The Gloucestershire Old Spots (GOS) are the oldest spotted pedigree pig breed in the world originating in the Berkley Vale of Gloucester, England during the 1800’s. They are a large pig with sows weighing in around 700 pounds when full grown & boars more than 1,000 pounds. Gloucestershire (pronounced Glostersheer) pigs are a white pig with large black spots & heavy drooped ears. At one time they were referred to as the Orchard Pig or Cottage Pig since they were backyard pigs partially raised on windfall apples & whey. British folklore claims the large black spots are bruises caused by apples falling onto them as they grazed in the orchards!

Known to be good foragers or grazers, the breed hit a high point in popularity in Great Britain just after WWI when their lean, streaky bacon & naturally large proportions of lean meat were fast becoming popular. The breed became rare following WWII when the shift to intensive pig production reduced interest in pigs that could thrive outdoors. The remaining population nearly became extinct in the 1960’s, but has slowly increased since then.

The Old Spots were imported to the US in the 1900’s & made genetic contributions to several American breeds. By the 1990’s it was practically extinct here & then in 1995, the Kelmscott Farm Foundation of Lincolnville, Maine organized an importation of 20 piglets to reestablish the purebred population in America. A breed society was founded & the number of animals is increasing although they are still on the Critical List at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. As of 2009, there are less than 1,000 Gloucestershire Old Spots in Great Britain & fewer than 200 breeding animals in the US. The breed notably benefits from continued support of the British Royal Family who favors pork from these pigs for their table!

The Old Spots are known for their docility, intelligence & prolificacy. The breeds maternal skills & high milk production make it capable of raising large litters of piglets on pasture. Its disposition & self-sufficiency make it an attractive breed for farmers wanting to raise pasture pigs.

We bought our 2 Old Spots last summer when they were just 8 weeks old. Those of you who met them last year will be surprised to see how much they’ve grown! Their barn names are Emma & Alice & we absolutely ADORE them! They are very easy going pigs & a joy to work with. Emma is bred & due to farrow (have babies) in late June. We artificially inseminated her with a boar from Northern Ireland to help increase genetic diversity within the breed in this country. Alice didn’t settle when we bred her so we will attempt to rebreed her in September when we rebreed Emma. If you visit the farm on opening weekend or in August, you’ll be able to see the little piglets running about! I already have deposits on several of them so I don’t know how many we’ll have to keep, depending on how many she has & how it goes. We are very excited to be having our first litter soon!