Vietnamese bellied pig: all about the breed. How to keep and breed lop-eared Vietnamese pigs?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Recently, the bellied Vietnamese pig has ceased to be just an exotic animal. Farming entrepreneurs are increasingly choosing to breed these cute little animals.

History of the breed

The breed of pigs "Vietnamese fold-bellied" was brought from Vietnam to Canada and Eastern Europe back in 1985. Gradually, the fashion for breeding these animals spread to many countries: America, France, Hungary, Poland and others. The most active breeding work is currently being carried out in Hungary and Canada. In these countries, specialists are trying to make the breed even more attractive for breeding by increasing the size of the animal and the percentage of its muscle mass. In Russia, this breed has become widespread relatively recently, livestock breeders are just starting to master the breeding of these good-natured pigs.

Features of the breed

Vietnamese pigs are distinguished by certain characteristics that must be considered when breeding them. Many of these are the benefits that make pig keeping so fast.

One of the main signs of the breed is the rapid maturation of animals. Already at 4 months, females become sexually mature, and boars are ready for breeding at 6 months. Moreover, caring for newborn piglets is quite simple, since the sow does not interfere with him and behaves quite friendly. She herself takes care of the offspring, having a developed maternal instinct.

Another feature of these pigs is good immunity, they perfectly tolerate both hot climates and cold winters. These animals are only afraid of drafts, which are especially detrimental to small piglets.

Appearance

The Vietnamese bellied pig got its name because of the large hanging belly, which is especially striking because of the short legs.

Pigs can be white or black. There are individuals of a marble color that combines both of these shades. Because of the short legs, the belly of the pigs practically touches the ground. Their back is slightly concave, on the head are small ears. The stigmas resemble an accordion due to the large number of folds. Outwardly, the snout of these pigs is somewhat similar to the muzzle of a pug due to the large number of bends.

Pigs are able to grow and gain weight for the first five years, although this process gradually becomes moreslow. The weight of Vietnamese pigs that have reached the year is about 80 kg. On the livestock market, individuals weighing about 100 kg are most often represented.

Benefits of Breeding

The Vietnamese Loose Belly pig breed gained its popularity due to the following advantages:

1. Low feeding costs.

2. Compact dimensions, allowing you to keep several individuals at once in one not too large machine.

3. Immunity resistant to disease and temperature extremes.

4. The possibility of almost year-round (depending on the place of breeding) free range, as pigs perfectly tolerate low temperatures during the winter.

5. The animals are very clean, free from the specific smell inherent in almost all pigs of other breeds.

6. They have tender meat with little fat and no veins. The low cholesterol content of the product makes it suitable for people with vascular diseases.

7. Early sexual maturity makes it possible to get the first offspring from a pig that has reached only 7-9 months. At the same time, animals that live for about 30 years are capable of farrowing throughout their lives. In addition, Vietnamese breed pigs are incredibly prolific, they bring from 12 to 20 piglets at a time.

8. Calm and kind. They let the owner near the piglets, do not break the enclosures, they have the ability to train.

Features of choice

All the advantages of this breed will be real only ifselection of he althy individuals capable of producing offspring in the future. There is sometimes a Vietnamese bellied pig, reviews of which are not very good. As a rule, such animals weigh about 40-60 kg by the year, and the farm owner cannot even get offspring from a female for 10 months. This result is most often due to the wrong choice of piglets. To buy an animal suitable for breeding, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. You cannot purchase piglets from the same litter.

2. If the breeder has several sows and one boar on the farm, then it is better not to buy piglets in this place. Such animals will certainly be relatives from which it is impossible to obtain he althy offspring.

3. You need to find out the weight with which the piglet was born. It is better if the seller also tells the growth dynamics of the animal at intervals of 10 days from the moment of birth.

4. In order to make sure that the age of the piglet indicated by the seller and its real value correspond, you can ask to see the sow that gave birth to the animal. If the piglet is only a month old, then the pig should have sagging milk lobes, it should look thinner. Otherwise, the piglet is older than the seller says, or there is another sow in front of the buyer.

5. You can also determine a he althy animal by its appearance. Piglets should have well-developed muscles. Legs in he althy individuals are strong, widely spaced. An external sign of belonging to the breed is a kind of stigma, which has numerous bends.nasal bones.

If a piglet has a long head, a spindle-shaped body and legs in the shape of the letter "X", then such an individual is sick. In addition, these signs may indicate degeneration resulting from the birth of a piglet from relative parents.

A he althy piglet is distinguished by a downed dense physique, even coat, shiny eyes. Such an animal is active, has a good appetite. An excellent mood of the pig is evidenced by waving a thin tail from side to side.

Color doesn't matter. Mostly it is black, but even in one litter there can be piglets of both white and mixed color.

6. If the litter has more than 12 piglets, then such animals may be weak. The choice must be taken very carefully.

7. Having decided on the piglet, you need to ask about the food that the previous owner used. The transition to another diet should not be abrupt, otherwise the animal may get sick.

Containment location

Containing Vietnamese pigs does not require much trouble. Due to their relatively compact size, the animals do not require a very large pigsty. It is best to make it out of brick, and make the floor concrete. So that in the cold season the pigs do not freeze on the stone floor, about 2/3 of the pigsty should be covered with wooden scaffolding. This area will be a kind of sleeping place for animals. The rest of the space will serve as a place for feeding and a toilet. Belly-belliedthe Vietnamese pig is a clean animal, so you don’t have to worry that the manure will be scattered throughout the pigsty. In addition, the animals do not dig the floor, which also makes life easier for their owner.

One pen of about 4.5 m2 can accommodate two adult pigs, one sow with piglets or a boar. When planning the internal structure of the pigsty between the machines, it is necessary to leave a passage sufficient for the passage of a trolley, with which it will be possible to remove manure. The ventilation system must be well organized in the room. The lack of fresh air and the cluttering of the pigsty will negatively affect the he alth of the animals.

Despite the fact that the breeding of Vietnamese bellied pigs is possible even at low temperatures, which they can easily endure, you still need to worry about heating the pigsty for the winter. For the sow and newborn piglets, the cold can be devastating. In order for the offspring to be he althy, grow well and recover, it needs a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. The space can be heated by gas convectors, a Russian stove, and other heating methods.

Walking

Exercising daily in warm weather keeps pigs strong immune system and good mood. Less sick and well put on weight regularly walking Vietnamese bellied pigs. Keeping exclusively in captivity will result in breeding weak and sick animals.

In the area for walking, if there are no trees growing there, you need to dig a few logs into the ground. Pigs love to rub againstthem. A light canopy that protects animals from rain and the scorching sun will not interfere on the site.

The pigs of this breed, who are very fond of swimming in the mud, will give great pleasure, a kind of pool. Its role can be played by a small depression in the ground measuring 2 by 2 meters. The pit must be periodically filled with fresh water. In such a pool, pigs can get rid of annoying insects, as well as cool off in hot summer weather.

Food selection

Proper diet is the key not only to the growth of a he althy animal and a good weight gain, but also to obtaining high-quality lean meat, which distinguishes Vietnamese bellied pigs. Feeding animals depends on the special structure of their digestive system. A small stomach and a small intestinal diameter, the rapid movement of food through the digestive tract make it undesirable to use coarse feed. The standard treat of ordinary pigs, such as fodder beets, straw, for the Vietnamese breed will not bring any benefit. The young hay of grasses of the legume family - alfalfa, clover - is well digested in the gastrointestinal tract of these pigs.

A good option is compound feed prepared in the form of thick dense porridge. Such food lingers in the mouth for a long time; Vietnamese pigs chew it thoroughly. Feeding food of this consistency contributes to the release of a large amount of saliva, under the influence of which starch turns into sugar. This simplifies the process of digestion.

So that food is digested asbetter, preference should be given to ground grain. Whole grain feeds mostly pass through the pig's digestive tract unchanged, without being digested.

The basis of compound feed is barley and wheat. Oats, peas and corn are also added to it. The latter should not be more than 10%, since this cereal causes obesity in pigs. If you add too much corn to the feed, it will be almost impossible to get tender bacon meat.

Vitamin supplements are good for the he alth of pigs. Piglets can be given fish oil, eggs, milk, and vitamins are added to the bucket of feed for sows. In its raw form, so that vitamins do not break down, you can give animals zucchini, carrots, pumpkins. If vegetables are still cooked, they should be cooked immediately before feeding.

Farrowing of Vietnamese bellied pigs

The main condition for the appearance of he althy offspring is the absence of family ties between the sow and the boar. Otherwise, the appearance of piglets with deformities, weak and sick is possible. In the future, such animals gain weight very poorly, often they cannot have their own offspring.

Vietnamese bellied pig reaches puberty by the age of 4 months, boar - a little later. You can determine that you can start mating by the state of the pig. She becomes restless, the genital loop swells. When pressing on the croup, the animal freezes in one place. If all these signs are visible, the pig can be placed with a boar for one day. First farrowVietnamese pigs is about 5 piglets, then up to 20 animals are born, most often about 12.

Pig pregnancy lasts from 114 to 118 days. A few days before giving birth, the animal begins to worry, to equip the nest, carefully crushing the hay. If colostrum appeared from the nipples, then the appearance of piglets will occur within a day. For farrowing, you need to carefully prepare. In the machine you need to clean up well, leaving only hay and a bowl of clean water. Separately, you need to equip a corner for newborn piglets. This place should be warm, in the first hours of life the temperature will be optimal around 30 degrees.

If necessary, the respiratory tract of piglets is cleared of mucus, then placed in a prepared place to dry. It is important to ensure that in the first hour of life each piglet receives the required amount of colostrum. It contains a large number of nutrients, which are very lacking in newborn offspring.

Piglets at first feed exclusively on milk, which meets their needs in almost all nutrients. The exception is iron. To prevent anemia in offspring, piglets can be given injections of special drugs.

On average, by 10 days of life, a piglet reaches a weight of 1 kg, by 20 days - 1.5-2 kg. By a month, a piglet with a birth weight of 400-450 g should weigh at least 2.5-3 kg.

For a good weight gain, week-old piglets can begin to introduce complementary foods. It maybe chalk, charcoal, other substances containing calcium, phosphorus. 10 days after birth, animals are given clean water. Two-week-old piglets can begin to feed thick porridge. A month after giving birth, the amount of milk in the sow is reduced, by this time the babies should learn to chew food on their own. In the same period, it is necessary to begin the gradual weaning of piglets from the mother.

The result of breeding

Breeding pigs of this breed is a promising investment. Vietnamese bellied pigs, whose adult price is about 8,000 rubles, are very unpretentious, do not require expensive feed and special care. The decisive factor for profitable breeding is the right choice of piglets, the cost of which is about 3,000 rubles.

The meat of pigs of this breed is very tender and tasty. It appeared on the market recently, but has already earned the trust of consumers. The meat of medium-sized individuals weighing up to 40 kg has especially good taste, although carcasses weighing about 100 kg enter the market.

The meat of Vietnamese bellied pigs contains little cholesterol, retains most of the nutrients in any method of heat treatment.

In order for animals to grow well, gain weight and bring he althy offspring, you need to follow the recommendations for keeping and feeding animals. Then the breeding of pigs of this breed will become a really profitable business.