Vietnamese pig. Description, features, types and breeding of Vietnamese pigs

Vietnamese piglets are quite popular among most breeders. Breeding them does not cause much trouble. Therefore, they are preferred by people who have their own business, or simply for personal purposes. In pursuit of fashion, many animal lovers keep pigs as pets. The innate love for cleanliness of these pets allows you to keep them even in an apartment.

Breed Features

Vietnamese piglets have a very memorable appearance. Pot-bellied and fold-eared pigs are extremely popular. One of the features of lop-eared animals is their long ears that droop heavily, and the feature of lop-bellied animals is their voluminous, drooping belly. This interesting feature appears already in adolescence. Despite the belly hanging down to the ground, the animal remains mobile and very active. However, the pot-bellied breed has several more characteristic features:

The animal looks stocky (short, typically pig-like legs, wide chest and very powerful back).
Small short ears in a standing position.
The structure of the muzzle is different from other representatives; the muzzle is shorter.
The color of the animal is predominantly black.

Exotic lovers are often seduced by the hilarious appearance of little piglets. Pigs are particularly clean, but do not forget that they remain representatives of their species. And pretty quickly the cute little piglets grow into powerful boars. Having reached puberty, the boar will gain up to 35 kg of weight, and this will no longer resemble a miniature piglet. A sow or breeding boar can gain weight up to 150 kg. Vietnamese pigs have interesting features:

Sustained weight gain.
Rapid puberty.
Unpretentiousness in content.
Not picky when choosing food.
The absence of a specific odor, which is characteristic of ordinary pigs.

Tropical and subtropical climates are the standard living conditions for pigs. But they easily adapt to the harsh climatic conditions of central Russia. Males fully mature at 6 months; in females this occurs 2 months earlier. Females are quite fertile. They have a calm disposition and are considered attentive and caring towards their children. Pigs give birth to two litters per year, each of which can have an average of 12 piglets.

With proper care, Vietnamese pig breeds have excellent health. Their excellent immunity allows them to resist all common diseases that are common in pets. Therefore, keeping and breeding Vietnamese piglets will not cause much trouble.

The quality of meat from Vietnamese pigs is superior in many respects to other bacon breeds. This is why the breed is highly valued by producers.:

The meat of pot-bellied pigs is classified as a delicacy. It is suitable for preparing almost all dishes. The meat can be used for smoking and salting, and it can also be boiled, baked or fried. It is suitable for grilling or barbecuing.

Advantages of the breed

The breed has many unique characteristics . Thanks to them, they are very comfortable to breed:

When breeding piglets, they need to create comfortable living conditions. A cozy, warm and dry room with good ventilation is suitable for this. The floor covering must be stable, durable and even. Concrete floors are best suited for frequent cleaning. On top of the floor covering there is a flooring made of planks. They don't need a lot of space to house the pigs. Each livestock breeder decides for himself how many animals to keep on his farm. In a pen with an area of 4 to 5 square meters you can fit:

One mature male.
Two adult females.
A sow with offspring.

During the warm season, animals need to be given daily exercise. Walking areas should be protected from the wind and have reliable and durable canopies to provide shelter from the rain. Sheds are made of boards, at the height of the pigs. This is so they can scratch their back. Water containers and food troughs should also be installed in the yard. During the cold season, the pigsty must be heated. Keeping warm is important for the birth of small piglets. In addition to mother's milk, newborns need human care. The formation of immunity and protection from external irritants will depend on this.

Often, due to the newness of the breed, it is quite difficult to find correct information on the nutrition of the Vietnamese pig. Breeding, care and nutrition of animals are very closely related. It is often advised that the diet of piglets should consist only of greens. The peculiarities of the digestive system actually allows you to absorb a lot of herbs. However, in this case, nothing good can be expected: the quality of the meat will suffer significantly and there will not be the necessary weight gain. The effectiveness of such a diet is quite low. Greens force the animal to eat more, which produces more waste.

At home, Vietnamese women are often offered hay instead of regular food in the form of root vegetables and straw. If they are bred for meat, then their diet should consist of high-calorie feed (grain mixtures) with the addition of greens. The grain mixture is based on wheat and barley. They are digested quite well and help with weight gain. These grains occupy up to 70% of the total diet. Corn, peas and oats are hard-to-digest grains and should make up no more than 10% of the total diet.

During breastfeeding or pregnancy, sows need a varied diet. You can add chopped boiled eggs and fermented milk products to the menu. The diet should also include thick grain porridge, which is quite easy to prepare:

All types of grain crops, previously crushed, must be poured with boiling water in a ratio of one to two to obtain a nutritious moist mixture.
After 12 hours of steaming, the food will be ready.
In order to increase the efficiency of nutrition, fish oil, components that stimulate digestion, and various vitamins are added to grain porridge.

Boiled potatoes are best suited in the winter; this product can make up up to 15% of the total diet.

And also in winter, animals need to add pre-stocked carrots and pumpkin to their menu. From hay, they most prefer legumes - clover and alfalfa.

Breeding pot-bellied pigs is quite easy and simple, even in a small area. However, you must adhere to some rules. Animals that are not closely related are selected for mating. The weight of animals must be above 30 kg. The male must be older than six months, and the female can be chosen from 4-month-old individuals. The boar is placed with the female when she shows signs of heat:

The appearance of characteristic discharge in the area of the genital loop.
Swelling of the genital organs.
Persistent anxiety.
Refusal of food.

For mating, the boar is left with the pigs for a day. With successful fertilization, a pig's pregnancy lasts from 114-117 days. The pig begins to warn about impending farrowing a few days in advance. This is manifested in restless behavior, nest structure and the desire to prepare the flooring . The approach of this event can be understood by the appearance of the female:

The stomach will drop significantly.
The nipples will swell noticeably and colostrum will appear.

Much of the success in breeding Vietnamese piglets depends on proper grooming. Caring for them consists of several points:

The temperature in the pen should be between 30 and 32 degrees.
Farrowing time for pot-bellied breeds ranges from 3 to 5 hours.
After the birth of the entire offspring, you need to wait until the afterbirth comes out.
The babies are freed from mucus, the piglets' umbilical cord is treated and dried, and then placed with the sow to be fed with colostrum.

All these actions need to be carried out in as little time as possible. The healthy growth of the animal will depend on this.

How to care for offspring

Piglets receive breast milk for about a month. From birth, this is the only product in the diet of young animals. On the 10th day, they begin to be given the first supplements - drinking water, chalk, clay and crushed charcoal. Mineral supplements have a beneficial effect on bone growth, improve digestive system processes and help improve immunity.

You should not feed your babies only milk. Long-term milk feeding has a bad effect on the health of the sow and the development of fast-growing young animals. Because of this, babies have a lack of nutrients and microelements. On the 20th day they should be fed with thick porridge based on mixed feed.

It is necessary to add a complex of vitamins to complementary foods. To prevent anemia, young animals are given special injections.

From the age of one month, babies need to be weaned off milk, gradually changing the feeding diet and switching to an adult diet. Healthy piglets already weigh more than 2.5 kg by one month from birth. By 3-4 months, pigs are ready for slaughter. To get a large mass, you need to wait up to six months, it is by this time that the peak of the animal’s growth has passed. Breeding Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs is quite a profitable business; you can supply all your relatives with meat without any problems.

Nowadays, the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig has ceased to be just an exclusive pet. Livestock farmers increasingly began to opt for breeding Vietnamese pigs.

Vietnamese pot belly pig

History of the Vietnamese breed

The Vietnamese potbellied pig breed was brought from Vietnam to Canada and Eastern Europe in the mid-1980s. Over time, the fashion for breeding these pigs spread to many countries: America, France, Hungary, Poland and other countries. The most intensive breeding work is currently being carried out in Hungary and Canada. In these countries, breeders are trying to make the breed even more productive for breeding by increasing the size of the animal and the percentage of its muscle mass. In Belarus, this breed became widespread relatively recently; livestock breeders are just beginning to master the breeding of these attractive pigs.

Features of this breed

Vietnamese breed pigs have some characteristics that must be taken into account when breeding them. Many of them are trends that are responsible for the rapid spread of fashion for keeping pigs.

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

Another feature of Vietnamese pigs is their good immunity; they tolerate both hot climates and cold winters. These animals are afraid only of drafts, which are especially destructive for small piglets.

Appearance of Vietnamese pigs

The pot-bellied Vietnamese pig got its name because of its large hanging belly, which is especially noticeable due to its short legs.

Pigs can be white or black. There are individuals of marbled color that combine both of these shades. Due to their short legs, pigs' bellies almost touch the ground. Their back is slightly concave and there are small ears on their head. The stigmas resemble an accordion due to the large number of folds. Externally, the snout of these pigs is somewhat similar to the muzzle of a pug due to the large number of bends.

One of the differences is the short legs

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

Breeding Vietnamese pigs

Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs gained their popularity due to the following advantages:

Low feeding costs;
Possibility of almost year-round (depending on the place of breeding) free range, since pigs tolerate low temperatures well during winter;
They have tender meat with little fat and no veins. The low cholesterol content in the product makes it possible to eat it for people with vascular diseases;
Compact dimensions, allowing you to keep several individuals at once in one not too large pen;
The animals are very clean, free from the specific smell inherent in almost all pigs of other breeds;
Immunity resistant to diseases and temperature changes;
Early sexual maturity makes it possible to get the first offspring from a pig that has reached only 7-9 months. Moreover, animals that live about 30 years are capable of farrowing throughout their lives. In addition, Vietnamese breed pigs are incredibly fertile, they produce from 12 to 20 piglets at a time;
Calm and good-natured. They allow the owner to approach the piglets, do not break enclosures, and they have the ability to train.

Vietnamese pigs have strong immunity

How to choose a pig breed?

All the advantages of this breed will be real only if you select healthy individuals that are capable of producing offspring in the future. Sometimes there is a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, reviews of which are not very good. As a rule, such animals weigh approximately 40-60 kg by the age of one year, and the owner of the farm cannot obtain offspring even 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:

If a breeder has several sows and one boar on his farm, then it is better not to buy piglets in this place. Such animals will certainly be relatives from whom it is impossible to obtain healthy offspring.
In order to make sure that the age of the piglet indicated by the seller corresponds to its real value, 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 and should look thinner. Otherwise, the pig is older than the seller says, or there is another sow in front of the buyer.
You need to find out the weight at 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.
A healthy animal can also be identified by its appearance. Piglets should have well-developed muscles. The legs of healthy individuals are strong and widely spaced. An external sign of belonging to the breed is a peculiar stigma with numerous bends of the 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 that occurred as a result of the birth of a piglet from relative parents.
A healthy piglet has a compact, dense build, smooth hair, and shiny eyes. Such an animal is active and has a good appetite. The piglet's good mood is indicated by waving its thin tail from side to side. Color doesn't matter. It is predominantly black, but even in one litter there can be both white and mixed piglets.
You cannot purchase piglets born from the same litter.
Having decided on a piglet, you need to ask about the food that the previous owner used. The transition to another food should not be abrupt, otherwise the animal may get sick.
If the litter contains more than 12 piglets, then such animals may be weak. The choice must be taken extremely carefully.

Selecting a place to keep pigs

Keeping 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 from brick and make the floor concrete. To prevent pigs from freezing on the stone floor during the cold season, approximately 2/3 of the pigsty should be covered with wooden scaffolds. This area will be a kind of sleeping place for the animals. The rest of the space will serve as a feeding area and toilet. The pot-bellied Vietnamese pig is a clean animal, so you don’t have to worry about manure being scattered throughout the pigsty. In addition, the animals do not dig the floor, which also makes life easier for their owner.

Vietnamese pig is unpretentious in keeping

One pen measuring about 4.5 m2 can accommodate two adult pigs, one sow with piglets or a boar. When planning the internal structure of a pigsty, you need to leave a passage between the machines that is sufficient for the passage of a cart, with which you can remove manure. The room must have a well-organized ventilation system. Lack of fresh air and clutter in the pigsty will negatively affect the health of the animals.

Despite the fact that breeding Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs is possible even at low temperatures, which they can easily tolerate, you still need to worry about heating the pigsty for the winter. For the sow and newborn piglets, the cold can be detrimental. In order for the offspring to be healthy, grow well and recover, they need a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. Heating of the room can be carried out using gas convectors, a Russian stove, and other heating methods.

How to prepare a paddock for pigs?

Daily exposure to fresh air in warm weather provides pigs with strong immunity and a good mood. Regularly walked Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs get sick less and gain weight well. Keeping them exclusively in captivity will lead to the breeding of weak and sick animals.

In the area for walking, if there are no trees growing there, you need to dig several logs into the ground. Pigs love to rub against them. A light canopy to protect the animals from rain and scorching sun would also be helpful.

Pigs of this breed, who love swimming in the mud, will get great pleasure from having a kind of swimming 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 and also cool off in hot summer weather.

Feeding Vietnamese pigs

A proper diet is the key not only to the growth of a healthy animal and good weight gain, but also to obtain high-quality lean meat, which Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are distinguished by. The feeding of animals depends on the special structure of their digestive system. A small stomach and small intestinal diameter, rapid movement of feed through the digestive tract make the use of coarse feed undesirable. Standard treats for ordinary pigs, such as fodder beets and straw, will not bring any benefit to the Vietnamese breed. Young hay of grasses from the legume family - alfalfa, clover - is well digested in the gastrointestinal tract of these pigs.

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

Feeding pigs is an important part of keeping them

In order for food to be absorbed as best as possible, preference should be given to ground grains. Whole grain feeds mostly pass through the pig's digestive tract unchanged, without being digested.

The basis of the 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 have a good effect on the health of pigs. Piglets can be given fish oil; for sows, eggs, milk, and vitamins are added to the feed bucket. In their raw form, so that the vitamins are not destroyed, you can give zucchini, carrots, and pumpkin to animals. If vegetables are still cooked, they should be cooked immediately before feeding.

Farrow

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

The pot-bellied Vietnamese pig reaches sexual maturity by the age of 4 months, the boar - a little later. You can determine that you can start mating by looking at the condition of the pig. She becomes restless, the genital loop swells. When you press 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. The first farrow of Vietnamese pigs is about 5 piglets, then up to 20 animals are born, most often about 12.

A pig's pregnancy lasts from 114 to 118 days. A few days before giving birth, the animal begins to worry, arrange a nest, carefully crushing the hay. If colostrum appears from the nipples, then the appearance of piglets will occur within 24 hours. You need to carefully prepare for farrowing. You need to clean the pen thoroughly, leaving only hay and a bowl of clean water. Separately, you need to arrange a corner for newborn piglets. This place should be warm; in the first hours of life, the optimal temperature will be about 30 degrees.

The first farrow is about five piglets

If necessary, the piglets' airways are cleared of mucus, then placed in a prepared place to dry. It is important to ensure that each piglet receives the required amount of colostrum in the first hour of its life. It contains a large number of nutrients that newborn offspring really lack.

At first, piglets feed exclusively on milk, which meets their needs for 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 one month, a piglet with a birth weight of 400-450 g should weigh at least 2.5-3 kg.

For good weight gain, one-week-old piglets can begin to introduce complementary foods. This could be chalk, charcoal, or other substances containing calcium and phosphorus. 10 days after birth, the animals are given clean water. Two-week-old piglets can begin to be fed with thick porridge. A month after giving birth, the sow’s milk supply decreases; by this time, the babies should learn to chew food on their own. During the same period, it is necessary to begin gradual weaning of piglets from their mother.

Summarizing

Breeding pigs of this breed is a promising investment. Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, the price of which for an adult is about 8,000 rubles, are very unpretentious and do not require expensive feed or special care. Determining for profitable breeding is the correct 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 animals weighing up to 40 kg has especially good taste, although carcasses weighing about 100 kg reach the market.

Vietnamese pig piglets

The meat of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs contains little cholesterol and retains most of the nutrients regardless of any method of heat treatment.

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

Many residents living in the private sector have their own small businesses, engaged in agriculture.

Is it profitable to keep Vietnamese?

We will talk about what conditions to create for successful breeding of the breed, the correct maintenance and diet of this breed, for beginning farmers.

In the last 15-20 years, on the territory of the Russian Federation, Vietnamese pot-bellied bellies have become widespread in individual country houses and peasant households.

The food supply is forbs of any type, root plants, and pumpkin pulp.

The diet includes additives and concentrates of animal origin.

Piglets should be given food twice a day.

This breed is prohibited from overeating, since this type of fattening has negative consequences for the structure of muscle and fat tissue. The productivity of the breed is also deteriorating.

The components of complementary foods in winter include dry ears of cereal crops and fortified supplements. The remaining third is made up of acorns and cereal feed. In summer, it is better to graze animals on weedy species of herbs.

Part of the diet in the summer consists of leaves of shrubs, fruit carrion, vegetables in the form of zucchini, pumpkin, duckweed. Approximately 1/5 of it consists of cereals and waste from cereals. Screenings from various plant crops are ideal for food.

The finished product is much better than the Russian Steppe breed, with fatty veins. It doesn't differ in color, but it's even tastier.

The sebaceous layer is 1.5-3.5 cm thick, softer, reminiscent of a cut from the abdominal part of a meat breed, but more tender. The rib part contains, without veins and fat.

In agriculture, the following small breeds are recognized: Vietnamese and Korean.

Korean piglets grow quickly and gain weight compared to the Vietnamese breed.

There are also differences in appearance, the Korean breed has a wrinkled stigma structure, the Vietnamese breed has smooth stigmas and narrow eyes.

There are some peculiarities in fertility, Korean sows bear in a short time, considerable offspring can be born from 10-25 pigs of this breed.

Females of both breeds have well-developed maternal instinct and attentiveness. Suitable for growing at home.

Pork meat of small breeds is popular among farmers, not only due to the taste of the finished product, but also its value. It contains a minimum of cholesterol and is well absorbed by the body. In restaurants around the world it has long become a real delicacy, and a raw material for preparing hundreds of dishes.

Keeping Vietnamese piglets at home

The breed of Vietnamese pigs is popular among farmers and ordinary people involved in household farming.

The high demand for breeding the Vietnamese breed lies in its individual characteristics.

Pigs have some characteristics characteristic of this breed.

Representatives weigh from 80-150 kg, depending on gender, have a flattened snout, small ears, wide back and chest, squat body, covered with black stubble, sagging belly.

Build a good brick masonry room with a ventilation system in it, which will ensure systematic ventilation of the room, the flooring should be concrete, at the end of the room it is necessary to equip a rest area for piglets.
The diet must be thought out; pigs of this breed, unpretentious in food, can eat greens and plant crops, but do not forget that pigs also need to be given fortified feed and supplements.
Monitor the cleanliness of the premises and drinking water, since Vietnamese breed pigs are very ambitious, unlike their simple brothers.

Room parameters

According to the advice of breeders, up to 15 individuals can be accommodated in a camp with parameters of 3.0 x 3.0 m. A bedding is made on the floor. A drainage system must be installed.

The walls are lined with fiberboard, since during farrowing the females behave restlessly, they will accelerate, and can hurt themselves, ¾ of the enclosure is occupied by the platform, another ¼ of the part is occupied by the toilet. If the pen contains boars, then the pen is allocated to them up to 3 square meters. m. In the passage from the machines there is a distance for the passage of a wheelbarrow.

The optimal temperature for adults is 18-20 degrees Celsius. For little ones in a separate place 30-32 C. It is recommended to use gas convectors or infrared heaters for heating.

An additional 10-20 acres are allocated for walking animals.

Is it profitable to keep a breed of Vietnamese piglets for sale?

It is profitable to feed small ones, provided that a person lives in a rural area with good buildings for household needs and feeds animals for individual consumption, since they produce little meat, approximately 9-12 kg.

It can be estimated that there is no particular benefit to holding, there is no selling.

They are similar in weight to standard chicken and other birds, the peculiarity of the Vietnamese breed is that they are small, they will not grow larger no matter how much you feed them.

The owner needs to take into account one more thing - cutting. The work is not easy, and in order to slaughter a pig, a person needs to pay a lot of money for his service, there is no benefit to the farmer.

Advice. You need to breed such a breed exclusively for your family if you are engaged in slaughtering piglets yourself.

How to properly feed the Vietnamese breed during the reproductive period

How quickly signs of maturity will appear in representatives of a given breed is integrally related to the correct diet and feeding.

Therefore, beginners should learn more about their features.

In summer they should be fed 2 times, and in winter 3 times, as energy is consumed to maintain balance in the body.

It is difficult for small breeds to digest coarse feed, fiber, and straw, and it is not recommended to introduce them into the diet of small breeds.

It is recommended to eat mixed feed and grain, or make mixtures from other grain crops. The ideal crops for feeding piglets are barley, rye, wheat, and it is possible to additionally add other crops to make a mixture.

A good addition to the main diet would be fruits, or any herb at the owner’s discretion. Give vegetables and fruits, since in raw foods, nutrients are preserved.

In the cold season, this breed can get by with store-bought food, enriched with various useful additives. These pigs, in addition to food, are given various fats and acids, which the young animal’s body produces in small quantities. Useful drugs should be added to the food each time, taking short breaks.

When purchasing market young stock, you should note when purchasing:

You cannot buy young animals from identical offspring.
The farmer maintains a single reproductive male for a large number of females.
Indicators of the weight of the piglet with which it appeared.
Check the health status of the parents of the pigs by external examination.

The main distinguishing feature is the similarity of the representatives to the pug dog breed.

Young animals of the Vietnamese breed have a very active character, they can quickly adapt to their environment, so the young animals born should be kept with some nuances in mind. The furnishings and maintenance must be good so that the living creatures feel comfortable.

The piglets are neat, do not spoil the coverings, and do not emit a specific odor characteristic of simple ones.

In the room for keeping young animals, it is necessary to equip a wooden platform and a rest area for pigs, so that when it gets cold, the piglets do not get sick while in the house.

If the owner has not provided all the conditions for proper maintenance of pigs, then material for additional insulation and time for cleaning the home will be required.

In a pigsty with young piglets, a constant temperature of at least 18 degrees must be maintained.

It is necessary to equip additional walking space.

This breed loves to frolic in the fresh air. In warm weather, piglets need to be grazed outside 2 times a day, during the day and in the evening. Representatives who regularly walk have a high resistance to various diseases, an active character, and better productivity.

You should make a hole in the pasture and fill it with water. This breed loves to take water procedures, as it cools their body and strengthens the immune system.

It is also necessary to have trees in this area, or dig in logs so that the pigs can clean the bristles from dirt.

To ensure good productivity of young animals, you need to familiarize yourself with the conditions of the correct diet and maintenance of the breed of Vietnamese piglets; on a monotonous diet and walking, the owner will not achieve high results in breeding:

At birth, rapid access to feeding must be provided, otherwise they will die.
To ensure successful growth and weight gain, preventive measures against helminth infection should be systematically carried out.
A male of reproductive age should weigh approximately 40 kg.
These animals should be fed little but often.

Pigs purchased for breeding are always a group of young animals, with two males. As individuals grow older, the most active and healthy one is selected for reproduction, the rest are slaughtered.

When purchasing a breeding group, always use the advice of experienced farmers - choose females from one farm, males from another. Since closely related relationships will give rise to defective offspring and a large number of culls.

The gestation period is about 116-120 days. There is a well-known statement that babies appear after 3 days, three weeks and three months.

Before giving birth, about 48 hours later, the behavior of the uterus changes, becomes more dynamic, colostrum is gradually released, and it refuses to eat. Before the female farrows, the litter is kneaded and the hay is prepared (chewed) to make the young animals more comfortable. Before farrowing, the farmer must remove debris from the pen, change the hay, wash the dishes and change the drink in them.

The location of the future young animals is fenced off separately in the room, and heat exchange devices are hung to maintain a constant temperature regime. If childbirth occurs without complications, then do not interfere, but qualified farmers with extensive experience say that it is always necessary to prepare sterile material, instruments, and means for disinfecting and processing young animals in advance.

It becomes easier for the expectant mother when the owner is with her, since animals are very sensitive to the environment.

After the process is completed, it is applied to the mother for 40 minutes to obtain timely nutrition.

The young animals are wiped of the remains of the placenta, and the fontanel on the abdomen is treated with disinfectants.

Treated representatives are placed in a pen for warming and placed next to their mother for breastfeeding. For 1-2 day old piglets in the pen, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within 31-32 o C. The remains of the placenta are collected and buried away from the pen so that the queen does not eat it.

Important! The pot-bellied Vietnamese herbivorous pig's nutritional fluid is low in some trace elements, such as copper and iron. Therefore, solutions of drugs containing nutrients are administered intramuscularly.

Medicines

The most popular drugs contain vitamin supplements, which can cause imbalance in the body (diarrhea and poor digestion of food). The use of some medicinal products is carried out with the permission of a qualified specialist.

It is not advisable to use medications without authorization, since large dosages and incorrect handling of drugs can harm young animals.

Recommendation! If breeding offspring are selected, then for each piglet it is necessary to create a card where the characteristics of the individual, weight, size, diseases, vaccinations, and a number of other anatomical and individual characteristics will be recorded. Such data must be updated every 7-10 days. It is easier for the owner to determine which individual is more active and will show good reproductive performance.

About the breed

A famous Hollywood actor kept a Vietnamese pig as a pet.
Males are sometimes used as guards; in a summer cottage they are no worse than trained dogs (they are easy to train and react negatively to strangers).
The older the pig, the healthier its offspring.
In some Asian countries, this breed has become a talisman for the home.

For a novice breeder or farmer, it is important to know... Fold piglets: precocity, immunity and...

Recently, the pot-bellied Vietnamese pig has ceased to be just an exotic animal. Entrepreneurs involved in farming have increasingly begun to opt for breeding these cute little animals.

History of the breed

The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig breed was brought from Vietnam to Canada and the Eastern part of 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 carried out in Hungary and Canada. In these countries, experts 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 beginning to master the breeding of these good-natured pigs.

Breed Features

Vietnamese breed pigs have certain characteristics that must be taken into account when breeding them. Many of them are the advantages that lead to such a rapid spread of the fashion for keeping pigs.

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

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

Appearance

The pot-bellied Vietnamese pig got its name because of its large hanging belly, which is especially noticeable due to its short legs.

Benefits of Breeding

The Vietnamese pot-bellied 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 pen.

3. Immunity resistant to diseases and temperature changes.

4. Possibility of almost year-round (depending on the place of breeding) free range, since pigs tolerate low temperatures well during 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 possible to eat it 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. Moreover, animals that live about 30 years are capable of farrowing throughout their lives. In addition, Vietnamese breed pigs are incredibly fertile, producing from 12 to 20 piglets at a time.

8. Calm and good-natured. They allow the owner to approach the piglets, do not break enclosures, and they have the ability to train.

Features of choice

1. You cannot purchase piglets born from the same litter.

2. If a breeder has several sows and one boar on his farm, then it is better not to buy piglets in this place. Such animals will certainly be relatives from whom it is impossible to obtain healthy 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 corresponds to its real value, 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 and should look thinner. Otherwise, the pig is older than the seller says, or there is another sow in front of the buyer.

5. A healthy animal can also be identified by its appearance. Piglets should have well-developed muscles. The legs of healthy individuals are strong and widely spaced. An external sign of belonging to the breed is a peculiar stigma with numerous bends of the 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 that occurred as a result of the birth of a piglet from relative parents.

A healthy piglet has a compact, dense build, smooth hair, and shiny eyes. Such an animal is active and has a good appetite. The piglet's good mood is indicated by waving its thin tail from side to side.

Color doesn't matter. It is predominantly black, but even in one litter there can be both white and mixed piglets.

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

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

Walk

On an area for walking, if there is no need to dig several logs into the ground. Pigs love to rub against them. A light canopy to protect the animals from rain and scorching sun would also be helpful.

Feed selection

A proper diet is the key not only to the growth of a healthy animal and good weight gain, but also to obtain high-quality lean meat, which Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are distinguished by. The feeding of animals depends on the special structure of their digestive system. A small stomach and small intestinal diameter, rapid movement of feed through the digestive tract make the use of coarse feed undesirable. Standard treats for regular pigs, such as straw, will not do any good for the Vietnamese breed. Young legumes - alfalfa and clover - are well digested in the gastrointestinal tract of these pigs.

In order for food to be absorbed as best as possible, preference should be given to ground grains. Whole grain feeds mostly pass through the pig's digestive tract unchanged, without being digested.

Farrowing of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs

At first, piglets feed exclusively on milk, which meets their needs for 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 one month, a piglet with a birth weight of 400-450 g should weigh at least 2.5-3 kg.

Dilution result

This breed is a promising investment. Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, the price of which for an adult is about 8,000 rubles, are very unpretentious and do not require expensive feed or special care. Determining for profitable breeding is the correct choice of piglets, the cost of which is about 3,000 rubles.

The meat of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs contains little cholesterol and retains most of the nutrients regardless of any method of heat treatment.

More and more of our compatriots prefer breeding Vietnamese piglets. After all, the return from this type of management can be obtained very quickly and of very high quality. Breeding pot-bellied Vietnamese pigs at home is especially highly effective. But this process requires a lot of work, careful attention to pets and professional knowledge. And all material investments, with proper organization of fattening, will be rewarded handsomely.

These pigs differ from most traditional ones in that they have inexhaustible possibilities. Moreover, breeders do not stop improving the existing characteristics of the breed.

The most striking differences between Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets are:

Rapid maturation and readiness for procreation
Uniform, rapid increase in body weight of animals
Unpretentiousness to food, willingness to eat any food
Endurance, undemanding conditions
Particularly cleanliness, allocated space for emptying

Females of this breed are very caring mothers. They give birth to a large number of piglets, despite the fact that they mature sexually at 4 months, and males at 6 months. In a year, a pig can farrow twice, giving birth to at least 18 piglets each time.

Adaptation to climatic conditions

In Asia, pigs of this breed grow in humid conditions, which are typical for jungles in the subtropics and tropics. However, after such a climate, the “Vietnamese” calmly take root in the Russian cold weather. Pigs have excellent immunity and can easily cope with most diseases that affect domestic animals.

With proper care, such piglets are much more profitable to breed than most breeds common in our latitudes. The reason for such endurance is the dense physique, indicating that the animal is more meat than greasy. Their meat is very juicy, fine-fiber, with a small amount of fat.

Appearance of animals

Piglets of this breed have a very unusual appearance. The most distinctive features of these stocky animals are:

Black skin and coat color
Wide chest
Strong back, wide
Short, firmly standing legs
Short cute face
Small protruding ears
origin of name

The breed has a name that comes from its appearance. After all, growing animals' bellies begin to sag. And in adult individuals it sags down to the ground. Despite such a weighty element, pot-bellied piglets remain very mobile.

Decoration of animals

Because of such an unusual appearance, young Vietnamese pigs have become the object of attention for connoisseurs of ornamental animal species. Although we must not forget that even with special care they still remain pigs. And thanks to their extraordinary productivity, tiny piglets quickly grow into massive animals. Already at 4-6 months they weigh at least 30 kilograms. When the boar reaches the status of a breeding boar, and the female reaches the status of a sow, their weight can even exceed 1.5 centners.

This is a very profitable breed of pig in all respects. It is not for nothing that its breeding has aroused such great interest all over the world, including our domestic livestock breeders.

How to properly raise Vietnamese piglets at home

In America and Europe, livestock breeders learned about the possibility of effectively raising Vietnamese piglets only in the eighties and nineties of the last century. And Russian business executives became interested in breeding this type of pig even later. That’s why there are so many people who want to learn how to properly breed Vietnamese pigs at home.

Raising young animals

The most difficult process in breeding Asian pigs is raising young animals. After all, piglets, like any children, require special attention. This includes air temperature, pen humidity, and access to the sow. And if any of these or other conditions are violated, the young animals may simply die out. Therefore, it is important to think through all the aspects of keeping both piglets and adults.

Growing room

To make Vietnamese piglets as comfortable as possible, they need a dry, warm, well-ventilated growing room. The flooring on the ground should be as level as possible. It is also important that the floor is durable, because there are a lot of piglets, and they all strive to dig their noses into the ground. It must be suitable for regular cleaning, as well as disinfection work. It would be good if the floors were concreted and covered with plank flooring on top.

Since the “Vietnamese” are small in size, there is no need to prepare a large area for them. It is much more important that the machines can be cleaned every day. The number of piglets that can be kept simultaneously on any farm is unlimited. This is determined by their owner.

Lighting and ventilation

Usually in winter, piglets in large numbers are transferred from spacious outdoor pens to more cramped pens. If proper conditions are not met, any pathological microflora can very quickly develop in them. Therefore, it is important that these areas are well ventilated. This is a very important condition for the healthy growth and development of animals.

It is also important for piglets to have sufficient lighting. Animals respond positively to a good supply of natural daylight. But if it is not possible to provide such a condition, you can use artificial lighting. For young animals, you can use heating with an infrared lamp with periodic inclusion of an ultraviolet lamp to disinfect the stall. Optimal lighting and ventilation are prerequisites for the productive raising of pigs of this breed.

In winter, rooms with Vietnamese piglets must be heated. Heating is even more important for newly born piglets. After all, they have a very weak immune system. Therefore, protection from external aggressive conditions can only be ensured by the presence of a sufficient amount of mother's milk and attentive care from the livestock breeder.

Feeding and walking piglets

When the warmer season arrives, animals must have adequate food and exercise in the fresh air. Such an area should be protected from the wind and partially covered so that they can hide from the rain. To allow piglets to scratch their backs, boards are placed at the height of their standard height. In such an area there should be remote feeders and drinking bowls.

Pros and cons of green food

Since this type of pig farming is quite new for our compatriots, they have a lot of questions about the selection of feed for these animals. Many people prefer to give them only green food. The size of the stomach, as well as the structure of all gastrointestinal organs, are suitable for ingesting large volumes of herbs. However, it will not be possible to obtain a good increase in the body weight of piglets from such feed. And such a diet will also have a negative effect on the quality of the resulting product.

By eating greens exclusively, pigs will produce more waste. The effectiveness of this diet is quite low. Therefore, it is recommended to feed meat piglets with high-calorie grain mixtures. Of course, greens should also be present in the diet, especially in summer. This will be very rational, because it will allow the use of free feed, of which there is a lot during this period. And also herbs are the best source of most vitamins and microelements needed by young animals and adults.

Composition of feed for piglets

Typically, pigs are given roughage, that is, straw and root vegetables. But pot-bellied Vietnamese piglets prefer a more delicate treat - hay. The grain part of the diet should consist mainly of barley and wheat. Such products are easily digested in animals’ bodies and provide excellent body weight gain. The composition of the meat turns out to be bacon-like. These grains should predominate in the diet of pigs. Only 30% of the total amount of food fed is allocated for the remaining feed.

To make nutrition more effective, it is recommended to add vitamins, stimulants and fatty omega-3 amino acids, that is, fish oil.

When a sow must give birth or care for offspring, her menu should also be richer and more varied. Sour milk, whey, cottage cheese and boiled eggs are very effective during this period.

How to feed grain

When eating hard-to-digest grains such as oats and corn, their percentage ratio with other feeds should not be higher than 1:10. Any grain must be crushed, steamed with boiling water and brewed until a homogeneous nutrient mixture with sufficient water content is formed. For steaming, take water and crushed grain in a ratio of 2:1. To improve the animals' appetite, you need to add 10 grams of salt to this mixture. The grain steaming process lasts 11 hours.

The introduction of thick grain soup into the diet of such piglets has an excellent effect on the productivity of their feeding. In winter, it is useful to feed your pets pumpkin and carrots. Animals enjoy eating vitamin-rich forbs. Legumes provide good growth, including alfalfa grass, dry clover and wycomesh. Also in winter, more than 15% of the diet can be replaced with boiled potatoes.

Raising Vietnamese pigs at home is a fairly easy and profitable process. The main thing is to take into account simple conditions and adhere to the rules of their maintenance. And very soon the livestock breeder’s work will be rewarded with an excellent result.

Breeding Vietnamese pigs

Many livestock breeders were attracted to this breed for growing at home. But breeding Vietnamese pigs is not as simple as it seems at first glance. This process must occur subject to a number of mandatory rules. So, you need to mate females that are already more than 4 months old. After all, it is from this age that they begin puberty and readiness for reproduction. A prerequisite is a body weight of at least 30 kilograms, so that the pig can simply physically bear offspring within itself. The male must be at least 6 months old for effective mating.

Mating conditions for Vietnamese piglets

You cannot mate animals from the same genus, because this will result in sick offspring. The male should be allowed to approach the female when she begins to show signs of hunting:

Constant, unrelieved anxiety
Swelling and presence of discharge from the genital organ
Lack of reaction to hitting and pushing in the stall

The female must farrow 115 days after mating has occurred.

The upcoming farrowing is signaled by the pig within a couple of days by the fact that it begins to behave extremely restlessly. She begins to pad the litter and make a nest out of it. The female’s abdomen sharply drops, the mammary glands swell, the nipples enlarge, from which colostrum appears when pressed.

Caring for young animals after birth

Proper care of piglets in the first days after birth plays a very important role in how successful their breeding will be. To do this, proper conditions must be provided in the pen. The very first thing is the temperature is not lower than 30 degrees. After all, piglets are born very weak. And with hypothermia, they can begin to develop various infections, many of which can kill all offspring.

What to do immediately after farrowing a pig

The birth process itself in a Vietnamese pig lasts an average of 4 hours. Therefore, after the appearance of the first piglet, you need to provide it with the proper conditions. After all, before the last one comes out, the first one can simply freeze. The offspring must be freed from maternal mucus, allowed to dry, the umbilical cord treated with antiseptics and placed next to the sow. In the first hours, it provides colostrum, which is very useful for the baby, which contains immunity and all the nutrients necessary for the piglet. And the sooner you start giving this product, the healthier the animal will grow.

Features of breastfeeding

If the female has enough breast milk, then there is no need to limit the piglets in receiving it. Up to the age of one month, babies can eat only colostrum and milk. However, at the age of 10 days, the young should start drinking water. You should also give him mineral bait. Chalk, charcoal and purified clay are best suited for this. These substances will improve digestion, development of the musculoskeletal system and the development of immunity in piglets.

Why are supplements needed?

Piglets that feed only on their mother's milk begin to suffer from a deficiency of iron, calcium and many other microelements important for the body. Nutrients that are not present in breast milk in sufficient quantities for an older piglet are also needed. In addition, from feeding the offspring for too long, the sow can become significantly weaker. But on the farm she must work to renew the livestock.

What do piglets need besides milk?

Starting from 20 days or more, sucklings should receive complementary feeding in the form of a thick soup of mixed feed with vitamin supplements. To avoid so-called anemia in piglets, it is advisable for them to undergo preventive therapy with specialized veterinary drugs. At the age of 1 month, young animals should be weaned and moved to a separate pen for adulthood.

If the piglet is healthy and active, then it weighs 2.5 kilograms or more per month.

That is, raising piglets is not at all difficult. With the right approach, you can quickly increase a large livestock, which will allow you to provide even a large family with meat all year round.

At what age is it reasonable to slaughter a Vietnamese pig?

The first thing that interests any livestock breeder who purchases this breed is at what age is it rational to slaughter a Vietnamese pig? Compared to ordinary animals of this species, quite early. Piglets are ready to be slaughtered, even at 3 months. But it will be a small supply of meat and almost no layer of bacon, which are so prized by pork lovers. And to get more useful product, it is better to slaughter at 6 months. After this age, the intensive growth of the animal stops.

Since the animals are not very large, it is not difficult to slaughter them, and cutting up such a carcass is much easier. A professional carver can handle one pig in 1-1.5 hours. The product yield is more than 75%, which is also higher than that of ordinary pigs. This is another advantage of Vietnamese piglets - quick readiness for consumption and prompt processing of the product.

Vietnamese pigs feed very quickly. They are ready to cut much faster. Therefore, with such a household there will definitely not be a shortage of meat in the family.

Calculations for business

Raising Vietnamese piglets is profitable not only because you can very quickly get a lot of healthy meat and bacon for your family without much labor. It is also very beneficial economically. It is not difficult to carry out the basics of such a plan, taking into account the advantages of this type of animal husbandry:

Large litter	When breeding this breed of piglets, a significant advantage is their multiple births in one pregnancy. At 5 months, a female is capable of giving birth to at least 10 piglets. And from the age of 10 months she can already have 20 babies. This is a great start for a new pig farmer.
Raising boars	In ordinary homesteads, few people keep boars for mating, although this is very profitable as a business. It can be rented out for use to other farms.
Easy care and feeding	Piglets are very easy to care for. And their food is quite simple. If in the first days of life the temperature is normal for life, then the babies will very quickly gain growth potential.
Possibility of breeding for breeding or slaughter	Piglets can be raised for meat, which is very profitable. But many pig farmers are more attracted to the sale of young animals and adult livestock, the costs of which will pay off after the first farrowing. As for raising pigs for meat, this process is 75% profitable.

The benefits of raising Vietnamese piglets are obvious. They grow quickly and produce tasty juicy meat. They can be grown for different purposes. Therefore, this is a real opportunity for effective management in all respects.

Write your question in the form below

Vietnamese pig. Description, features, types and breeding of Vietnamese pigs

Breed Features

Advantages of the breed

How to care for offspring

History of the Vietnamese breed

Features of this breed

Appearance of Vietnamese pigs

Breeding Vietnamese pigs

How to choose a pig breed?

Selecting a place to keep pigs

How to prepare a paddock for pigs?

Feeding Vietnamese pigs

Farrow

Summarizing

Keeping Vietnamese piglets at home

Room parameters

Is it profitable to keep a breed of Vietnamese piglets for sale?

How to properly feed the Vietnamese breed during the reproductive period

Medicines

About the breed

History of the breed

Breed Features

Appearance

Benefits of Breeding

Features of choice

Walk

Feed selection

Farrowing of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs

Dilution result

Adaptation to climatic conditions

Appearance of animals

Decoration of animals

How to properly raise Vietnamese piglets at home

Raising young animals

Growing room

Lighting and ventilation

Feeding and walking piglets

Pros and cons of green food

Composition of feed for piglets

How to feed grain

Breeding Vietnamese pigs

Mating conditions for Vietnamese piglets

Caring for young animals after birth

What to do immediately after farrowing a pig

Features of breastfeeding

Why are supplements needed?

What do piglets need besides milk?

At what age is it reasonable to slaughter a Vietnamese pig?

Calculations for business

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