The Berkshire
A truly great pig with prick ears, white blaze on the face, four white feet and a white tip to the tail. Otherwise totally black. A pig of great personality and very good temperament who has the sort of mothering qualities that make farrowing and bringing up piglets
The ‘Berkshire’ is a traditional pork pig that produces some mouth watering joints and chops with ‘crackling’ that is second to none. The excellent carcass quality made it an early favourite with the Royal Family who for years kept a large ‘Berkshire’ herd at Windsor Castle. The first ‘Berkshire’ pig ever recorded was the boar ‘Ace of Spades’ bred by Queen Victoria.
The original ‘Berkshire’ was, in appearance, much closer to the ‘Oxford Sandy & Black’ being reddish or sandy coloured and sometimes spotted with black. This stock was later refined with a cross of Siamese and Chinese blood which then set the colour pattern we know today. It is said (rumour has it!) that the ‘Berkshire’ was discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army over 300 years ago in their winter quarters at Reading..
Berkshire
with Berkshire/Oxford Sandy and Black Piglets
Berkshire x Oxford
Sandy and Black Piglets
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