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Meishan pig
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Meishan pig

Place of Origin China
Origin The Meishan is a breed of domestic pig named for the Chinese prefecture of Meishan. It is a sub-group of the Taihu pig.

Native to Southern China, the breed is best known for its large litters of 15-16 piglets. Due to its fecundity, it was imported to the United States in the late 1980s by the USDA Agricultural Research Service. However, it has not found much use in farms, as a result of its slower growth rates and abundance of fat. On the other hand, it reaches maturity very early, and both boars and sows carry traits that make them one of the most prolific breeds in the world. Some of the only fullbood Meishan pigs in the USA are owned by the Neal family of BeyondPrimeMeats.com in Hartville, Missouri for raising Swabian Hall pigs as well as fullblood Meishan pigs.
Purpose Meat
Characteristics The Meishan breed is known for its wrinkled face and skin and is a small to medium-sized breed with large drooping ears. Sows grow to be about 57.8 cm high (23 in), 100 cm (39 in) around the chest, and 61.6 kg (136 lb) in live-weight. They have a backfat thickness of 2.5 cm and a dressing percentage of 66.8%.

Meishan pigs are perhaps one of the most prolific breeds of pig in the world. They reach puberty at 2.5-3 months of age, achieve high embryo survival rates, and a large litter size of 15-16 pigs. It is quite common to have two litters per year. Third and later parities of this breed had 17.0 pigs born, with 12.9 being weaned. Their 240 day weight was 170.5 lbs., with an ADG of 0.75 lbs.
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