Dongshan Improved Breeding Sows

Dongshan Improved Breeding Sows

　　Dongshan sows originate from Dongshan Yao Ethnic Township, Quanzhou County, Guangxi, and are one of the region’s superior indigenous pig breeds.

　　Physical characteristics: This breed is tall and large, robust in constitution, and well-proportioned, belonging to a dual-purpose meat and fat type. Typically, they have small heads, slightly long snouts, large drooping ears, deep and broad chests, concave backs, large drooping bellies that do not touch the ground, high limbs, 014 (likely referring to teats), and a coat color of “two-end black” (black head and rump, white elsewhere), with a minority having black patches on the back and waist.

　　Production performance: Average litter size is 10.35 piglets, with birth weight at 0.65 kg. Under general feeding conditions, fattening pigs gain an average of 368 grams per day, and with better feed, daily weight gain can exceed 580 grams. Carcass lean meat rate is 41.38%, fat tissue 37.92%, bones 10.82%, and skin 9.9%.

　　Main advantages: This breed is tall, has a flat back and loin, grows quickly, utilizes feed efficiently, and is lean-type. It crosses well with Yorkshire and Landrace boars, with hybrid litters averaging 11.83 piglets. At 60 days, litter weight reaches 111.64 kg, with a carcass lean meat rate of 46.95%. Triple-cross hybrids achieve a lean meat rate of 54%.

　　This breed is widely raised in northern Guangxi. In 2002 alone, Dongshan Yao Ethnic Township had a swine inventory of 45,000, with 32,000 marketed annually and 18,000 suckling pigs produced yearly, exported as far as Hunan and Guangdong. It serves as an excellent hybrid dam line in northern Guangxi.

　　Source: Quanzhou County People's Government Website