Weight of Vietnamese pigs at 4 months. Care of piglets of the Vietnamese fold-bellied breed. Animals that gain weight quickly

02.03.2020

How much Vietnamese piglets weigh at seven months is a question that interests pig breeders who have just started this breed. Vietnamese pigs appeared in Russia quite recently, but they were able to arouse great interest among farmers.

However, before purchasing piglets, you should study some characteristics of the breed, the features of body weight gain at different stages - this, first of all, will allow you to assess the profitability of the farm. This is what we will talk about today.

Pigs of the Vietnamese breed have a number of unique features for which farmers throughout the country fell in love with them:

Rapid growth before puberty. Closer to four months, the females are ready for mating.
Strong immunity. Vietnamese pigs rarely have various infections, so piglets do not have to be vaccinated.
The meat has good taste.
Accuracy. These are very clean pigs compared to other breeds. They always share a place to sleep and a toilet.
Resistant to difficult climates. Southeast Asia is considered the birthplace of pigs, where a humid tropical climate prevails. However, this feature did not affect the adaptation of pigs to the cold climate of Russia.

Vietnamese females are patient in nature, so they become good mothers. But, despite the fact that they reach puberty closer to four months (in males, puberty is observed only closer to six months), it is recommended that they occur no earlier than seven or eight. In the future, pigs are allowed to happen twice a year. There are about 16-17 piglets in one litter.

What does the young look like?

Vietnamese piglets have a rather unusual appearance. They are identified by characteristic features:

black skin (spotted piglets are also found);
stocky build: broad back, massive sternum, powerful legs;
flattened muzzle.

These pigs are called bellied because of the sagging belly, in some individuals it even reaches the ground. This feature is reflected in the activity of animals, prevents them from moving normally.

Important point! Due to their unusual appearance, such individuals sometimes attract lovers of decorative pigs. However, the Vietnamese breed is not suitable for keeping for such purposes - small piglets are rapidly gaining weight and turning into real giants.

How to choose Vietnamese piglets?

The right choice of young animals is an important point in the pig business. The further productivity of individuals, their growth rate and the degree of fertility directly depend on this.

When choosing piglets, certain criteria must be taken into account. If it is planned to raise piglets not only for meat, but for further breeding, then you should not purchase young animals from one female. Inbreeding of animals leads to the rapid degeneration of all breed qualities. In addition, it is not recommended to purchase stock from breeders who have one boar for several females, because such young animals are very likely to have related genes.

Important point! The seller should be asked to provide information on the rate of weight gain of piglets every 10 days.

You can determine the approximate age of the piglet by external examination of the sow. It is recommended to buy piglets at the age of 30-60 days. Monthly vietnamese pig usually weighs about 4-5 kilograms, while the female looks emaciated, but her udder is large and swollen nipples can be clearly seen. If the female is quite active, and her mammary glands are practically invisible, then most likely the seller gave incorrect information about the age of the piglets, or shows the wrong mother pig.

It is necessary to pay special attention to the appearance of piglets. Health individuals have a dense physique, strong legs, clear eyes. On examination, you need to examine the skin and coat of young animals - normally, both the skin and coat are smooth, without any damage. Under the tail, the piglet should not have fecal residues - such signs indicate the presence of diseases.

It is important to learn about the method of fattening piglets. If the young animals have already adapted to a certain type of food, then it is necessary to switch to a different diet gradually. Otherwise, you can provoke violations of the digestive tract.

Thanks to these rules, you can acquire the most productive, and most importantly, healthy livestock. However, experts recommend buying purebred animals only at large pig farms, which is a guarantee of quality.

Features of feeding Vietnamese pigs

Vietnamese pigs have an unusual structure of the digestive system. They have a rather miniature stomach and small intestines, which is why their food is digested faster.

Since these are herbivores, a large amount of plant foods should prevail in their diet. However, it is not recommended to give them beets and straw - in the small intestine, these products are poorly digested and cause discomfort.

The menu of grown piglets includes the following products:

cereals and beans;
compound feed;
bean hay;
roots.

Important point! Vietnamese piglets are fed with grain crops only in a steamed form, otherwise the food will be poorly absorbed by the body.

Table 1. How to make cereal feed for piglets

Illustration	Description
	Step one: you need to mix oats, corn and peas, and then crush.
	Step two: add boiling water and a little salt to the feed mixture (based on 4 kilograms of feed up to 8-9 liters of water). The mixture must be left for 12 hours.
	Step Three: To improve the digestion process, fish oil is added to the feed.

Body weight of Vietnamese piglets by months

Typically, newborn Vietnamese piglets weigh 500 grams (individuals with less weight survive only in rare cases). In addition, the young animals completely lack a fatty layer, so they need warmth.

In the first few days after birth, they consume only the milk of the mother pig, then they begin to introduce feed for piglets into the diet. When organizing the right diet, young animals quickly gain weight. The highest activity of their growth is observed in the period from 60 to 120 days.

Table 2. Average indicators of changes in body weight in young animals

Month	Body weight, kg
1	4,5-6
2	10-12
3	22-23
4	32-35
5	45
6	50-55
7	65-68
8	75-78
9	85-88
10	95-98
11	100
12	110-115

First month

Starting from the tenth day from birth, piglets are given steamed cereals with the addition of milk and eggs. In most cases, piglets of this age develop iron deficiency anemia (the milk of sows contains a small concentration of this component), so they are given special iron injections for prevention.

It is important to provide a variety of food for the livestock - to introduce vegetables, animal feed, dairy products. At the same time, piglets do not stop drinking mother's milk. Thanks to this enhanced nutrition, their weight increases by 9 times. The average weight of a piglet at the very end of the month is 4.5-5 kilograms.

Second month

At the end of the first 30 days after birth, the active growth of young animals stops a little, so experienced farmers do not recommend weaning piglets from the sow during this period. Mother's milk contains useful components that help strengthen the protective functions of the body. However, adult pig food can already be included in the diet.

The average weight of a two-month-old Vietnamese pig is 8-12 kilograms. However, this is just an average value, there are slight deviations up or down. If the difference is very small, then do not worry.

Weight changes in piglets between 4 and 7 months

Closer to four months, there is a large increase in body weight of the piglet. Some farmers prefer to send young animals for slaughter during such a period, because they do not consider further maintenance to be cost-effective. At this point, the mass of piglets is already about 35 kilograms.

Important point! As a result of slaughtering a piglet at the age of four months, the percentage of net meat production is more than 78%.

The meat obtained from young pigs is dietary, it practically does not have a layer of fat. In addition, such products have good taste. However, if the farmer prefers to raise animals for lard, then the livestock must continue to be fattened.

With increased feeding of piglets, by the sixth month they begin to form a small layer of fat. Their average weight at this age is 50 kilograms.

Weight changes in piglets between 7 and 12 months

Near the end of the seventh month Vietnamese pigs gaining body weight of about 65-68 kilograms. During this period, with increased feeding, they already form a dense layer of fat. In order not to provoke obesity, it will be necessary to reduce the amount of grain feed in the diet, and in particular corn.

Over the following months, pigs gain an average of 10-12 kilograms, so already at 12 months the weight of a boar is more than 115 kilograms. Females are smaller in size, their weight per year is about a centner.

Body weight of adults

At the age of two years, the growth of Vietnamese pigs stops. Usually only breeding pigs are raised up to this point. Their weight is about 120-125 kilograms, they are characterized by increased appetite, they consume 750 grams of liquid mash per day.

Video - Vietnamese boar weight

Content Features

You can build a pigsty for piglets from brick or wood, but you should not make a room entirely from these materials - the floor in the pigsty should be more durable and water resistant. Most farmers prefer to fill the floor with concrete because it is much easier to clean, while slurry often accumulates between the wooden boards and is not easy to clean out. However, some part of the pigsty is insulated with boards to avoid hypothermia of the pigs in the winter season.

Too spacious rooms are separated using a grid. In such pens they contain several piglets at once or a female with offspring. There should be space between these partitions so that manure can be removed without any problems. In addition, ventilation in the room is of no small importance - in its absence, hydrogen sulfide accumulates in the air, which poisons individuals.

Important point! There must be a canopy on the walking area. It is installed in case of rain or extreme heat.

In the winter season, heaters are often installed in the pigsty, because sub-zero temperatures negatively affect the productivity of piglets. They have to expend energy on warming their own body instead of gaining meat mass.

When keeping pigs together, it is necessary to castrate all males that are unsuitable for breeding. This is required so that every month they do not have sexual hunting, when the male can accidentally cover one of the females. In addition, with the help of castration, you can reduce the likelihood of aggression in males. Such individuals do not enter into conflicts.

However, the main reason for castration of wild boars is the ability to eliminate the unpleasant smell of meat, so this procedure should be carried out at the age of 1.5 months. Read more about castration of piglets in

Positive and negative aspects of keeping Vietnamese pigs

Many farmers are convinced that breeding Vietnamese pigs brings a good income. However, additional advantages of the breed should be highlighted:

No high costs for feed mixtures, because Vietnamese pigs mainly eat plant foods. In the summer, they willingly consume green grass, and in winter, hay and root crops.
The meat of young individuals is in great demand, because it contains a minimum amount of calories and has a pleasant taste.
For 12 months, the female can bring offspring twice, which can also be sold and made a profit.
Vietnamese pigs have a very calm nature, they do not cause much trouble, they do not make noise.

This breed has practically no flaws. The disadvantage of the Vietnamese is that thoroughbred sows are too caring mothers who can feed offspring for a long time. And this, in turn, leads to their exhaustion.

Also, the disadvantage is the impossibility of mating immediately after maturation in females. Despite the fact that puberty occurs at four months, they are recommended to happen closer to 6-7 months. During this time, their body will be able to get stronger, which will allow you to get a viable offspring.

Piglets cost

Despite the high productivity, the young growth of the Vietnamese breed has an acceptable cost. So, a three-month-old piglet can be bought within 4,000-5,000 rubles. Dairy piglets can be purchased much cheaper. Their cost is about 2,000 rubles.

Summing up

The popularity of Vietnamese pigs is due to the fact that they are able to adapt to various conditions of detention. However, in order to achieve maximum profitability of the farm, it is necessary to adhere to the rules for the care and feeding of piglets, which are not at all difficult for the pig breeder. Therefore, breeding Vietnamese is not troublesome.

Video - Is it profitable to keep Vietnamese pigs?

Viktor Kalinin

Pig breeder with 12 years of experience

Articles written

Vietnamese herbivorous pigs are popular in a number of countries due to their unpretentiousness. They tolerate temperature changes well, are friendly, caring, affectionate. Vietnamese piglets are born quickly and develop at 6 months, and the fertility of sows sets records.

The breed of pigs Vietnamese bellied pig comes from Asia, hence its second name is the Asian herbivorous pig. In 1985, representatives of the breed, which appeared in Vietnam, were brought to Canada, and later to Europe.

Today the breed is popular in Canada and Ukraine, where breeders are engaged in improving productivity and breed qualities. There is an opinion among novice pig breeders that in addition to the Vietnamese folded belly, there is a similar Korean breed. In fact, the same bellied piglets from Vietnam are mistakenly considered Korean. The second mistake that many amateurs make is to call representatives of the Vietnamese breed "lop-eared pig."

Appearance description

Vietnamese pigs are massive, with a wide body and a voluminous chest. They have short legs and a belly hanging almost to the ground, especially noticeable in sows. Average weight can reach 150 kg. Vietnamese piglets are born neat and tucked up, about the size of a cat, but by the age of three months they have an abdomen that sags more and more as they grow.

Description of the breed. The muzzle is strongly blunt, with a turned-up snout and folds on the top of the nose. Contrary to popular belief, Vietnamese "lop-eared" pigs are not lop-eared at all - their ears are small, widely spaced, turned to the sides. In adult boars, powerful fangs up to 13 cm long are located in the mouth.

The body of the Vietnamese pig is covered with stiff long bristles, lying smoothly in a calm state and rising in moments of tension and fear. The color of the bristles is black - occasionally there are representatives of the Vietnamese bellied breed of pigs completely gray or spotted.

The character of the Vietnamese folded belly is balanced, the pig is clean and perfectly tolerates different climates - from hot to frosty.

Productivity

The slaughter weight of the Vietnamese bellied pig is 75-80 kg, it reaches it already by 7-8 months. Adult pigs can weigh up to 120 kg, wild boars - up to 150 kg, while the meat yield after slaughter is 75%. Daily gain with normal feeding - 350-500 g.

Females mature already and gain weight at 4 months, but the first farrowing is carried out at 7 months so that the body has time to prepare for childbirth.

Advantages and disadvantages

Vietnamese pigs are unpretentious in care and take root in any conditions. There are other advantages to keeping and breeding them:

fast breeding - females mature by 4 months, and wild boars - by 6;
cleanliness, ease of cleaning the pigsty;
high immunity to diseases;
caring attitude of sows to piglets;
multiple pregnancy;
excellent taste of meat, thin fat layer;
the ability to place the animal in a limited space, due to the calm nature;
The pigsty (pictured below) is easy to clean and keep clean.

With the above advantages of the Vietnamese breed of pigs, its disadvantages are insignificant:

the need to dose feed to avoid obesity;
abundant fat gain during the fattening period;
poor digestibility of roughage.

Asian bellies are kept in brick complexes with poured concrete floors. In the place where piglets of the Vietnamese breed live, a platform made of wood is equipped, on which the litter is laid.

Pigs of this breed tolerate any temperature well, but babies are recommended to be warm - from 25 ° C. The room where the brood of the Vietnamese lop-bellied is located can be small - a compact physique allows the "Vietnamese" to feel normal even in a cramped paddock.

Having an excellent appetite, Vietnamese pigs, whose weight at 6 months is already 50-60 kg, grow very quickly. They have strong immunity against the main infectious diseases that are characteristic of piglets of other breeds. Their meat is considered a delicacy and contains several times less cholesterol than the usual pork, and thin fat up to 3.5 cm thick has a large number of meat layers and has a delicate taste. Let's take a closer look at how the product is obtained.

Animals that gain weight quickly

Breeding Vietnamese piglets is considered very profitable due to the low amount of feed needed to build muscle mass. This is of great importance for small-scale pork producers who do not have sufficient funds to quick organization pig farm, or raising animals to feed their families.

Having strong immunity, bellied piglets practically do not get sick, although they need to be vaccinated against helminths without fail. At birth, Vietnamese pigs have a weight of about 350-600 g, it depends on the number of animals in the litter.

A young pig giving birth for the first time brings an average of 5-10 piglets. With each subsequent farrowing, the number of babies increases, reaching 12-18. Naturally, in this case, the animals are smaller in size, but they compensate for this with increased growth, which allows the piglet to reach a weight of 3.5-4 kilograms by the age of one month.

When breeding, the purebred of the breed is important.

For beginner pig breeders who decide to organize the breeding of bellied pigs in their farmstead, it is extremely important to purchase a piglet that fully corresponds to the characteristics of this breed, which can be read in the article.

Only in this case, the weight of piglets by months, which we give in the table below, will correspond to the figures given. When growing hybrids, the results can be quite different.

To get strong offspring with weight indicators corresponding to the bellied breed, remember that:

it is necessary to acquire manufacturers from breeders living in different regions;
make sure that the piglets clearly show breed characteristics;
the weight of the acquired piglet must correspond to the declared age;
he should not have external deformities;
the animal should be mobile, and its eyes should shine.

Pre-examine the boar and the sow, and if there are external deviations from the norm of the breed, be sure to refuse to purchase piglets.

Proper nutrition accelerates growth

If your pigsty really contains Vietnamese lop-bellied pigs that are not spoiled by closely related crossing, then their weight gain will correspond to the average indicators of the corresponding table. And the difference will depend solely on the type of food, as well as the quantity and quality of complementary foods given.

Despite the fact that the Vietnamese bellied pig belongs to herbivorous breeds, about 20% of its daily diet should be porridge, steamed on the basis of grain crushed to a state of flour. Such porridges are eaten with special pleasure by growing piglets.

The structural features of the digestive system of piglets of this breed do not allow feeding them with whole grains. Undigested grain very quickly passes through the shortened intestines and goes out along with the fecal masses. It is practically not absorbed by the body and does not ensure the growth of the animal.

Up to puberty build up meat

With proper feeding, a Vietnamese pig gains a weight of 10 kg by the age of two months. After the period of puberty begins and a rapid set of muscle mass. When fed with grain mixtures and compound feed, a piglet can gain up to 350-500 g per day.

At 3 months, a mumps approaching reproductive age can weigh 20-25 kg. A fattening boar that has undergone a castration procedure and has been sick for a week will not have much less weight - 18-20 kg.

A feature of Asian pigs imported from Vietnam is their ability to produce offspring at an early age. Pigs reach it by 3-4, and boars by 4-5 months. When mating, it plays an important role how much the future sow weighs.

During this period, the breeder should decide whether he is going to prepare animals for slaughter, or will grow them to an adult state and leave them for breeding piglets.

In both cases, he must transfer the pigs to two meals a day in summer and three meals a day in winter, adding more barley, wheat and rye to complementary foods.

Corn, peas and oats, which are best absorbed by the body of the lop-bellied piglet, give an increase in fat, which is considered inappropriate at this age.

First slaughter age

The fourth month of fattening is considered by many breeders to be the best time to slaughter fattening piglets. It is during this period that they begin the explosive growth of muscle tissue.

At 4 months, piglets weigh 30-35 kg, and the yield of pure gourmet meat is more than 80% of the entire animal carcass. For comparison, in pigs of other breeds, the meat yield does not exceed 66%.

The slaughter of Vietnamese piglets at this age is practiced mainly by owners of small private farmsteads who raise animals for personal use and who want to minimize the cost of their maintenance. The meat tastes like a cross between turkey and regular pork. This explains why this product is not very popular among gourmets. But the fat has a marble structure with thin layers and a delicate taste.

However, pork and lard are in high demand in the market as they are sold at affordable prices. This allows even a novice breeder to make a significant profit at a minimum cost.

Growth slows down from 4 months

If you decide to continue fattening a Vietnamese pig to get more fat and meat, you should understand that from 5 months and reaching a weight of 40-45 kg, they no longer grow quickly, mainly accumulating fat.

A large amount of tender fatty layers will appear in the meat, and bacon acquires characteristic qualities that add to its popularity among buyers. By 6 months, a Vietnamese pig reaches a mass of 50-60 kg, and a pregnant pig looks a little taller and larger than other animals from its litter. It should be borne in mind that in the early stages of development, pregnancy in a sow is practically not manifested in any way.

With a standard first crossing (at four months of age), signs of pregnancy appear only after 90 days, that is, by the age of 7 months. Until then, the bellied sow will simply grow well, increasing in size. Therefore, the livestock breeder should be very careful not to let the pregnant sow go to slaughter.

Optimal size for industrial slaughter

At 7 months, the weight of a standard bellied piglet reaches 60-70 kilograms, and by 8 months - 70-80 kg. In industrial pig production, this age is considered the most suitable for slaughter, since meat and lard acquire the best taste characteristics. Depending on the feeding ration, from such a carcass you can get from 50 to 70 kg of meat.

As a rule, such results are achieved without problems by the owners of large pig farms, who purposefully feed bellied animals with compound feed containing a large amount of protein mass (wheat, rye and barley).

In small subsidiary farms Those whose owners feed their animals more vegetables, including zucchini, pumpkin and raw potatoes, as well as less expensive corn, peas and barley, pigs gain more fat.

The thickness of the sebaceous layer on the back of a pig or wild boar can reach 3.5 cm.

It is not advisable to keep fattening Vietnamese animals longer, since the piglet does not grow, gaining muscle mass, but only accumulates fat, reducing the quality of pork.

Increases the amount of fat

If you decide to leave the boar and pigs for breeding, then you should be prepared for the fact that at the age of 10 months the weight of Vietnamese piglets will reach about 80-90 kg. At the same time, they will have a good appetite, absorbing up to 700 g of porridge per day.

After farrowing, the Vietnamese lop-bellied pig first loses weight, giving strength to feeding the babies. The sow feeds her piglets with her milk for a month and a half, after which she is ready for a new mating on the 9-12th day. After being covered by the manufacturer, she will again begin to eat intensively and gain weight.

The usual weight of a one-year-old Vietnamese pig is 100-110 kg, and the maximum weight of a producing boar reaches 120 kg.

If you are raising dairy piglets for sale, it is recommended to have three Vietnamese sows and one sire on a small farm. It is best if they are purchased from different breeders and not have family ties.

With two inseminations per year, each bellied sow produces an average of up to 24 piglets, from which viable offspring will grow, providing the breeder with a stable income.

By the age of two, due to the accumulation of fat, the sow reaches a weight of 135 kg, and the boar can weigh more than 160.

Twenty years in one condition

Vietnamese bellied pigs are known for their lifespan, which is over 30 years. During 20 of them, sows can bear offspring, and the boar is able to perform its functions for a longer time. At this age, the weight of animals remains approximately at the same level (90-100 kg for a female, 100-120 kg for a male).

The farmer is given the opportunity to determine himself until what age to feed the animals, and when to cull them. Some experts in the field of pig breeding recommend keeping breeding boars for no more than 1 year, when they weigh 90-100 kg. Indeed, younger boars are on the way, who already at the age of six months know perfectly well what to do with females.

The sow, on the other hand, can be kept until the moment when she loses her reproductive abilities. But even if the output is 80-90 kg of meat obtained from an old pig, it will not bring much profit due to its low quality.

Monitor the weight of sows and boars

After reaching two years of age, fold-bellied pigs should not gain weight. If this happens, then the breeder is dealing with obesity. You can fight it by changing the diet of the pig and its more frequent walking. The animal must move a lot and sweat profusely, which will prevent the formation of fat.

Remember that an overweight sow can have serious problems with the birth of babies.

In order for the livestock of bellied pigs to grow strong and healthy, one should not forget about the vaccinations that are given by representatives of the veterinary service.

If the bellied piglet is healthy, then he is gaining weight in a standard way. This data is shown in the table of the weight of Vietnamese pigs by month:

If during the period of growth of bellied pigs their mass is very different from the numbers given above, then there are problems that lie in the disease, improper care or nutrition of the animal.

Put a class if the article was interesting and useful for you.

Write in the comments what age of the piglet you think is optimal for slaughter.

Origin and description of the breed

The breed was bred in Southeast Asia as one of the varieties of Asian bellied herbivorous pig. Representatives of this breed group began to be actively imported to Europe and North America from the 80s of the last century, mainly from Vietnam. Livestock breeders quickly assessed the potential of these pigs and began active breeding work in order to increase their acclimatization, increase their size and productivity, and improve the taste of meat. Now bellied Vietnamese pigs are grown in almost all countries of the world, but more often we are not talking about purebred individuals, but about a variety of crossbred pigs obtained by crossing Asian and European breeds.

One of the most successful pigs obtained with the participation of Asians is the so-called karmal.

The main difference between Asian pigs is their herbivory., that is, the structural features of the digestive tract, which allow good absorption of plant foods. Outwardly, this is manifested in the presence of a heavy belly, sagging almost to the very ground - hence the name "loose-bellied". Animals have a powerful body with a wide sternum and a long back, short strong limbs with fleshy hams. The head is medium in size, slightly flattened, resembling a pug's face, with similar "accordion" leathery folds on the snout.

Sometimes lop-bellied pigs are mistakenly called lop-eared. In fact, their ears are small and erect.

Adult pigs are able to gain live weight 100-120 kg, and wild boars - 120-140 kg, but animals weighing from 50-60 to 80 kg at the age of 6-8 months are considered optimal for slaughter. They practically do not deposit a layer of subcutaneous fat, and the meat turns out to be “marbled” - lean and tender, with thin fatty layers. At the same time, its yield is about 70% from the carcass.

Purebred "Vietnamese", as a rule, are black in color with white spots on the head. Now, due to spontaneous selection, the color of the bellied piglets has become more diverse: white, spotted or red with dark stripes.

Breed productivity

The big advantages in breeding this breed are:

precocity- pigs reach reproductive age by 4-4.5 months and can give birth;
multiple pregnancy- in the first farrowing, Vietnamese pigs bring no more than 6 piglets, and during subsequent farrowing, the number of offspring increases to an average of 10-12 (up to a maximum of 20);
fertility– a sow can farrow twice a year (pregnancy lasts less than 4 months), which allows you to get a total offspring of more than 20 piglets.

It is important that the processes of fertilization and childbirth occur safely in a natural way, without requiring human intervention, including professional veterinary care.

Pigs show a strongly pronounced maternal instinct, carefully feed and care for babies. Piglets are born small(from 450 to 600 g), but rather quickly gain weight (250-350 g per day). Females who have given birth usually have a lot of milk - enough even for a large offspring. Newborn boars, which are planned to be grown for slaughter, must be castrated immediately or before 1.5 months of age, otherwise their meat will have an unpleasant odor, and characteristic aggressiveness may appear in the behavior of sexually mature males. In general, representatives of this breed are distinguished by a calm and peaceful disposition, get along well with other pets and birds. According to many pig farmers, the main problem during slaughter is the emotional attachment to these cute creatures.

The specifics of keeping and fattening

Asian pigs are no different huge size, therefore, do not require large premises for maintenance. They are very clean: do not defecate where they sleep or near feeders and drinkers, bathe with pleasure (in the presence of small reservoirs). In addition, animals resistant to most common diseases, which allows you to manage a minimum number of vaccinations. In a pigsty, it is important to ensure dryness, lack of drafts, seasonal heating and the possibility of ventilation.

In the warm season, pigs free roam must be provided on grassy areas where they can actively move and eat pasture - grass and young shoots of shrubs. Animals deprived of this opportunity develop worse, slow down the rate of muscle mass gain, and often suffer from beriberi.

Vietnamese pigs have the ability to distinguish edible plants from poisonous plants at the genetic level.

Herbivorous pigs eat little, but often. Almost 80% of their diet consists of green mass, vegetables (pumpkin and root crops), fallen fruits. The remaining 20% is recommended to include grain products (bran, crushed grain), acorns, chestnuts. In winter, the share of grain feed is increased to 30%, and instead of fresh grass, pigs are given hay and straw, legumes (peas and corn), fodder beets, boiled potatoes, and kitchen food waste.

To obtain lean meat with a minimum amount of fat, when fattening young animals, grain mixtures consisting of barley, rye and wheat are used. In order for animals to build up a thicker layer of fat, it is advised to feed adults (after 7-8 months) foods high in protein: oats and legumes. At the same time, the average daily gain in pigs is up to 500 g, and in hogs up to 600 g. Regular alternation of diets from various grains and legumes makes it possible to achieve the formation of bacon, in which thin layers of fat are interspersed with meat.

The cost of meat products when fattening bellied pigs is lower than when growing other breeds, as it allows you to significantly save on animal feed.

Opinions about the taste of meat are rather contradictory: according to some reviews, it is inferior to ordinary domestic pigs in terms of taste saturation; others believe that the meat of herbivorous pigs is more healthy, delicate and more like a turkey than traditional pork.

Feedback from livestock breeders

Yuriy, 31 years old, Lviv region

Our people are not yet in a hurry to start Asian pigs, although they say that it is not just fashionable, but profitable. By the way, in neighboring Poland there are also very few of them, and in Hungary they are kept in almost every farmstead. The Vietnamese are really very clean, calm, obedient and friendly. Grass is eaten both fresh and dry. If there is a possibility of grazing, then they can give a good increase in pasture. And if you feed them with steamed compound feed, they will get fat right before your eyes.

Sergey, 46 years old, Usman

Raised my first Vietnamese, pricked today. At 8 months of net weight, it turned out to be 40 kg each, a little fat, somewhere around 2 cm. By this age, ordinary whites had already gained under 80 kg. He fed the same way, gave the Vietnamese more grass and some oat bran, sometimes he added waste from the kitchen. Pigs are very friendly, they wag their tails like dogs when you enter a pigsty. The main thing is that neither the floor nor the logs are gnawed, the locks on the door are not broken. When butchering, I did not like that the skin is drier and rougher than that of whites, and it is not very clean after singeing. But the meat and lard are more tender, I liked the taste. It makes sense to breed for yourself, but not for sale.

Oleg, 52 years old, Rechitsa

Duroc has the best meat in terms of taste, while Vietnamese has it so-so. Much depends on the diet. This breed of pigs is interesting primarily for breeders for its multiplicity. Mixes with white, for example, grow faster, and lard is present.

Anna, 45 years old, Omsk region

We wipe the Vietnamese piglets immediately after birth, castrate the piglets and bite off their upper and lower fangs with wire cutters. If you do not remove the fangs, then they then grow up to 15 cm in length. The umbilical cord is not immediately torn off, but sprayed with Kubatol. When it dries a little, tear it off at a distance of 7-10 cm and again sprinkle with Kubatol. So you don’t have to bother with the thread and stop the bleeding. After 2-3 days, it dries up and falls off by itself, but you need to look and, in some cases, process it again. At the same time, we give the piglets vitamins and iron.

Video

Experienced livestock breeders from the Saratov region (the first two videos) and from Transnistria (the last video) answer questions about keeping, feeding and breeding Vietnamese pigs in the following videos:

For several years she worked as an editor of a television program with leading ornamental plants in Ukraine. At the dacha, of all types of agricultural work, she prefers harvesting, but for this she is ready to regularly weed, chop, stepchild, water, tie up, thin out, etc. I am convinced that the most delicious vegetables and fruits are self-grown!

Convenient applications for Android have been developed to help gardeners and gardeners. First of all, these are sowing (lunar, flower, etc.) calendars, thematic magazines, collections useful tips. With their help, you can choose a day favorable for planting each type of plant, determine the timing of their maturation and harvest on time.

Compost - rotted organic residues of various origins. How to do? Everything is put in a pile, a pit or a large box: kitchen leftovers, tops of garden crops, weeds mowed before flowering, thin twigs. All this is interbedded with phosphorite flour, sometimes straw, earth or peat. (Some summer residents add special composting accelerators.) Cover with foil. In the process of overheating, the pile is periodically stirred or pierced to bring in fresh air. Usually compost "ripens" for 2 years, but with modern additives it can be ready in one summer season.

From varietal tomatoes, you can get "your" seeds for sowing on next year(if you really liked the variety). But it is useless to do this with hybrid ones: the seeds will turn out, but they will carry the hereditary material not of the plant from which they were taken, but of its numerous “ancestors”.

Tomatoes have no natural protection against late blight. If late blight attacks, any tomatoes die (and potatoes too), no matter what is said in the description of the varieties (“late blight-resistant varieties” is just a marketing ploy).

Both humus and compost are rightfully the basis of organic farming. Their presence in the soil significantly increases the yield and improves the taste of vegetables and fruits. By properties and appearance they are very similar, but they should not be confused. Humus - rotted manure or bird droppings. Compost - rotted organic residues of various origins (spoiled food from the kitchen, tops, weeds, thin twigs). Humus is considered a better fertilizer, compost is more accessible.

Oklahoma farmer Carl Burns developed an unusual variety of colorful corn called Rainbow Corn. The grains on each cob are of different colors and shades: brown, pink, purple, blue, green, etc. This result was achieved through many years of selection of the most colored ordinary varieties and their crossing.

It is necessary to collect medicinal flowers and inflorescences at the very beginning of the flowering period, when the content of nutrients in them is as high as possible. The flowers are supposed to be torn by hand, breaking off the rough pedicels. Dry the collected flowers and herbs, scattering in a thin layer, in a cool room at natural temperature without access to direct sunlight.

Freezing is one of the most convenient methods for preparing a grown crop of vegetables, fruits and berries. Some believe that freezing leads to a loss of nutrients and useful properties vegetable products. As a result of the research, scientists have found that there is practically no decrease in nutritional value during freezing.

Parameter	Characteristic
Animal	Pig
Breed	Vietnamese (Asian) Belly
productive type	bacon
Live weight of adults	Pig on average 100-120 kg (up to 140), boar - 120-140 kg (up to a maximum of 200 kg)
Pig puberty age	4 months
multiple pregnancy	4-6 piglets in the 1st farrowing, with subsequent - 8-12 (up to 20)
Suit	Black (often with white spots on the head), sometimes white, red, marble
Set of live weight by the age of 7-8 months (optimal for slaughter)	75-80 kg
Average daily weight gain	250-500 g
Meat quality	High
Meat yield from the carcass	70-75%
The thickness of the layer of subcutaneous fat with a live weight of 100-110 kg (by 10 months of age)	Up to 35 mm (with meat-fat fattening technology)
Disease resistance	High immunity
Registration in the State Register of the Russian Federation	Breed not included