Types of Vietnamese pigs and their weight. Tips for caring for Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets

high fertility;
precocity;
low feed costs;
rapid weight gain;
low payback periods;
longevity, and subsequent offspring become stronger and larger.

The breed belongs to the meat category, because the quality of the products is distinguished by high taste indicators. The meat is reminiscent of bacon in its juiciness, tenderness and low fat content. When slaughtered in the hot season, it deteriorates much more slowly than from ordinary pigs.

Before you go buy piglets, you need to equip a place to keep them, that is, a pigsty. The Vietnamese breed is very thermophilic and low temperatures or temperature changes affect the growth of animals. That is why the pig house is built of brick, with windows and doors made of wood. The ceiling must be at least two meters high, insulated with straw or hay, which is laid out in the attic.

It is recommended to make the floor solid concrete, providing it with a drain for slurry and wooden pallets. Using bedding made of straw and wood shavings is not entirely hygienic, because it breeds bacteria and rodents, leading to infectious diseases. To keep the pigs healthy, you will have to change it often.

The pigsty is divided into areas where animals of different ages and genders will be located. One adult boar needs 3 meters of territory, for a sow that has given birth - at least 4 meters. Each pen must have a non-tipping feeder and access to the walking area.

Feeding Vietnamese piglets

The basis of the menu for pot-bellied pigs is grass, concentrated feed, young hay, grain and vegetables. Feedings are organized depending on the time of year - in the summer 2 times a day, and in the winter three times. It should be remembered that a diet containing a large proportion of grain crops leads to obesity of the animal and the quality of the meat decreases.

The best food for the Vietnamese breed is mash. They are obtained by mixing water, chopped herbs and feed. Pigs readily eat vegetables, such as potato peelings, carrots, boiled fodder beets, and cabbage. Among the herbs they like alfalfa, vetch and clover. They are given dried in small portions.

In the summer, pigs can get their own food if they are allowed to roam in pens sown with forbs or leguminous plants. They are excellent eaters of weeds, vegetable tops and corn cobs. Also, the diet must include fermented milk products: skim milk, whey, yogurt.

In winter, pigs happily eat young hay or straw mixed with forbs. You can also feed corn stalks, acorns, chestnuts and ground eggshells. Experienced farmers recommend allocating 2 kg of prepared feed per day per individual, excluding vegetables and green grass. In winter, portions are increased to 2.5 kg. Additionally, vitamin and mineral supplements are introduced, which help maintain health and significantly affect the animal’s weight gain.

Reproduction and farrowing

Vietnamese individuals become sexually mature by 3 months, which is considered a very early indicator. Mating is still carried out no earlier than 6-7 months in order to obtain healthy offspring. The sow's desire for fertilization can be determined by her behavior, because the animal becomes restless and refuses to eat. She will also experience swelling of the genitals.

With successful mating, farrowing occurs after 114 days. A young sow gives birth to up to 10 piglets, subsequent births are even more fertile (up to 20 babies). The duration of labor is 4-5 hours, and the process itself requires the owner to be nearby. Before farrowing, you need to prepare brilliant green, scissors, dry rags and rope to help the baby be born if necessary. The released afterbirth is a signal of the end of labor, so it is quickly removed so that the pig cannot eat it. After a day or two, the offspring are vaccinated.

Caring for little piglets in the first weeks is not particularly difficult, because they feed on their mother's milk. If it is not enough, then you can supplement the young animals with dry milk formula. From 2 weeks of age, complementary foods made from boiled vegetables are introduced, followed by cereal porridge and young hay. At one month, the piglets are separated from their mother and gradually become accustomed to adult food.

Farmers who decide to start breeding Vietnamese pigs need to know the following:

You need to buy piglets for breeding from different farms to avoid inbreeding;
It is recommended to steam the feed before feeding so that it is better absorbed by the body;
born piglets are sent for walks from the age of one week to build immunity;
at any time of the year, pigs are supplemented with chalk, fish oil and nutritional yeast.

High fertility, strong immunity and good acclimatization make the process of breeding Vietnamese pigs quite profitable. The money spent on the first pair of pigs will be returned in a year in triple size.

Domestic livestock breeders are familiar with Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs relatively recently, but over the past decades, these “Asians” have gained great popularity and are widespread in many regions of Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

The breed is not officially registered in the State Register of the Russian Federation, but experts consider it very promising and cost-effective, very suitable for keeping and breeding in personal gardens and farms. This opinion is based on the existing experience in raising Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs and the combination of their main characteristics:

Parameter	Characteristic
Animal	Pig
Breed	Vietnamese (Asian) potbellied
Productive type	Bacon
Live weight of adults	Pig averages 100-120 kg (up to 140), boar – 120-140 kg (maximum up to 200 kg)
Age of puberty in pigs	4 months
Multiple pregnancy	4-6 piglets in the first farrowing, in subsequent farrows – 8-12 (up to 20)
Suit	Black (often with white spots on the head), sometimes white, red, marbled
Gaining 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 carcass	70-75%
The thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer at a live weight of 100-110 kg (by 10 months of age)	Up to 35 mm (with meat and fat fattening technology)
Disease resistance	High immunity
Registration in the State Register of the Russian Federation	Breed not included

To learn more about the breed and the work to improve it, we suggest watching the following video:

Origin and description of the breed

The breed was developed in Southeast Asia as one of the varieties of Asian pot-bellied herbivorous pig. Representatives of this breed group began to be actively imported to Europe and North America in the 80s of the last century, mainly from Vietnam. Livestock breeders quickly recognized 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 pot-bellied Vietnamese pigs are raised 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 Asian pigs is considered to be the so-called karmals.

The main difference between Asian pigs is their herbivory, that is, the structural features of the digestive tract that allow plant foods to be well absorbed. Outwardly, this is manifested in the presence of a heavy belly, sagging almost to the ground - hence the name “pot-bellied”. The animals have a powerful body with a wide sternum and a long back, short strong limbs with fleshy hams. The head is medium-sized, slightly flattened, reminiscent of a pug's muzzle, with similar "accordion" leathery folds on the snout.

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

Adult pigs are capable of gaining a live weight of 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 “marbled” - lean and tender, with thin layers of fat. Moreover, its yield is about 70% from the carcass.

Purebred "Vietnamese" are usually black with white spots on the head. Now, due to spontaneous selection, the colors of pot-bellied piglets have become more diverse: white, spotted or red with dark stripes.

Breed productivity

The great advantages of breeding this breed are:

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

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

Pigs exhibit a strong maternal instinct, carefully feeding and caring for their babies. Piglets are born small(from 450 to 600 g), but they gain weight quite quickly (250-350 g per day). Females who have given birth usually have a lot of milk - enough even for a large litter. Newborn wild boars that are planned to be raised for slaughter must be castrated immediately or before 1.5 months of age, otherwise their meat will have an unpleasant odor, and the behavior of mature males may exhibit characteristic aggressiveness. In general, representatives of this breed are distinguished by a calm and peaceful disposition and 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.

Specifics of keeping and fattening

Asian pigs are not very large, so they do not require large housing. They are very clean: do not defecate where they sleep or near feeders and drinking bowls, and are happy to bathe (in the presence of small bodies of water). In addition, animals resistant to most common diseases, which allows you to get by with a minimum number of vaccinations. It is important to ensure dryness, absence of drafts, seasonal heating and ventilation in the pigsty.

In the warm season, pigs must be given free range in grassy areas, where they can actively move and feed on pasture - grass and young shoots of bushes. Animals deprived of this opportunity develop worse, reduce the rate of muscle mass gain, and often suffer from vitamin deficiency.

At the genetic level, Vietnamese pigs have the ability to distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones.

Herbivorous pigs eat little but often. Their diet consists of almost 80% green matter, vegetables (pumpkin and root vegetables), and fallen fruits. The remaining 20% is recommended to include grain products (bran, crushed grain), acorns, and 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 recommended to feed adult animals (after 7-8 months) with foods high in protein: oats and legumes. At the same time, the average daily weight gain for pigs is up to 500 g, and for 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 pot-bellied pigs is lower than when raising other breeds, as it allows significant savings on feed.

Opinions about the taste of meat are quite contradictory: according to some reviews, it is inferior to ordinary domestic pigs in terms of richness of taste; others believe that grass-fed pig meat is healthier, more delicate, and more similar to turkey than traditional pork.

Feedback from livestock farmers

Yuri, 31 years old, Lviv region

Our people are not yet in a hurry to have 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 household. The Vietnamese are really very clean, calm, obedient and friendly. The grass is eaten both fresh and dry. If grazing is possible, they can produce good growth on pasture. And if you feed them with steamed feed, they will get fat right before your eyes.

Sergey, 46 years old, Usman

I raised my first Vietnamese dogs, they injected them today. At 8 months, the net weight was 40 kg, there was a little fat, about 2 cm. By this age, my plain white ones were already gaining about 80 kg. He fed them the same, gave the Vietnamese more grass and some oat bran, and sometimes added scraps from the kitchen. Pigs are very friendly, they wag their tail like dogs when you enter a pigsty. The main thing is that neither the floor nor the logs are chewed, and the locks on the doors are not broken. When cutting, I didn’t like that the skin was drier and rougher than white skin, and it was not very easy to clean after scorching. 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 meat has the best taste, while Vietnamese meat is so-so. Depends largely on the diet. This breed of pig is of interest primarily to breeders for its multiple births. Crosses with white ones, for example, grow faster and have fat.

Anna, 45 years old, Omsk region

We dry Vietnamese piglets immediately after birth, castrate the boars and bite off their upper and lower fangs with wire cutters. If the fangs are not removed, they then grow up to 15 cm in length. We do not immediately tear off the umbilical cord, but spray it with Kubatol. When it dries a little, tear it off at a distance of 7-10 cm and again spray with Kubatol. This way you don’t have to bother with thread and stop the bleeding. After 2-3 days it dries out and falls off on its own, but you need to look at it and, in some cases, treat it again. At the same time, the piglets are given 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 a television program editor with leading producers of 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, pull, shed, water, tie, thin out, etc. I am convinced that the most delicious vegetables and fruits are those grown with your own hands!

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

Compost is rotted organic remains of various origins. How to do it? They put everything in a heap, hole or large box: kitchen scraps, tops of garden crops, weeds cut before flowering, thin twigs. All this is layered with phosphate rock, sometimes straw, earth or peat. (Some summer residents add special composting accelerators.) Cover with film. During the process of overheating, the pile is periodically turned or pierced to bring in fresh air. Typically, compost “ripens” for 2 years, but with modern additives it can be ready in one summer season.

From varietal tomatoes you can get “your own” seeds for sowing next year (if you really like the variety). But it is useless to do this with hybrids: you will get seeds, 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 (and potatoes too) die, no matter what is said in the description of the varieties (“variety resistant to late blight” 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. They are very similar in properties and appearance, but they should not be confused. Humus is rotted manure or bird droppings. Compost is rotted organic remains of various origins (spoiled food from the kitchen, tops, weeds, thin twigs). Humus is considered a higher quality fertilizer; compost is more accessible.

Oklahoma farmer Carl Burns developed an unusual variety of multi-colored 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 selecting the most colored ordinary varieties and crossing them.

You need to collect medicinal flowers and inflorescences at the very beginning of the flowering period, when the content of nutrients in them is highest. Flowers are supposed to be picked by hand, tearing off the rough stalks. Dry the collected flowers and herbs, scattered in a thin layer, in a cool room at natural temperature without access to direct sunlight.

One of the most convenient methods for preparing a harvest of vegetables, fruits and berries is freezing. Some believe that freezing causes the nutritional and health benefits of plant foods to be lost. As a result of the research, scientists have found that there is practically no decrease in nutritional value when frozen.

Kira Stoletova

The Vietnamese breed of pigs has gained wide popularity today. This is due to the fact that animals gain weight quickly and consume less feed than some other breeds. It is also worth noting that caring for pigs of this breed is not difficult. Let's look at what features Vietnamese piglets have and how to properly organize nutrition and care in order to get maximum weight gain.

Appearance

Before talking about the characteristics of the breed, it is necessary to give its description and characteristics. What do Vietnamese piglets look like? As for the exterior, Vietnamese pigs have a specific appearance, so it is not possible to confuse them with any other breed.

Large animals are usually painted black. The muzzle of Vietnamese piglets is short, and on the head there are widely located erect ears, which are of medium size to match the muzzle. The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, thanks to its large body and short legs, looks stocky. The legs, despite their small size, are strong, the chest is wide. Fold-eared individuals are extremely rare.

As pigs grow older, their bellies begin to sag slightly. It is this structural feature of the animal that is reflected in the name of the breed. Boars have a drooping belly more than pigs. Sometimes the skin folds practically touch the ground. Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs feel comfortable and lead an active lifestyle. They are often more active than their relatives who do not have a saggy belly.

Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets look very funny. Maybe this is why some people buy them not for the purpose of obtaining meat and fat products, but for the purpose of decorating their yard. When making such a purchase, you should understand that the Vietnamese breed of pigs gains weight quickly. In just a few months, not a miniature piglet, but a large Vietnamese pig will be running around the yard.

Marble and white colors are occasionally found. Some argue, based on their own experience, that piglets from marble sows are stronger. But livestock specialists do not confirm this fact, claiming that piglets from a white, black and marble sow have the same health reserves.

Productivity

The Vietnamese Potbellied pig breed is not large in size. The average weight of an adult pig is 110 kg. The boar weighs about 130 kg. If we talk about maximum indicators, the female’s weight does not exceed 140 kg. A boar can weigh 150 kg. This is a meat breed.

With proper care and nutrition, daily weight gain ranges from 350 to 500 g, and pigs reach sexual maturity by 4 months. But experts recommend the first mating at the age of 7-8 months. At birth, Vietnamese breed piglets weigh about 500 g.

By the time of puberty, the weight of Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets is 70-80 kg. With such indicators, animals can be slaughtered. The meat yield after slaughter exceeds 70%.

As for reproductive function, Vietnamese pigs give birth to an average of 12 piglets. Sometimes there are 18 piglets in one litter. Accordingly, raising Vietnamese pigs can be considered a small but very profitable business. In one year, a sow gives birth to about 24 piglets. If you follow all feeding standards for Vietnamese piglets and provide good living conditions, the animals will live up to 18 years.

Adult pigs are slaughtered at the age of 8 months. By this time, wild boars and pigs gain maximum weight. Not everyone can slaughter a pig. The technology of slaughter at home differs significantly from how slaughter is carried out on a farm, being less humane. To prevent the animal from suffering, it is better to invite a person who can kill it with one precise blow.

Advantages of the breed

Precocity. Without talking about any specific breed, we can say that the average age of puberty for these animals is 7 months. When breeding Vietnamese pigs, mating can be done as early as 4 months. If we talk about reviews from breeders, some pigs can be covered as early as 3 months.
Breeding Vietnamese piglets at home is simplified by the fact that sows have a well-developed maternal instinct. Human intervention is rarely needed.
Also, raising Vietnamese breed piglets is simplified by the fact that they have good immunity - there is no need to do most of the vaccinations. It is also worth noting that pigs quickly adapt to different conditions, so they can be kept in almost every region of our country.
Keeping Vietnamese piglets is cost-effective due to the pigs' fertility and growth rate. Piglets grow up in 7-8 months.
You don’t have to think long about what to feed Vietnamese piglets at home. The diet is based on green feed, which reduces costs during animal breeding.
Caring for Vietnamese piglets is simplified by their cleanliness. Such piglets clearly separate the sleeping area from the toilet, which is not typical for other breeds.

If we consider the characteristics of Vietnamese pigs, then it is worth making a reservation about the taste of the meat. It turns out juicy and delicate in taste. Many restaurants are willing to pay high prices for Vietnamese pig meat. Since the breed is not a greasy or universal breed, the layer of fat is small and amounts to no more than 7 cm. The taste qualities are highly rated.

When organizing feeding Vietnamese pigs, you should take into account that they eat little and often. We will talk in more detail about what to feed Vietnamese pigs later. It should be noted here that in order to get maximum weight gain, the issue of organizing nutrition must be approached responsibly.

It is worth noting that small Vietnamese piglets will exhibit all the conditions described above only if you take a representative of a pure breed with good genetics, which is why it is so important to purchase healthy and purebred young animals.

Breeding and caring for Vietnamese pigs is simplified by the fact that the animal cannot boast of large size. Accordingly, there is no need to build a large pigsty. Animals get along well in one pen, but this should not be abused. Depending on the size of the pen, no more than 3-4 pigs are housed there.

When breeding Vietnamese pigs, you need to properly arrange the pigsty. From a hygiene point of view, floors should be made of concrete, which is easy to clean. It is best to opt for a slotted floor design. Low tides for liquid droppings must be present. To make caring for animals as easy as possible, the floor is made at a slight slope.

To prevent month-old piglets and adults from catching a cold while lying on the concrete floor, a wooden platform is installed in each pen. Due to the cleanliness of the Vietnamese herbivorous pig, they will not shit on the platforms, so keeping them clean will not be difficult. In the absence of wooden platforms, small Vietnamese pigs will have to lay a thick layer of straw on the floor. And for adults, it would be a good idea to make thick bedding to protect the livestock from colds. And this will complicate the care of pot-bellied Vietnamese piglets.

Ventilation and heating

When breeding Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, one should take into account the fact that individuals are quite heat-loving. The air temperature should not fall below 15°C even in winter. And in the pigsty, where Vietnamese piglets are kept for up to 6 months, it is advisable to maintain the temperature at 20-22°C, so in winter the heating system should be running in the pen for the sow and young animals. These can be electric heaters, potbelly stoves or infrared lamps.

You also need to think about a ventilation system that will not create drafts. According to existing standards, it is necessary to ventilate the pigsty daily.

Walking area

To simplify the organization of feeding Vietnamese piglets, it is advisable to fence off the walking area. It has also been confirmed by practice that if you take time for walks when breeding and caring for a Vietnamese pig, the pet will have better health.

Despite the fact that the weight of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs is small, they need a spacious area for walking. A certain area should be under a canopy, where animals can hide from bad weather or the scorching sun. The size of the canopy depends on how many Vietnamese piglets will need to fit under it.

Based on the characteristics of not only Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, but also other breeds, there should be a mud bath in the enclosure. It is an ordinary shallow hole filled with water. There is no need to strengthen the walls of the hole or dig in a container, as is done for ducks. Pigs need a mud bath. In the absence of rain, the pit is filled with water independently. It is advisable to equip it in the far corner of the enclosure.

You can often see photos of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs rubbing themselves against logs. This is one of the favorite activities of pigs, so several thick and strong logs are installed in the enclosure. It is advisable to dig them into the ground.

Pigs should be allowed out for a short walk even in winter, if there is no severe frost outside.

Nutrition

The diet of Vietnamese piglets must be balanced. Many farmers take the simplest route, feeding their animals only grass and hay. But, despite the fact that the breed is sometimes called a herbivore, it will not be possible to achieve maximum weight gain with such fattening. When feeding pot-bellied Vietnamese piglets, you should add grains, legumes and root vegetables to the diet.

The basis of the diet is really grass. In winter, animals are given hay instead of grass. In addition to green feed, pigs are given wheat, barley and rye. You shouldn’t get carried away with oats, which some farmers produce along with other grain crops. It promotes the accumulation of fat deposits. The same goes for corn.

The nutrition of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs has specific features that are determined by the original structure of the gastrointestinal tract. Pigs do not digest roughage well. Also, food that is difficult for animals is one that contains a lot of fiber (fodder beet, for example). But the grass is absorbed very well. When making hay for the winter, preference is given to alfalfa and clover. Such hay will not be heavy for the body. You can introduce potatoes into your diet, but not raw ones. The tubers are pre-boiled.

Regardless of the conditions in which pigs live, they need mineral supplements. Even if they walk around the pasture all day, they will not be able to replenish their body with all the minerals.

Use of feed

In addition to green feed, you can purchase special feed. But good food is quite expensive, so it is advisable to make it yourself. To prepare it you will need barley, wheat, oats, peas and corn. The basis of the feed is the first 2 components. They account for 70% of the total weight. The remaining components are taken in equal quantities (10% each).

Before preparing feed, grain crops are ground to flour. It is advisable to give feed in the form of wet mash. This improves the taste of the meat. Pour milk into the feed, after adding a small amount of salt to it.

Diet

In addition to what you should feed Vietnamese piglets, you need to know how to properly organize their diet. We feed the livestock twice a day in the summer. It is advisable to give food in the morning and evening. During the day, we release the animals to pasture, where they will independently find something to eat. In winter, due to the lack of grazing opportunities, we add a third meal to lunch.

Features of feeding pregnant pigs and piglets

Caring for and maintaining Vietnamese pigs during pregnancy becomes somewhat more complicated. The diet during this period should include dairy products and eggs. Since a pregnant pig needs many nutrients, all feed should be fortified. Animal specialists recommend purchasing special vitamins. But before buying, it is better to consult a veterinarian. The choice of vitamin complexes is influenced by many factors. First of all, the choice depends on whether the animal is walking or sitting locked up.

Newborn Vietnamese piglets do not need to be fed: they feed exclusively on their mother's milk. Only if for some reason the mother’s milk disappears, newborns are transferred to artificial feeding. It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question from how many days complementary foods should be introduced. It all depends on the weight the piglet has gained.

In general, the first complementary foods are introduced at the age of 10 days (if the piglet’s weight has reached 1 kilogram). The diet includes clean water, crushed chalk, charcoal and clay. At the age of 20 days, if the weight of the piglet exceeds 1.5 kg, the maturing livestock is supplemented with porridge and special feed. New types of feed are introduced into the diet gradually so as not to cause stomach upset in young animals.

To avoid health problems, complementary food for piglets must be of high quality. The black pig of this breed eats with great appetite. But you shouldn’t give more wet porridge than normal. It is best if females piglet in winter or spring.

Breeding

First of all, it is worth answering the question of whether Vietnamese pigs are profitable to farm. The meat productivity of this breed is lower than that of many existing hybrids. However, this breed is one of the fastest maturing and very prolific. In addition, pigs consume food sparingly. The market price of the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig averages 70-100 US dollars. All factors taken together allow us to say that breeding the described pigs is indeed a profitable activity.

Breeding and raising pigs of this breed is not a difficult task. In addition, piglets are relatively inexpensive. The main thing is to follow some rules. In numerous videos about breeding Vietnamese pigs, livestock specialists emphasize that the boar and the pig should not be relatives, otherwise viable and healthy offspring will not be obtained. Pigs are carefully selected for mating. Despite early sexual maturity, individuals whose weight has not reached 30 kg should not be covered. They will not be able to bear strong piglets. In addition, fertilization too early will negatively affect the health of the pig itself.

You can determine that a pig is ready for mating by a number of signs. During sexual heat, she behaves restlessly, and discharge appears from the genitals, which become red and swollen. When you press on the croup, an animal ready for mating freezes and does not try to escape. During heat, the breeding boar and gilt are placed in the same cage or pen and kept there for 24 hours. Sexual hunting does not last long. In order for pregnancy to occur, it is important to introduce a boar to the pig in a timely manner.

Pregnancy and childbirth

Pregnant pigs give birth 116 days after mating. This is the average length of pregnancy. The pig carries its cubs well, complications rarely arise. The readiness of a pig for childbirth can be judged by the restless behavior of the mother in labor and the desire to build a nest. From the beginning of the construction of the nest, in which the pig carefully places hay, until the onset of birth, a little less than a week passes.

Also, the fact that childbirth will soon occur can be judged by the drooping belly, swollen nipples and formed milk lobes. Immediately before farrowing, colostrum is released from the nipples in small quantities. Also at this time the animal does not eat. Childbirth lasts on average 4 hours. The end of this process is the release of the placenta, which the sow must not eat. It is usually buried in the garden.

Vietnamese newborn piglets look incredibly cute in the photo. In the first hour of life, you need to have time to cut the umbilical cord and properly treat the wound, clean the black piglets from films (especially in the respiratory tract), wipe and feed them, applying them to the sow's nipples. If newborns do not receive colostrum within the first hour, this will negatively affect the formation of immunity.

At first, the pig takes care of the offspring itself. Using height and weight tables, they monitor how the piglets grow. At the age of 1 month, piglets are weaned from the sow. Weaning from the mother is done gradually: this will help prevent the appearance of mastitis in the pig. First, the young should be separated from their mother several times a day for several hours, then the young individuals should be separated altogether.

Prepare for childbirth in advance. They carefully clean the pen in which the pig will give birth, prepare a drinking bowl with water, which should always be next to the woman in labor, prepare rags for wiping newborns, and in winter, think through a heating system in the pen where the sow and her young will be.

Diseases

In general, raising pigs of this breed is easy due to their strong immunity. However, with poor care or nutrition, your pets can get sick. Let's look at which diseases are most common, how they differ from each other, and what treatment is best to use.

One of the most common diseases is erysipelas. Symptoms of the disease include falling on your feet, the appearance of purple spots on the skin, and trembling. If left untreated, the animal dies within a few days. It is transmitted by airborne droplets, so sick individuals are placed in a separate pen.

Erysipelas is often confused with plague because they have similar symptoms. But with plague, in addition to red spots, purple spots appear on the skin.

Dysentery is another dangerous disease. Its symptoms are loose, bloody stools and fever.

Often after giving birth, a pig goes bald. This is due to a lack of iron in the body. In this case, you need to inject drugs containing this microelement.

Disease Prevention

First of all, you should get all the necessary vaccinations in a timely manner and keep the pig area clean. It is also necessary to systematically monitor the pigs. If it becomes noticeable that the piglet’s growth has stopped, its skin is peeling, it itches, or there are wounds that fester, or the eyes are sour, you need to consult a doctor. Any, even minor signs (an animal is not eating well, for example), indicate discomfort. We need to find out what caused it.

You also need to remember that pigs get worms from time to time, so you need to give deworming medications systematically according to the instructions, which also indicate the frequency of deworming with this medicine. It is advisable to pierce piglets with broad-spectrum antibiotics. But you can only give those drugs that are prescribed by a qualified doctor.

Purchasing young animals

When breeding pigs of this breed, you need to purchase piglets. Today you can make this purchase even online. But experts advise going to a farm where qualified livestock specialists work.

When purchasing, you should ask to see all the individuals. It is better to choose the most active piglets with a good appetite, without visible defects.

It wouldn't hurt to look at the parents of the pigs. If there are deviations from the standards in their appearance, it is worth looking for other breeders. A specific feature of representatives of this breed is a straight tail that does not curl into a donut and a short muzzle, reminiscent of a pug's muzzle.

Before purchasing, it is advisable to show young animals to a veterinarian, although farms carefully monitor the health of pigs. As a rule, individuals are sold already vaccinated against dangerous diseases.

Before you go shopping, the pigsty is properly prepared. Young animals need a warm room without drafts and with a normal level of humidity. A building made of wood or brick is best suited for this breed. When purchasing young animals, take into account the size of the pigsty: per adult individual there should be 2.5-3 square meters. m.

You also need to take into account that the breed needs large quantities of green feed and daily walks. If there is no pasture for walking, you should look for another breed. According to the standards existing today, one adult pig needs at least 1 hundred square meters of land. It is advisable to sow the ground with forbs in the spring, which improves the taste of meat. Primarily alfalfa and clover. Young nettle also has a positive effect on the taste of meat.

Among all the breeds, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs stand out as they are predisposed to quickly gaining a lot of weight, making them the lightest. Breeding pigs provides the owner with a supply of meat.

History of the breed

The name of the breed is the result of a historical error. Vietnamese pigs were developed in Southeast Asia. But they came to Europe from Vietnam in 1985, which is why the breed began to be called Vietnamese. Vietnamese pigs were recently brought to Russia.

The work to improve the breed is not finished. It is especially active in Ukraine, Hungary and Canada.

The full correct name of the breed is Asian herbivorous pot-bellied pig.

Many people confuse representatives of this species with Korean pigs, or believe that Vietnamese and Chinese are the same animals. In fact, Chinese pigs are popular decorative mini pigs. Despite the huge external differences, they are truly related to the Vietnamese pot-bellied.

Description and characteristics of Vietnamese pigs

Vietnamese pigs are large animals. As an adult, an individual should weigh from 80 to 100 kilograms. Breeding representatives of the breed can weigh up to 150 kilograms. A pig gains weight during the first 5 years of life at a high rate. But gradually this process is slowing down. In wild boars, the fangs begin to grow at 6 months, and reach 10-15 centimeters.

Representatives of this breed do not differ in color variations. They can be:

black (mostly common color);
black and white.

A noticeable external difference between the Vietnamese breed and others is the drooping belly. It appears from the first month of life.

In terms of body structure, the animals are short, have short, even, strong legs, broad shoulders and chest, a large head with small erect ears, a flattened muzzle, and a snout with folds.

Advantages and disadvantages of breeding Vietnamese pigs

It is not for nothing that the Vietnamese Fold is one of the most popular breeds of pigs. This was facilitated by a number of advantages:

Rapid gain of slaughter weight. Already at 7-8 months, representatives of this breed reach 80 kilograms.
Early puberty. Females are able to give birth at 4 months, while in wild boars the instinct to procreate awakens at six months.
Fertility. A female can give birth to from 5 to 20 piglets, and produce offspring twice in a year.
Ease of reproduction. Vietnamese potbellied sows are caring mothers who do not attack their piglets, unlike representatives of other breeds.
Herbivory. This feature makes it easier for farmers to feed animals.
High immunity. Diseases common to pigs do not affect Vietnamese potbellied pigs, so they do not need to be vaccinated.
Memory for poisonous plants. The animal remembers which food harmed it and passes this knowledge through genes to subsequent generations.
Cleanliness. Pigs of this breed always relieve themselves in the same place, located away from the sleeping and feeding area.
Unpretentiousness to climatic changes. The breed easily tolerates extreme heat and cold.
Peacefulness. Vietnamese pigs are non-aggressive, friendly, do not eat their piglets, do not bite, do not squeal, and are even capable of training.
There is no unpleasant odor.
Valuable meat. It is very tender and low in bad cholesterol.

The breed has few disadvantages. These include:

Animal susceptibility to helminths.
For Vietnamese pigs, drafts in the pigsty pose a particular danger.

How to choose piglets?

There are a number of rules by adhering to which you can purchase healthy and strong Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets:

Buy piglets at the age of 1 month, then they will quickly and easily get used to the new environment.
Find out from the breeder the baby's weight at birth and the dynamics of weight gain.
Ask to see the piglet's parents; the quality of the offspring is determined by their appearance. Pay special attention to the sow, she should be thin and have sagging milk lobes. This is a sign that her piglets are about a month old.
The cub itself should have strong legs, pronounced muscles and a sagging abdomen.
For brood, do not purchase piglets from the same litter and from related parents. Their offspring will be sickly and abnormal.
Pay attention to the mood of the little pigs. If they are in good health, they will wag their tails and play actively.
When purchasing, ask the owner what kind of food he gave to the piglets. It will be possible to transfer young pigs to any other food, but gradually to avoid stool disorder.

Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are unpretentious, but if you are planning a long-term breeding of this breed, then it is better to prepare carefully. To begin, build a pigsty:

It should be strong and without cracks. It is better to make windows higher than the height of the pigs, so that air circulates, but does not blow through the animals. The optimal material for a pigsty is brick.
It is advisable to fill the floor with concrete. This will make cleaning up after the pigs much easier.
The pigsty is divided into pens by wooden partitions. “Flip-flops” are small in stature, so they need small sections.
The departments have wooden flooring for sleeping.
Heating is recommended. This breed can tolerate frosts, but will gain less weight. For the farrowing female and the offspring, low temperatures can be disastrous.

Vietnamese pigs are allowed to roam all year round. That's why they need an aviary. It should be fenced, with a canopy under which animals can hide from the heat and bad weather. It is recommended to dig in some rough logs that they will itch on and make a mud pool. Thanks to it, pigs will be able to cool down in the heat and drive away annoying insects. The water in the pool needs to be changed once a week.

Feeding, products

Many inexperienced farmers, having learned that Vietnamese pot-bellied fish are herbivores, feed them with pasture alone. Pigs actually survive with this method of feeding, but the desired weight gain will not occur.

In addition to natural grazing, which guarantees fresh grass in the diet, it is worth providing “flip-flops” with:

clover and alfalfa hay;
fresh zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, apples;
boiled potatoes;
vitamin supplements.

Representatives of this breed are well fed with a grain feed mixture consisting of barley and wheat ground into flour. You can add a little legumes, oats and corn to it, but no more than 10% of the total mass. Otherwise, they will cause excess fat formation.

The taste of meat improves if pigs eat wet food. To prepare it, the grain mixture with the addition of 5-10 grams of salt is steamed with boiling water.

Sows should be given milk, eggs, whey, fish oil and vitamins. Additives are added to the cooled cereal porridge.

Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs have a small stomach and intestinal diameter, so they are not suitable for food:

coarse feed;
straw;
fodder beet;
high fiber foods;
an abundance of corn, oats and peas in the feed.

When caring for this breed, it is necessary to regularly administer deworming medications.

Reproduction

The most important thing in breeding pot-bellied pigs is not to let the boar cover your relative. The offspring will be sick, have poor weight gain, and may be infertile. To prevent this, you need to know the signs that a female is ready for mating:

anxiety and nervousness;
swelling of the genital loop;
discharge from the genitals appears;
freezing in place when pressure is placed on the croup.

Although females reach sexual maturity at 4 months, and in some cases earlier, they should be bred only when they gain sufficient weight - 32-35 kilograms. Otherwise, the offspring will be frail, and the sow may not tolerate pregnancy and childbirth well.

A pregnant female carries piglets for 114-118 days. During her first farrow she will give birth to about 5 babies. Then on average there are 10-12, but their number can reach 20 pieces.

5-6 days before giving birth, the female will begin to worry and make a nest out of straw or hay. If the belly has dropped and colostrum appears on the nipples, farrowing will occur in the next 10-20 hours. You need to prepare for it:

Clean the machine and put in fresh hay.
Fence off and insulate the area for the piglets. In the first days, babies should be kept at a temperature of at least +20 degrees Celsius, and preferably at +30-32 degrees.
Increase the overall heating of the pigsty.
Make sure that the female always has clean water. She will not feed on the day of birth.

Many people do not interfere with the birth process and do not touch the piglets for the first days. But this can result in the death of the cubs, especially during the female’s first farrowing. Babies are born very hungry, and if the sow does not have colostrum in advance or soon after farrowing, they may die. Therefore, you need to prepare in advance for the birth itself:

backup option for feeding newborn piglets;
diapers for wiping and wrapping;
a clean flannel cloth to clear mucus from the eyes and respiratory tract;
disinfectant (for example, chlorhexidine solution);
scissors and thread to sew up the umbilical cord;
iodine and cotton wool to cauterize the wound.

Childbirth in a Vietnamese sow lasts from 3 to 5 hours. The end of the process is indicated by the release of the placenta.

Raising offspring

The piglets are surrounded by the care of their mother; her milk gives them all the necessary substances for the first days of life. But strong babies can push weaker ones away from the nipples, this needs to be monitored and everyone should be helped to have access to nutrition.

There is no iron in sow milk. This often leads to anemia in piglets. Therefore, they are given injections into the muscles of iron-containing preparations for animals, the dosage and number of injections is according to the instructions.

Additives are introduced into the diet of weekly offspring:

charcoal;
calcium;
phosphorus.

On the tenth day, they are provided with a drinking bowl with clean water; by this time, the weight of each baby should be at least 1 kilogram. On the twentieth day, porridge from mixed feed with vitamins is introduced into the diet. A one-month-old piglet is already fed adult food. At this age he weighs 3 kilograms and can be sold.

Weaning should not be done one day, but gradually, offering babies an alternative to milk. Otherwise, the piglets will have a nutritional disorder, and the sow will have mastitis.

At the age of 40 days, anthelmintic procedures can be performed on piglets. For example, give the drug Brovadazole.

Breeding Vietnamese pigs as a business

The cost of a Vietnamese pot-bellied piglet is 3,000 rubles, and an adult piglet is 8,000 rubles. For breeding, it is enough to buy 2 females and 1 boar.

Those farmers who do not want to keep large white pigs can always find an alternative. One option could be Vietnamese pigs. Small in size, but at the same time early ripening, and also unpretentious in maintenance. All these qualities attract many farmers.

This breed was first bred in Asia in the southeast. These wonderful animals arrived on other continents and other countries only in 1985. The name Vietnamese pot-bellied piglets appeared due to the fact that they were brought to other countries from Vietnam. Quite quickly, these pigs found their adherents among farmers and became quite common both in America and Europe.

Vietnamese pig breed

Oddly enough, scientists are striving to improve this breed even more. They set themselves several goals:

Improve productivity;
Increase sizes;
Achieve an increase in muscle percentage.

Experiments to improve the breed continue to this day.

Vietnamese piglets appeared in Russia relatively recently. Rumors began to circulate that there were several breeds of Asian pigs, but these were names of the same variety. From the Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, another breed appeared, these are decorative pigs called mini-pigs (from the English mini - small, pig - pig).

Advantages and disadvantages of the breed

The Vietnamese breed of pigs, like other varieties, has its advantages and disadvantages. They have some features that are worth considering if you decide to breed this breed.

Positive sides:

They ripen quickly. Oddly enough, but at the age of 4 months, pot-bellied pigs reach puberty and are ready to bear and give birth to offspring. The boars mature somewhat later and are ready for mating only six months after birth.
Easy to maintain. Sows take good care of their offspring, so you often don’t have to “run around” with them and look after them like piglets of other breeds.
They have good immunity, which protects them from all sorts of diseases to which other breeds are susceptible. They do not require specific vaccinations; the only thing that is required is to poison the helminths. Vietnamese pigs were bred in hot countries, but they adapt quite quickly to different climatic conditions, which explains their prevalence throughout the world.
The meat and lard produced by the lop-eared pig are very tender and juicy. Cutting a carcass usually does not take much time and does not require much effort.
Sows are very fertile; if the familiar breed of pigs gives from 6 to 12 piglets at a time, then the Vietnamese breed of pigs allows you to get a standard 12 piglets, and in some cases the figure reaches 18.
An interesting feature is that lop-eared piglets have good genetic memory, so they do not eat poisonous plants.
The small size of the animal makes it necessary to eat it quite often, even if only a little; the bulk of the food consumed is greens, which is another plus.
They challenge the idea of these animals as slobs. In their premises, these animals have a toilet in a separate corner, and a sleeping place in another. This approach reduces the time spent on cleaning the premises.

Concerning shortcomings, then this concept is rather subjective, the negative aspects are different for each owner. Some are not satisfied with the size of the animals, while other owners consider this an advantage. Some people don’t like the color or the hairiness; there are farmers who complain about the thin layer of lard. But it cannot be said that all these indicators can be equated with reasons why one should refuse content.

Appearance

The appearance features allow you to buy this particular breed without confusing it with others. First of all, it is worth noting that the name Vietnamese pot-bellied pig breed appeared for a reason. Little piglets that are not yet a month old already have sagging bellies. As for fattened adults, their bellies often reach the ground. The colors vary, usually they are black piglets, but white spots may also appear on their body.

Vietnamese pigs are mostly black in color, but can also be black and white.

The muzzle is not as long as that of ordinary pigs. It seems that they lightly pressed on the snout and left it there. The back is wide and the legs are short, so they are quite large in volume and very low in height. The ears are small. Boars are distinguished by the presence of thick bristles. In a short time, a pot-bellied pig reaches a weight of 70-80 kg, but if you keep the animal longer and specially fatten it, the weight of some individuals reaches 150 kg.

Diet

Most novice farmers make a mistake in terms of feeding from the first days of keeping the breed; they try to stick to the same diet that white pigs had. Feeding Vietnamese pigs differs not only in products, but also in the frequency of meals. Two meals a day are not enough for these animals; they need constant feeding. Vietnamese piglets have a small stomach and digest food faster.

Vietnamese breed pigs need to be fed more often

These are herbivores, so their diet consists of plant products. But here the question arises, what to feed Vietnamese pigs? They can eat pumpkin, hay, corn, pears, apples, zucchini, and various herbs. It is worth refusing to feed beets and straw; it is better to offer them young hay.

Another serious mistake is when owners feed animals exclusively pasture. Despite the characteristics of the breed and knowledge of what to feed Vietnamese piglets, these animals need to be given compound feed.

Try not to overfeed the animal if you decide to keep it for bacon. The best weight for these pigs is 90-110 kg. They grow to this size and gain the required weight within 9 months. If you focus on meat, then corn and barley should not exceed 10% in your diet.

Breeding: mating, farrowing

Rarely does the owner of this breed have problems with mating or farrowing. Rapid sexual maturity allows you to get a female ready for mating after 4 months. Hunting among representatives of this breed is noticeable in the behavior of the animal. The female is constantly worried about something and may refuse to feed. Considering the fact that they get sick extremely rarely, this is a concrete indicator that she is ready for fertilization.

There are other signs: if you look closely, the genital loop in such females swells, and characteristic discharge appears. If you detect such signs, lean lightly on the female’s croup; if she is in heat, she will stand motionless; when the symptoms turn out to be false, the pig quickly leaves. During mating, make sure that relatives do not mate.

Vietnamese breed sow

You can often hear that a pig can farrow normally on its own, saying there is nothing to disturb it. This assumption is incorrect, since it is imperative to monitor this process so that there are no complications. Prepare threads, iodine, scissors and cotton wool to cut the umbilical cord. Not only the sow, but also the owner prepares for childbirth. When the female's milk lobes begin to form, her stomach drops, and she behaves restlessly, this means that she will soon start pigging. The owner must clean the room, leaving only water and hay. After birth, you need to wipe the baby's snout and mouth from mucus, make sure that all piglets receive colostrum in the first hour of life.

Breeding Vietnamese piglets does not require any special skills. After the first farrowing, from 5 to 10 piglets are obtained, then this figure increases and exceeds 12 at a time. Breeding pot-bellied pigs is a fast process; each female can farrow twice a year.

Keeping Vietnamese pigs should begin with arranging their home. The small size of the animal allows you to keep many individuals in a small barn. You can build a brick or wooden pigsty for pigs. Many owners concrete the floor, because it will be easier to clean. Part of the pigsty needs to be covered with boards so that the pigs do not feel cold. A large room needs to be divided into smaller pens by nets. So that there are several piglets in a pen or a sow with offspring.

Immediately think about a normal passage between the partitions so that you can clean the pigsty and distribute feed without any problems. Raising Vietnamese pigs at home should be thought out to the smallest detail; ensure good ventilation of the room so that the animals have enough oxygen. In winter, the room must be at a normal temperature so that the animals do not freeze. Freezing temperatures can have a serious impact on a newly farrowed sow.

In the summer, it is advisable to provide walking space for animals so that they can graze. Vietnamese pigs love mud baths, so you need to take care of that too. They do this to cool down on particularly hot days and to get rid of blood-sucking insects.

Caring for Vietnamese piglets is somewhat different; animals begin to be fed at the age of 20 days, since the sow is not able to feed 12 or more fast-growing organisms.

For Vietnamese piglets, complementary feeding must be introduced at the age of 20 days

For those who are planning to keep wild boars for meat, they will need to be castrated. Castration is done so that the animal does not come into heat every month. Castration is also carried out so that the animal does not accidentally cover one of the females when this is not required. Castration prevents the animal from becoming excessively aggressive when it begins to break equipment or attack fellow animals. And, probably, the most important reason is that castration eliminates the unpleasant smell of meat. Often the smell is so persistent that it is no longer possible to eat it. Small boars are castrated at about 1.5 months.

Take a pig and a boar from different parents. If all sows are covered by one boar, you should not take a pair from one owner. The piglet's characteristics should correspond to the appearance of the breed; it will be strong, with well-developed muscles, and its head will be upturned. A healthy baby is usually active and has a good appetite. Find out how the animal was switched to other foods and how its weight has changed since birth.

Video: Vietnamese herbivorous pigs. Personal experience

Pig farming can become a profitable business if you approach the issue of keeping, feeding and breeding animals responsibly. You should not compare Vietnamese pigs with white pigs and try to make the former fit the established biorhythm and behavior. Compliance with the rules for keeping animals will allow you to significantly increase the number of animals in a couple of years.