas were the second most common breed of swine from the 1900s to after World War II, trailing Durocs.

A Poland China sow with her piglets.

But because the Polands were slower to change from the fat-type hog to the meat-type hog, their popularity dwindled. And as grain-fed livestock became more popular, the Polands, who excelled at foraging, took back seat to the hog breeds that grew faster and had better feed efficiency.

Today the vast majority of purebred hogs are bred for show pigs. They are bred for look and type: a square hip and flat top.

Bauer’s Polands are stubborn, possibly due to the droopy ears, he said. They can see, but not well. That causes them to be surprised more easily, which may be the cause of the stubbornness. They are “homebodies,” not wanting to leave their pens.

They have a calm disposition.

“They’re fairly easy to get along with,” he said. “They’re stubborn, but they can be handled.”

When he gives shots, they stand there for their injection.

“Everyone else is running around the pen, trying to get away from you,” Bauer said.

Poland China piglets make a cute pile under a heat lamp.

Polands are not known for feed efficiency. They grow slowly. However, when crossed with Durocs, they outgrow a Hampshire/Duroc cross, Bauer said.

They’re prolific, with larger litter sizes. When Polands were raised commercially, litters of 10 to 11 pigs born live were common, Bauer said. He remembers a litter of 21.

Now that they’re primarily raised as show pigs, there’s less emphasis on maternal traits.

They have a long life span. Bauer had a boar that died of old age at 8 years old. Boars at maturity weigh 550-800 pounds, with the sows at 500-650. The largest hog ever recorded was a Poland China, Big Bill, weighing in at 2,552 pounds.

Polands are sound with good legs and feet. Bauer raises his hogs outdoors, except for farrowing, which is done indoors.

Being outside is healthier, he said.

“I think you can get through your disease issues easier this way,” he said.

Not being on concrete also helps the swine have better feet and legs, which helps with longevity.

“A lot of producers have gone to free-stall sows, and I like having sows where they can move around,” he said.

Poland China hogs were the second most common breed, after Durocs, until after World War II.

In addition to Polands, he raises a handful of Chester Whites. Most of the sows in the herd are show pig crossbreds, bred to meat quality Duroc/Berkshire crossbreds for locker pigs and feeder pigs for litters out of show pig season.

He and 15 other producers put together a semi-load of hogs to go to Kentucky for processing into specialty products. They are paid $50 to $60 a head over the market for the load.

“It gives a guy a chance to move the hog you don’t have a home for,” Bauer said.

He also sends fat hogs to markets in Colorado, including one family he sells to every six weeks, supplying meat for their farmers market stand and their family store.

More information about the Poland China breed can be found at the national headquarters: Poland China Record Association, PO Box 9758, Peoria, IL 61612, phone 309-691-6301.

Freelance writer Ruth Nicolaus loves (nearly) everything about the Great Plains, but mostly its people. She lives in eastern Nebraska. Reach her at [email protected].

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