American Guinea Hogs
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A breed unique to the United States, the Guinea Hog is a small, black breed of swine.
They have also been known by the names Pineywoods Guinea, Guinea Forest Hog, Acorn Eater, and Yard Pig.
The Guinea Hog was once the most common pig found on homesteads in the Southeast. They foraged for their own food, ate rodents and other small animals, grass, roots, and nuts, and cleaned out garden beds. The hogs also ate snakes creating a safe area around houses. The Guineas were very hardy and efficient, growing well on the roughest of forage, but still producing hams, bacon, and lard essential for the farm.
Today there are only approximately 500 registered Guinea Hogs.
The Guinea Hog became rare in recent decades as the habitat of the homestead hog disappeared, and it survived only in the most isolated parts of the Southeast. During the 1980s, new herds of Guinea Hogs were established,
partly in response to the pet pig market.
Like other traditional lard-type breeds, the Guinea Hog faces great obstacles to its conservation. These hogs do not produce a conventional market carcass, since they are smaller and more fatty than is preferred today. Guinea Hogs are, however, appropriate for use in diversified, sustainable agriculture. They would be an- excellent choice where there is need for the services of hogs (such as grazing, rooting, tilling compost and garden soil, and pest control) and also the desire for a small breed. Under such husbandry, Guinea Hogs would thrive, as they always have.
Reference: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy