Large White Pig
Sus scrofa domesticus
Developed in Yorkshire, England in the 19th century from local white pigs, the Large White (also called Yorkshire) is a big-framed, all-white pig with erect ears, prized for fast lean growth and high fertility. It is the single most widely kept commercial pig breed in Kenya today.
Species
Porcine
Family
Suidae
Climate requirements
Adapts well to Kenya's highland and mid-altitude zones but its unpigmented skin sunburns easily, so it needs shade, wallows or sprinklers, and well-ventilated housing in warmer lowland areas.
Husbandry guide
Sows farrow 10-12 piglets per litter, with growers gaining 700-800 grams per day on a good ration and reaching roughly 90 kg market weight in 5-6 months at a feed conversion ratio around 2.8-3.2 kg feed per kg gain. Housing should have solid, well-drained concrete floors, farrowing crates or creep areas to reduce piglet crushing, and separate pens for weaners, growers and breeding stock. Feed a balanced maize/soya-based ration with mineral premix, provide clean water ad libitum, and follow a vaccination and deworming schedule covering classical swine fever, erysipelas and internal/external parasites, with strict biosecurity against African swine fever. It is commonly used as the dam line, crossed with Landrace or Duroc boars to produce vigorous, fast-growing commercial hybrids.
Economic importance
As Kenya's dominant breed, Large White pigs anchor most smallholder and commercial piggeries supplying bacon factories and butcheries, offering farmers reliable litter numbers and quick turnaround to market weight for steady income.