Morningside Meadows Mulefoot Pigs

Morningside Meadows Farm

Morningside Meadows Mulefoot Pigs

The Mulefoot Pig - A Conservation Priority
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We have a small hobby farm located in Lakeport California. Our goal is to preserve this American heritage breed of swine. Our breeding stock is from RM Holidays herd. Some of the finest in the country today.

Today, the Mulefoot is the rarest of American swine breeds.The most distinctive feature of the American Mulefoot hog is the solid hoof which resembles that of a mule. Of all the mulefooted hogs described, the American Mulefoot is the only documented population with a breed standard and a long history of agricultural use. This breed is unique to the United States and is critically rare. Recent events, however, have led to more optimism regarding its survival.

The Origin of the Mulefoot hog..... The origin of the American Mulefoot breed is not clear. F.D. Coburn, in his classic 1916 book SWINE IN AMERICA, notes that the Mulefoot hog was found in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, across the southwest and in some parts of Mexico. It has a well-documented history over the last century. It is documented in Swine Science by M.E. Ensminger, B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Former Manager, U.S.D.A. Dixon Springs Project, Robbs Illinois, Copyright 1961, that this breed originated in southern ohio.

The National Mulefoot Hog Record association was organized in Indianapolis, Indiana, in January 1908. Two additional registries were also founded. In 1910 there were 235 breeders registered in twenty-two states. Mulefoots were taken to Canada between 1900 and 1920 but no attempt was made to establish a herd book and pedigree records were not maintained according to J.W. MacEwan in The Breeds of Farm Livestock in Canada.

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A remnant population of the American Mulefoot has been owned by R.M. Holiday of Louisiana, Missouri, for nearly forty years. He remembers from boyhood that his family and others raised these hogs by putting them on islands in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to forage during the summer and then rounding them up in the fall for slaughter. This practice was terminated by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950's. In 1964 Mr. Holiday gathered together stock from all the known breeders and established his herd. During 1976 he swapped animals with a breeder in North Dakota, which introduced some undesirable traits such as prick ears, wattles and split hooves. Nevertheless, Holliday's strong and consistent production selection has maintained a generally uniform and characteristic herd. After his experience with this "exotic" animal dealer he sold no more stock except those contracted for slaughter. During these years the Mulefoot registries folded and all known copies of the herd books were lost.

Mulefoot description..... Coburn describes Mulefoot hogs as mainly black, with occasional animals having white points; medium flop ears; and a soft hair coat. The hogs were of fairly gentle disposition, fattened quite easily, and weighed from 400-600 pounds at two years of age. They were considered the highest quality "ham hogs & and were fed to great weights before slaughter. For some years breeders claimed that Mulefoots were immune to hog cholera. That claim has been disproved, though the breed does seem to posses remarkable hardiness.

The American Mulefoot Hog Association and National Registry. The associations goal is to document and preserve the American Mulefoot Hog. The Association is currently registering all breeding stock, free of charge, for a limited time. Registration forms/transfer forms, breed standard, as well as membership applications are available online.

Visit the Yahoo! group : mulefoot, a place breeders and interested parties talk pigs!

"...when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again." -William Beebe

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Links Of Interest

The American Mulefoot Hog Association
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Mulefoot Yahoo! Web Group