What Is the Difference Between Wild Pigs & Farm Pigs?

Tusks

• All pigs, male or female, can grow tusks. For domesticated pig species, the tusks are often cut or otherwise kept short, if they are not bred out of the line entirely. Farm pigs of any kind originated from wild boar thousands of years ago, the same as other domesticated species that humans have bred. Over time, domesticated pigs have lost the use for their tusks -- protection from predators -- while feral hogs require them. As a farm pig can easily and quickly revert to a feral state and begin to look like a wild boar, tusks can once more develop: two on top and two on bottom.

Body Shape

• Domestic pigs come in a variety of colors and sizes, from the short and wrinkled potbellied pig to the bicolored Oxford sandy and black and beyond. Most feral or wild hogs are thinner in their body structure. One obvious reason for this is the simple fact that they do not eat as much or as often as domesticated livestock and are not free of parasites. What the feral hog lacks in fat, it gains in muscle, however. Size-wise, a massive hog may not be too far removed from domestic stock.

Hair and Tail

• Feral hogs have more hair than domestic pigs. Their colors tend to stay between black and dark brown, especially if they are hybrids of the European species of wild boar. There are coat patterns and colors to add variety in some cases. A "razorback" has a lot of the European wild boar in it, given that shape comes from their bloodlines. Finally, a domestic pig's tail is curled, while a truly feral hog's remains straight and long.

Snout Size and Leg Length

• Though domesticated pigs turned feral still look like domesticated pigs for at least a generation or two, they revert back to the looks of their wild ancestors relatively quickly. As such, wild pigs tend to have longer snouts and legs. The European boar, from which they are descended, added a larger head, longer tusks and a generally wilder-looking appearance. Longer legs mean that the pig can run longer distances without tiring, much like horses and deer. A longer snout and larger head allows for more a bigger brain and better scenting ability, something that the feral hogs excel at.