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Sow with piglet |
How does a pig look like?
A pig is a mammal with a thick body covered by sparse hair, and short legs. It has a large head and a snout for a nose. The pig's tail is small and may be curly, kinked, or straight.
What was the ancestor of pigs or hogs?
Domestic pigs descend from the wild boar and became domesticated through thousands of generations of human contact.
What is a sow?
It's a female adult pig that has borne more than two piglets.
And a piglet?
It's the name of a young or baby pig.
What is a boar?
Besides being a wild kind of pig and therefore its ancester, it is also a male pig that is not castrated.
What is a borrow?
It's a castrated male pig.
How is the domestic pig farmed?
The domestic pig is still very often raised in small traditional outdoor enclosures called pigsties or pigpens, or in the fields. A large-scale enclosure for raising pigs is generally called a hog lot. Many farmers, however, are already using modern pig raising techniques.
Are pigs useful to man?
Domestic pigs or hogs are mainly farmed for their meat, called pork, with which farmers produce sausages, ham, bacon and lard. In old times, the pigs' skins were also used for making shields, bones for tools and weapons, and bristles for brushes. Recently, pigs are enjoying an increasing popularity as house pets, particularly the dwarf breeds. Unlike dogs and other domesticated animals, pigs are rarely used as working animals, except for truffle pigs, which are pigs trained to find truffles.
How is bacon produced and which bacon varieties are world famous?
Bacon is made from the upper part of the pig's leg after being salted and dried or smoked. Famous bacon origins are Chaves in Portugal, the Ardennes in Belgium, and Parma in Italy.
What are pigs usually fed on?
As pigs are omnivores, they consume both plants and animals. They eat any kind of food, including dead insects, worms, tree bark, rotting carcasses, and garbage.
If highly stressed by being kept in captivity, pigs may even eat their own young!
Are pigs dirty?
Despite their reputation for dirtiness, pigs are very clean animals and, unlike many domestic animals, are known for their intelligence.
What does the word swine mean?
Swine (plural also swine) refers to all pigs in general, and they all belong to the family of Suidae, including their wild relatives, such as the boars and peccaries.
What is a grunt?
It's the pig's voice, a low guttural sound!
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