Difference between revisions of "Colorado Mutle"

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(Breeding Goals)
(Breeding Goals)
 
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Red Wattles have largely lost the  excellent mothering instincts and foraging ability they once had as breeders attempted to compete with commercial breeding goals [[Industrial_pork#breeding|commercial breeding goals]]
 
Red Wattles have largely lost the  excellent mothering instincts and foraging ability they once had as breeders attempted to compete with commercial breeding goals [[Industrial_pork#breeding|commercial breeding goals]]
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Mulefoot sows have better mothering and excellent foraging abilities but generally have very small litters of 4-6 instead of 8-12.
  
 
Currently boars are being raised from the 6th generation of crossing, selection, and back-crossing.
 
Currently boars are being raised from the 6th generation of crossing, selection, and back-crossing.

Latest revision as of 15:47, 21 February 2017

Colorado Mutle piglets enjoy the sun.
Meat of the Colorado Mutle is of exceptional quality in color, flavor, tenderness and marbling.

The Colorado Mutle is a non-recognized breed of swine under development by Andre Houssney of Jacob Springs Farm. Andre took over the breeding program of Mark Cortner and continued to develop the concept.

Breeding Goals

The basic breeding goals of this project are to produce the highest pork quality by obtaining the best meat qualities from two breeds: the Red Wattle [1] renowned for it's tenderness and "beefy" flavor and the Mulefoot [2], famous for it's redness, texture, and "kobe-beef"-like marbling. (See

Secondary goals are to restore some rare characteristics of heritage breeds (good forage ability and good mothering) with modern improvements in fecundity, achieved with limited out-crossing with animals of other breeds including "old spot" and commercial breeds.

Red Wattles have largely lost the excellent mothering instincts and foraging ability they once had as breeders attempted to compete with commercial breeding goals commercial breeding goals

Mulefoot sows have better mothering and excellent foraging abilities but generally have very small litters of 4-6 instead of 8-12.

Currently boars are being raised from the 6th generation of crossing, selection, and back-crossing.

Physical Traits

Mutles mostly have wattles (from the red-wattle heritage.) Many, but not all have the syndactyl ("mule-footed") trait. Mutles are a variety of colors including black, red, mahogany and spotted.

In the future, selections to stabilize the physical traits and color may be made, however it is not currently a priority as the focus is on the quality of the meat.