THE MULEFOOT HOG

At the Midwest Mulefoot Ranch, we want to give you an excellent overview of the Mulefoot Hog or Mulefoot Pig as some call this breed. You may even hear it referred to as the “Mule-Footed” Hog. Out of the gate, we want you to know that you can wiki this topic and find an encyclopedic description of the Mulefoot Hog. An encyclopedic description is just about what every other Mulefoot page has done. They merely copied and pasted someone else’s narrative. We are not going to do that! We intend to tell you more; we are giving you the no-nonsense description of the Mulefoot Hog! We are doing it using our research and our experiences with many Mulefoot. We have dug up every book, magazine, and newspaper articles on Mulefoot we could find. We hired researches to data-mine all over the internet to bring us this research. Of course, we will not lay it all out here, but we want to get you just a little extra.
If you are on our page, you already know the American Mulefoot Hog is a breed known for a particular and extraordinary feature. Of course, it is the non-cloven hoof. Of course, again, it resembles a hoof of a mule. So yes, you got that right; one of the most significant differences in this hog and others is its foot. A quick search will help you find the split hoof of a typical pig, and we will get the foot of a Mulefoot up here to show you the difference. Some of you well-read viewers will say wait; a non-split hoof will show up in other breeds as a genetic mutation, so is this a separate breed or just a gene mutation gone out of control? Let us assure you this is a very particular and distinct heritage breed, and let us also assure you that it didn’t just arise out of some other breed’s genetic misfits. The Mulefoot as a breed has been around for a very, and we do mean a very long time.
So, where did the Mulefoot Hog originate from? This topic leaves Mulefoot enthusiasts a place for debate. Some will argue that it came out of Asia. Others will say it is out of Europe. Still, others say it is out of the Lost City of Atlantis, and that is where these wonderful pigs get their intelligence from. Do you know what we can say for sure? It is certainly is not a set view as to where they came from. It has been noted that even as far back as Ancient Greek writings, you can find mention of Mule-footed pigs. So was this the Mulefoot breed we know today, or just a genetic mutation of another breed that the Greeks kept? It is of note that most articles, and books from 100 plus years ago, had the theory that the Mulefoot was brought over by Spanish settlers coming to America. There is unequivocal evidence with the traits it has today; the Mulefoot Hog has been in America for hundreds of years.
We can find the record that in 1900 the Mulefoot was officially recognized as a standardized breed, although it had been used in agriculture in America for so many years prior. Early on, there were two breed associations, and we were able to comb through some of these old herd books. This revealed quite a bit of information you don’t often see shared on other sites when discussing the Mulefoot. More on that later. Anyway, there were two associations and clearly over 200 herds of purebred stock through the United States.
These herds were best known for producing delicious pork. It was prized mostly for its flavor. It was known to have highly desired lard, but also giving marbled reddish meat. It was known for its amazing hams, and other cuts were also highly sought after. You will hear some breeders say this is the best bacon you can ever get your hands on, and that it is worth its weight in gold. Though, what bacon isn’t excellent? The next question is, then why in the early 2000s were there only 200 registered pigs left in American? This was a change in the agricultural machine around the 1930s and 1940s. With the advent of scale and big farming, everything was about efficiency. It was no longer about the food’s quality, the food’s health, and the taste. It became about how the machine could spit out the fastest-growing meat and the cheapest possible cost. This is one thing that The Midwest Mulefoot Ranch is rebelling against. We know that today’s consumer of meat is more aware. They are looking for flavor, health, and sustainability in their food! So as said on other pages, you have found the right place for your clean pork connection!
A little more on the above topic. People then ask how inefficient the Mulefoot for feed conversion and growth is. Why doesn’t the Mulefoot do well in a confinement hog house? A short answer on growth and feed conversion, it is not much worse at all! We challenge anyone to taste a Mulefoot vs. a commercial breed of hog and see the difference. Instead of the Mulefoot being ready for harvest at six months, you can have it ready at eight months. The typical number you will get told to finish out a commercial pig is 825 lbs. Want to hear something amazing? We can get our hogs to the same 250 lbs. finish weight on 825 lbs. too! You may say but wait, didn’t you say they have less feed conversion? Yes, we did; the difference all comes down to not feed we can measure. Here you need to remember one of the main advantages of the Mulefoot pig. It is about as good a forager as any hog you will ever find. So what we lose in feed conversion, we make up for in forage and grasses. When you see your Mulefoot chomping on weeds, underbrush, and pasture, you know you are saving on feed and putting money in the bank!
We should probably talk more on the Mulefoot and how they forage. They are not known to be aggressive rooters. If they have plenty of food in a paddock, they do not engage in rooting behaviors as compared to other hogs. This is one of the reasons you will ever find a nose ring on a Mulefoot hog. At the Midwest Mulefoot Ranch, we wouldn’t do it. We wouldn’t want to lose our advantage of tremendous foraging! More on this, you may be thinking if commercial hogs are out in paddocks, you need to pump antibiotics in them to keep them alive, not to mention the elements on that white skin. Here is another massive advantage of the Mulefoot. They are very hearty, both as it relates to heat and cold, but also to disease. Many people will say they are immune to all hog diseases, but we don’t believe this to be true at all. Very resistant and robust immune systems, yes, but not totally immune. Anyway, this tremendous immune system lets your pigs get onto pasture with the knowledge that they are very hearty!
When selecting for breeding stock, we have consulted highly with the American Mulefoot Breeders Association. You can go to their website for specifics of the breed and how they are judged. In general, you will find that the Mulefoot Hog is a solid black pig in color. You will find their hair to also be black, course, and not too overwhelming. Occasionally you will see white points on the Mulefoot, but keep in mind that too much white would be a disqualification in judging the breed. Let’s talk about that; however, in many breeds, you would just cull any imperfections with the Mulefoot being a critically endangered breed that is a whole lot more difficult. The bones of the animal are really important; one more set of genetics out there can lead to the diversity that can make the difference for the breed. We would suggest that if you have a registered Mulefoot, don’t do anything hasty, contact the AMBA and discuss what traits your Mulefoot has that may be able to help the breed. For us, it is fairly simple. We keep the best for the breeding program and put the others into the meat program. While it is true that we need the genetics, we also need to build a following of people who want Mulefoot meat. With most heritage breeds, you have to eat it to save it. If there is a demand, more people will breed this amazing breed, and hopefully, in the next few years, we will see a huge resurgence, both on hobby farms and in the mainstream farming world.
To add a little more of the characteristics of the Mulefoot. They have ears that are pricked forward slightly, but not over drooping like that of a Large Black Hog. The Mulefoot sow can range in weight quite a bit, but we often see about 425 pounds to 475 pounds for most of our sows. The Mulefoot Boar tends to weigh about 100 pounds more than your sows, ranging more like 525 to 575. We would like to mention some things of note, we have seen sows and boars at other farms that were true Mulefoot in all ways, the breed characteristics and even having papers to show they were purebred, but we have seen Mulefoot sows tip the scales at over 700, and Mulefoot Boars over 800 pounds. We need to mention here these were very overweight and overfed Mulefoot. This is not considered a healthy Mulefoot and, as you would imagine, create health issues and sterility. In fact, some people often ask us how long can a Mulefoot sow breed for? How long can a Mulefoot Boar breed for? We have purchased really good looking and registered stock and told that due to their age, they no longer breed. Well, we get them on a grain-free and all forage diet. Before too long, they are getting back to an ideal weight and breeding again! The oldest Mulefoot sow we have had farrowing at this point is 12 years old. The Boar that bred her was right around the same age. So we can safely say a healthy Mulefoot Hog can breed at least for 12 years. We will let you know next year if we have success again, and then we can tell you they can breed for at least 13 years!
We should talk about litter sizes. Here is a Mulefoot disadvantage. While being excellent and calm mothers, Mulefoot sows do have smaller litters than many other breeds of pigs at this point in time. So while they do have small litters, they often can raise all of their piglets with low piglet mortality, and often raise really healthy and good looking piglets. So what is the average Mulefoot litter size? Well, if you just look at what the internet says, you will read 4-6. I want to direct to a comment we said earlier. We learned a lot from looking at the herd books from the 1920’s. You want to know one thing; the Mulefoot average litter size was not 4-6 back then. Something drastically changed. In looking at those herdbooks, it was easy to ascertain that the Mulefoot of that time had litter sizes more on par with other heritage breeds. In fact, at that time, from our quick analysis, the average litter size would have been more like 8-10! So what changed? We at the Midwest Mulefoot Ranch have some thoughts, but it is only theory. However, we have seen our litter counts climbing way over the average of 4-6, so we feel we may be on to something. In this discussion, we will get into some more history of the Mulefoot. We feel that a very likely reason for the litter drop off was lack of genetic diversity. Remember that in the early 2000s, there were fewer than 200 purebred hogs in known existence. Prior to that, for decades, one single breeder, R. M. Holiday, had the only herd of Mulefoot in known existence. With many mammals, lack of genetic diversity leads to decreased offspring (think more chance for loss of piglets due to genetic issues, etc.). If one single herd was doing all the breeding, it would logically follow that litter counts may drop. As a result, we at Midwest Missouri Ranch traveled far and wide to find as much genetic diversity as we could. We also maintain multiple boars in order to provide diversity in breeding pairs we sell.
Another point that we changed to get increased litter size, in our opinion. As many folks who raise Mulefoot do so on a small scale, they tend to let their Boar run with their sows at all times. It is just easier that way. Well, the old-timer commercial farmers told us you should never do that. We couldn’t really find an answer for why initially, but then we were told that the Boar would root around on your sows, trying to get her to go into heat; in this process, you can miscarry piglets and, as such, decrease your litter counts! So out of ease of use, many people do not separate, and this may be one reason for smaller litter sizes.
Something else we feel can be a factor, the use of GMO grains, pesticides, and keeping your hogs too confined. We feel that forage is the natural food of this breed. The more we keep them towards their natural diet, the more likely we will have better litters.
And finally, and maybe the most important when it comes to litter size. As the Mulefoot breed is so rare, and the fact that it is very little in the way of large scale meat operations, it is hard to cull non-performers. Simply put, hobby farmers can’t part with one of three sows if one produces poorly. So they keep these non-performers around. We at Midwest Mulefoot Ranch have now been selectively breeding for performance not just for meat production, but also for litter size. We go ahead and raise up a number. If they perform well for the body type, they have a shot at their first litter. If that first litter goes well, they are good mothers, raise good piglets, are calm, and they have a good litter size; they are allowed to stick around the farm and enter our breeding program.
Back to some of the history of the Mulefoot, we want to honor and recognize R. M. Holiday for saving this breed single-handedly. As he was nearing his later years, he started selling some breeding stock, and his stock is what makes the foundation stock for all the breeding stock you see today. As he went further along in age, Maveric Ranch acquired all of his hogs, and they, for a long period, had the largest herd of registered Mulefoot. Arie McFarlan from Maveric Ranch is another person the Mulefoot breed owes a debt of gratitude to. It is well documented that Maveric placed many breeding pairs throughout the country. We at Midwest Mulefoot Ranch were thrilled when we came across the gentleman who acquired all of the remaining stock of Mulefoot in 2013 as Maveric Ranch phased out. He was phasing out, and we acquired hogs that were part of Arie and Maveric Ranch’s final stock. It is awesome to have been able to add these rare genetics to our Ranch, which already had acquired hogs from 7 different farms!
We at Midwest Mulefoot Ranch are doing our best to see this breed make a true comeback! We have so much more to share, but I hope this gives you a basic introduction to the amazing Mulefoot Hog!