Gloucestershire Old Spots Pigs for Sale

Gloucestershire Old Spots Pigs, or GOS hogs, are from Gloucestershire County, England. They are known for their docility, intelligence, and prolificacy. Boars reach a mature weight of 600 lbs (272 kg) and sows 500 lbs (227 kg).

They are predominantly white with black spots and there must be at least one spot on the body to be accepted in the registry. Their maternal skills enable them to raise large litters of piglets on pastures. Their disposition and self-sufficiency make them attractive for farmers raising pasture pigs and those who want to add pigs to diversified operations.

Gloucestershire pigs (pronounced Gloster-sheer) were selected as excellent foragers and grazers. They’re thrifty, able to make a living from pasture and agricultural by-products, such as whey from cheese making, windfall apples in orchards, and the residue from pressing cider. These easy-keeping qualities gave Old Spots the nicknames “cottage pig” and “orchard pig.” British folklore claims the large black spots are bruises caused by apples falling onto them as they foraged the orchard floors for food

In 1913, the British Board of Agriculture announced a livestock development scheme that included the licensing of breeding boars. Farmers of the Berkley Vale realized this plan threatened the very existence of their beloved local pig breed. Subsequently, the Gloucestershire Old Spots Breed Society was formed in November of 1913 placing the breed among the oldest spotted pedigreed pig breeds known.

Gloucestershire Old Spots were imported to the United States during the 1900s and have made genetic contributions to several American breeds, especially the American Spot and the Chester White. The breed never became popular in the U.S though and was practically extinct by the 1990s. In 1995, Kelmscott Farm Foundation of Lincolnville, Maine, organized an importation of twenty Gloucestershire piglets to reestablish the purebred population in America. A breed society was founded, and the number of animals is increasing. As of 2009, there are about less than 1000 Gloucestershire Old Spots in Great Britain and fewer than 200 breeding animals in the US. The breed notably benefits from the continued support of the British Royal Family, who favors pork from these pigs for their table.