Among the huge number of pig breeds it is quite difficult to find those that would be suitable both by the type of performance, and by the conditions of adaptation to the climate, and by the necessary diet.
Therefore, before embarking on such a choice, it is initially worth assessing your own capabilities and needs, and only then evaluating each breed by its unique characteristics.
But still, there are very famous breeds of these animals that can suit almost any pig farmer.
We are talking about pigs of the red-belt breed, the advantages of growing which you will see only by proceeding with the introduction of this article.
The right choice of piglets - the key to successful breeding
The productivity of pigs primarily depends on whether the selection of piglets was made correctly. For this reason, this question should be approached thoroughly, paying attention not only to the general characteristics, but also to the features of the breed you need.
In the first case, the following are considered important. appearance characteristics of a pig:
- Pay attention to the general condition of the animal. In the hole, small pigs should be quite energetic, alive.
If, on examination of the goods offered to you, you notice that they are lethargic, it is better not to risk it, and to turn to other vendors, since such signs may indicate the presence of diseases.
- Experienced breeders in the first place I advise you to pay attention to the ass bought animals. The fact is that if it is dirty - this will indicate the presence of problems with digestion.
In general, this may not be a big problem, but it can bring a lot of trouble, the probability of death is high.
- The easiest way to determine the state of an animal is to assess the state of its tail. If it is twisted, the piglet is absolutely healthy, and no problems should arise with it.
- About scabies or some other disease shows and hard, dirty piglet hair. Normally, it should be smooth.
- The fact that the animal will be able to gain more weight in the future is evidenced by the shape of its body: long legs, back and muzzle.
Understand that in front of you is a representative of the red-belt breed, you can directly on the color of the skin of a pig. After all, the breed has a red color, as well as they are distinguished by a narrow belt, which usually covers the body just below the shoulder blades.
And of course, do not forget to ask about the pedigree of the seller: it is important to ask the breed both sows and boars, their weight, the amount of farrowing in a pig. The bona fide seller should also inform you about exactly what products he fed the sow and piglets so that later you would have no problems with them.
What are the features of red-belt pigs: breed description
Start acquaintance with this breed of pigs is a description of their origin, or rather from those breeds that were used as starting material for breeding.
Primarily used Poltava meat type of pig, famous for its high performance.
Also, the genetic material was taken from other well-known breeds of pigs, which belong to the meat type - Hampshire, Duroc, Krupna Belaya and Landrace.
The breed obtained as a result of such crossing in a very short period proved to be one of the most productive, it was very quickly started to be distributed throughout the collective farm farms of the Soviet Union.
Today, red-belt pigs are used not only in industrial pig breeding, but are increasingly found in livestock amateur farms.
What are the main advantages of the described pigs?
The constitution of representatives of the red-belt breed of pigs is very strong.
First, this factor allows them to be more resistant to different climatic conditions, that is, breeding is possible both in the south and in the northern regions.
Secondly, with such a constitution, animals are less susceptible to various diseases, not so fastidious about food.
By the way, feeding this breed is very simple - pigs are able to eat and gain weight on almost any diet. Of course, that if it is more nutritious and carefully combined - then the result will come much faster.
The maintenance of red-belt pigs also does not arise difficulties, since even the simplest conditions of the pigsty will perfectly suit them. Adults quite bravely tolerate lowering the air temperature to + 5ºС, the absence of spacious walking plots or a place for swimming.
Of course, the pig's suit plays far from the first place whether it is profitable to breed it or not. However, due to the belt characteristic of the red-belt rock on the side of the shoulder blades, it is very difficult to confuse it with some other breed.
Thus, the likelihood that you will get the right piglets on the market and get a lot of good products out of them is very high.
One of the equally important advantages of the breed is the possibility of using red-crested boars for fertilization of other breeds.
At the same time, the following advantages:
- The multiplicity of sows of other breeds increases by 0.2-0.55 pigs.
- Significantly reduced time for which the pig has time to reach the delivery condition (approximately 15-18 days).
- Significantly reduced the cost of feeding piglets. In particular, one kilogram of growth is spent on 0.3-0.5 less feed units.
- Red-belt boars, as representatives of the meat breed, also increase the output of meat and their offspring, regardless of what breed the sow was. The amount of meat in the carcass increases by 2-3%.
Acquainted with the disadvantages of the breed: what you need to be prepared in advance?
For this breed it is very important that there is always a dry litter in their pen.
The fact is that red-striped pigs are quite clean animals, therefore cleanliness should also appear on the part of the owner. Wet sex can irritate animals, with the result that they can begin to lose their weight.
Also, do not allow drafts in the roomwhere these pigs are kept. Despite strong immunity, under such conditions they tend to hurt.
In general, these shortcomings are the only ones that can be called in relation to the red-belt breed.
Other important features of red and belt pigs
Describing the red-belt pigs, it should be noted that they are quite large animals in size, which must be taken into account when building pens for them.
Meat forms, that is, all parts of the body where there are muscles, are very well developed. The head of these animals is quite light, small. Ears are also small, horizontally set.
The body is very deep, wide, long, which, as noted above, indicates the possibility of gaining a very large weight. At the same time, the limbs of the red-belt are not only long, but also strong.
According to the reviews of pig producers, such cases, when the pig falls on its paws due to its large weight, did not happen to representatives of this breed.
How can be productive breed when it is grown at home: the experience of pig breeders
By type of performance red-belt pigs are meat. This means that most of their carcasses consist of meat, and fatty tissues develop relatively poorly. At the level of 6-7 thoracic vertebra, the thickness of the fat of a well-fed individual can vary from 21 to 25 millimeters, which is very low for pigs.
In general, in adulthood, boars producing easily reach a weight of 300-340 kilograms. The weight of sows, of course, is less, and can vary from 200 to 250 kilograms, which is also quite a lot.
The length of the body of the male individuals can also compete with any other breed of pigs, since this indicator they can be equal to 180-185 centimeters. The length of the body of sows on average is 160-169 centimeters.
An equally important factor in the performance of any breed of pigs is the ability to reproduce their offspring. In the case of red-sided pigs, this factor should be assessed as another advantage, since their sows are considered to be rather multifaceted.
In particular, even in ordinary households, sows with two or one farrowing can produce from 10 to 12 piglets. Moreover, the live weight of the nest, which has reached the age of 2 months, usually ranges from 177 to 188 kilograms.
Pig farms are aware of the case when one sow of the breed described for 3 farrow brought 36 healthy piglets into the light. At the time of weaning from the pig, their total weight was 660 kilograms.
Young animals grow quite wellbecause their body has the ability to rationally use the nutrients it receives.
Already on the 170-205 day, young piglets reach a weight of 100 kilograms, not reducing the growth rate in the future. At the same time, the average daily increase can be from 480 to 870 grams, depending on the abundance and nutritional value of the diet they receive.
The cost per 1 kg of growth is only 3.1-3.8 fodder units, allowing you to get 56-62% of the meat at the output.
It is also interesting to read about pig meat breeds.
Caring for red-belt pigs: we provide high rates of productivity
Despite all the above-mentioned advantages of the breed, its productivity will depend directly on the care of the owner, as well as the thoroughness of animal care. With that, it sways not only the rules of preparing the premises for keeping pigs, providing them with space for walking, but also direct feeding.
Rules for feeding piglets and adults
On the one hand, feeding pigs is quite simple, because they are not picky about food, especially the breed described by us.
They may be quite enough wet mash from root vegetables with the addition of food waste from the kitchen. However, such a traditional way of feeding does not always give the desired result in terms of animal productivity. For this reason, modern breeders resort to dry feeding.
In this case, pigs are fed with the help of various cereal mixtures, to which for nutritional value they add bone or fish meal, various cake meal, as well as special vitamin-complex supplements.
The only important point in dry feeding is that pigs will need to be given plenty of water, which will prevent problems with digestion and water balance of their body.
In general, for the cultivation of the red-belt breed, of course, the second feeding option is better. In addition, it allows you to get a very high average daily weight gain of animals, it is more convenient for the owner.
After all, you do not have to cook potatoes every day, mix them with the other components of the diet and carry heavy buckets into the pigsty. The only thing that needs to be done is to fill the feed trough several times a day and pour water.
- Grain pigs should be given exclusively in ground form. The fact is that the animal is not able to chew whole grains, and thus it will only translate feed.
- Potatoes and other root vegetables are better to give boiled pigs, be sure to drain the water. In the form of litter, they are given only in small quantities, as a vitamin supplement.
- It is not necessary to give the pig a lot of feed, so that he remains in the trough.
- For the meat type, which includes red-striped pigs, it is important to add proteins to the diet: leguminous crops, fish or meat and bone meal, skimmed milk, fodder yeast.
For small pigs, it is very important that initially they could eat pig's milk, and already starting from the fifth day you can start feeding them a little. It is important to give them feed, with premixes added to them. This will allow to train piglets' stomachs for coarser foodand will also nourish their organisms well.
Already at the age of 1.5 months it is important to take them away from the mother, but it is not worth doing it sharply; it is necessary that they have already learned to eat by this time.
How to grow red-belt piglets at home: the main advantages
If you were attentive to all the above information, then, probably, you yourself were able to conclude that it is not at all difficult to grow red-belt pigs at home.
This breed is the least whimsical to the conditions of detention and to what kind of food it provides.
When keeping your own sow and fertilizer boar, you can easily get very good offspring. Thus, the benefit from these pigs may be not only a large quantity of meat, but also the possibility to realize the young.
However, it is important to consider the following generally accepted points:
- For the maintenance of adult individuals need to take a spacious pens inside the pigsty.
- Very good, if you give animals the opportunity in the summer to walk down the street, swim in the mud.
- It is very important that a place for walking was provided to small piglets (but not together with adults). Without such activity, they can become quite painful, and rickets often develop.
Important about fertility of breed: insemination and farrowing of sows
As already noted, this breed is multifarious. In the presence of a fertilizer boar, problems with insemination of a sow usually do not arise.
Sexual activity in young individuals may begin as early as the 8th month of life. The period of gestation in pigs lasts about 115 days. They are born big nests, but the sow shows a lot of attention to them, providing all the necessary care. Immediately after birth, the mortality of this breed was practically not observed.
It is still important to be present directly in the farrowing, since such a large number of offspring rather depletes the sow.
It is also important at this point to lay a lot of dry hay in the pen with the pig, in which she herself can make a nest for herself.
Also, it is very important to limit it in food, giving only drink plenty of clean and fresh water.
The fact that the pig will soon bring the young, will show evidence of increased in size genitals and mammary glands, significantly lower the belly. A day before her farrowing, she gets milk, the pig starts to lie down very often and get up on her kubla.
Take care of artificial light for piglets, as well as heating, if the process of farrowing takes place in the cold season.
