Trivia

Duroc is one American breed of hardy hogs having drooping ears – it was allegedly named after the horse owned by the hog's breeder.

The Duroc breed of hogs had its origin in the eastern United States and in the Corn Belt. It would seem presumptuous today to attempt to identify the foundation stock of the breed, which was originally called the Duroc-Jersey, because persons attempting to write the history of the breed only a few years after it was formed could not definitely state the exact source of the red hogs that went into their foundation. One source of the red or reddish-brown hogs that were found in the United States was reputed to be those that came from the Guinea coast of Africa, and it is said that hogs similar to those found on the Guinea coast were found in every country to which early slave trading vessels found their way. In The Story of Durocs it is stated that red hogs were brought to America by Columbus on his second voyage, and red hogs were also brought to this country by DeSoto. These were presumed to have come from Spain and Portugal, and red hogs were sent from Portugal to Nova Scotia. In The Breeds of Livestock, Sanders is of the opinion that reddish-brown hogs of the Berkshire strain were brought to the United States and probably found their way into the Duroc breed.