Unusual and exotic breed of pigs of the Hungarian mangalica

One of the rarest breeds pigs today is the Hungarian Mangalice. It is beneficial to contain these artiodactyls primarily from an economic point of view. Also, the Hungarian Mangalits, due to their unusual appearance, become an adornment of any farmyard. Consider the characteristics of this breed, its advantages and disadvantages, and conditions of detention.

Hungarian Mangalica

Characteristics of the breed

Given the homeland of pigs Hungary’s breed is still breeding downy pigs. We’ll start with a description of the appearance. The pig breed Mangalitsa is unlike any other. A distinctive feature of this breed is its wavy coat. If you look at the photo without peering into it, or see animals from afar, you can confuse them with sheep.

A pig of the Mangalitsa Hungarian breed grows to medium size. The height of these animals is 85 and 75 cm for wild boars and pigs, respectively. The representatives of the breed have a powerful skeleton; large ears are located on a small head, which, like the whole body, are covered with thick hair.They hang over the eyes and, as a rule, have a darker color in comparison with the rest of the body. The round body is held on short but strong legs, the back is powerful, and the back is sloping.

The Hungarian Mangalits have core hair and downs. In the summer, pigs of this breed molt, completely dropping the downs from themselves. The outer hair during this period becomes softer to the touch and curly. By winter, artiodactyls overgrow with a subfill, the outer hair becomes stiffer and less wavy.

With proper care and feeding, pigs of the Hungarian Mangalitsa breed gain about 300 kg of weight. Monthly piglets weigh about 150 kg. Mumps reach puberty by the year. Slaughter is possible at this age.

For the first time, piglets of this breed give birth to no more than 7 piglets. In subsequent farrowings, up to 12 strong and viable piglets are born.

Color

Hungarian downy Mangalitsa can be painted white, black or red (brownish brown) . Also there are representatives of a breed of mixed color, which is called the “swallow”. Most often, you can see white piglets (out of 10 individuals, 8 will have a white color). But white color is called somewhat arbitrarily. If you carefully look at the photos or videos of the Hungarian pigs, you can see that it is milky or white, ivory. Regardless of color, the skin around the patch and eyes is almost black.

To date, the Hungarian Mangalits of red and black color are on the verge of extinction. Specialists involved in the restoration of the breed, try to avoid the disappearance of piglets of dark colors. It is almost impossible to buy purebred pigs of similar colors.

An interesting fact is that immediately after birth piglets have stripes on their backs. This is typical for wild pigs, which indicates a kinship with wild breeds.

Depending on the conditions of detention and feeding habits, coat color may change several times during life.

Value of the breed

There are breeds of different directions. Some are valued for juicy and tender meat, others for lard, and others are universal. As for the piglets of the Hungarian Mangalitsa, they are kept not so much for the sake of meat, which has excellent taste qualities, but for the sake of lard. Both meat and fat of Mangalitsa are considered a delicacy all over the world.

The cost of a kilogram of jamon made from meat of the Hungarian Mangalitsa is about $ 70. And if we talk about the price of a whole ham, then it is several hundred dollars. Accordingly, breeding representatives of this exotic breed can be considered as a small and very profitable business. It is also worth noting that the meat of these pigs is considered almost dietary, since they mainly eat green fodder.

Advantages and disadvantages

The pig breed Hungarian Mangalitsa has many advantages. We will cover the main ones.

• Endurance. These pigs are able to overwinter even in a stack of straw or burrow. The latter they are quite capable of doing on their own.
• Good health. The breed Hungarian Mangalitsa is resistant to many diseases. These are perhaps the only pigs that are not vaccinated. Also, do not need to feed young animals with antibiotics. The only problem is parasites. In addition to helminths, animals are susceptible to attack by lice, so it is worth systematically inspecting a pig’s fur coat.
• Profitability. The Hungarian Mangalica is one of the largest breeds, but not the largest. In addition, some breeds grow much faster. However, the meat of pigs of the Hungarian breed is appreciated much higher due to its structure and taste. Due to the presence of streaks of fat, the structure of the product resembles marble meat, so its price is higher than the price of ordinary pork.

It is also worth noting that the pigs of the Hungarian Mangalitsa are unpretentious in content. They don’t need a heated room in winter, and the rest of the year they can live in the open air.

As for the shortcomings, the first of them is a small population. Accordingly, piglets of the Hungarian downy brazier, can not be cheap.But, given that it will not take a lot of money to feed them, and the meat of the Hungarian Mangalitsa is expensive, it is still beneficial to keep the breed anyway. Another disadvantage associated with the rarity of the breed is that it is very difficult to buy purebred representatives of the breed in Russia and Ukraine.

It is also worth considering the fact that piglets of this breed need to be grazed. If there are no spacious pastures nearby, then you will have to find another breed, or go daily to harvest green fodder.

Well, the last drawback is quite late ripening. Many piglets reach puberty at the age of 6-8 months.

Content Features

The maintenance of downy artiodactyls is not difficult. Warm coat allows them to tolerate severe frosts. In regions with warm winters, the herd can generally be kept outdoors, but there should be a canopy above the enclosure that protects the pigs from rain and snow. If in winter the temperature drops below -10 ° C, you will have to build a barn, but you can not equip it with a heating system. It will be enough to insulate the walls, roof and floor during the construction of the building.

In addition to the barn, you will have to build an aviary where artiodactyls can stretch their legs. It makes no sense to build a huge aviary, as animals will graze on pastures. And grazing these pigs is a must.Pastures intended for this purpose should be fenced: domestic pigs can not resist wild animals, and grazing a herd on their own is not always possible. In addition, the Hungarian Mangalitsa pig grazes perfectly on its own and is able to find a way home.

Sheds are made on the fenced pastures, under which animals can hide not only from the weather, but also from the scorching sun. It is also advisable to put tanks with clean water on pastures.

Care features

There is an opinion among farmers that the Mangalitsa breed was created for lazy people. This is not entirely true. Indeed, these artiodactyls do not require such care as other breeds of pigs, but they need a daily grazing.

To prevent the appearance of various diseases, you need to change the litter in time, clean the pens and wash the feeders with drinking bowls. Despite the fact that Hungarian Mangalitsa pigs are resistant to almost all diseases that are found among pigs, they are not protected from helminths and other parasites (including lice), so animals should be given helminth prophylaxis in accordance with the instructions. As a rule, medications are given at intervals of 6 months. If wild boars will not take part in breeding work, then they need to be neutered on time.

After the pigs are born, experts recommend breaking off their fangs, otherwise they can cause microtrauma to the sow during feeding.

Features of feeding

Mangalitsa pig is almost omnivorous, which greatly simplifies the care of her. Both vegetable and animal feeds are suitable. In summer, keeping animals is simplified by the availability of green feed. During grazing, in addition to grass, pigs can enjoy root crops and acorns. Also in summer, young shoots of different trees, bark, corn cobs, duckweed fruits that fell from the tree, vegetables are included in the diet. Of vegetables, preference should be given to beets, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and zucchini. In summer, pigs should always have access to pasture. They can even be given frogs, fish and snails. Potatoes can be given in any form.

In winter, the Manganese will not give up chestnuts, bran and bones, offal and wheat mash, corn stalks. The latter give, previously chopped.

When breeding pigs it is very important not to overfeed them. The daily feed rate depends on the age of the animals and the purpose of their maintenance. Boars, which are bred for meat and lard, are given more food than boars, which are used for breeding. Piglets, for example, need no more than 1 kg of feed per day, and for adults – up to 3-4 kg. In addition to compound feed, livestock feed green feed and root crops in the summer, and hay in the winter.Green feed in the diet should be about 70%. About 20% should fall on chestnuts and acorns. And only 10% of the diet is compound feed.

DIY compound feed

You can’t do with green fodder and root crops alone. The market sells a lot of animal feed. When buying them, you must carefully read the description. The composition of the feed should be not only the main components, but also mineral additives (chalk, meat and bone meal). The feed packaging also indicates the age of the animals for which this product is recommended and what the daily norm should be.

To prepare feed at home, use green feed, Makuku, corn, bran, wheat, barley and chalk. The basis is green feed. In winter they are replaced with hay. If the feed is being prepared for piglets, then it is advisable to add a premix designed specifically for this age. But experts recommend using ready-made mixtures. Factory feeds are good because they contain all the microelements and vitamins necessary for the growth of pigs.

Choose piglets

Prices for pigs in the Hungarian Mangalits range from 300-500 dollars .USA. But only purebred representatives of the breed stand like that. A mixture can be bought a little cheaper. These exotic pigs are currently being sold in online stores, markets and farms. Specialists recommend making purchases only on farms.Before you go to the farm, you should read reviews about it. If there are many dissatisfied customers, then it is better to look for another farm, which has a much better reputation.

Only purebred pigs have all of the above advantages. Any cross will not be so hardy and unpretentious in content. You should not count on the fact that the taste of meat and lard in non-purebred representatives of the breed will be the same as in purebred. It will be necessary to prepare for the fact that you will have to visit more than one farm. No wonder this breed belongs to the exotic.

Even on the farm they can offer purebred pigs under the guise of purebreds. In order not to fall into the trap, you need to know that purebred pigs have a spot of velman on the ear. This spot is nothing but a pigmented area of ​​the skin. Usually it is located at the bottom of the ear and has a diameter of 4-5 cm.

Fluffy and soft-touch fur can be painted white, red or black. Swallow color is also allowed. Necessarily on the back of the Hungarian pigs, recently born, there are stripes. Their absence indicates a cross between the breeders. And around the eyes and on a small stigma, the skin should be black. Also, black skin should be on the inside of the tail and hooves.

Define half-breeds

In addition to the exterior, it is worth paying attention to the behavior of the pigs.Purebred pigs from Hungary have a friendly character. In addition, half-breeds are not as omnivorous as representatives of pure breed, so it makes sense to go to the farm during feeding and look at the behavior of piglets.

Also, during feeding, you should pay attention to how actively pigs eat. Those who behave passively during feeding can have health problems.

Before making a purchase, it will be useful to consider the piglets you like. They should not have signs of disease (sour eyes, stigma, dirty ears). The tail of the pigs should be twisted bagel. It is necessary to choose young animals with straight legs and a wide chest, a flat back. Also, attention should be paid to the condition of the hooves: they should have a slight sheen. When buying, any farm should issue a document confirming the cleanliness of the breed.

If you choose a crossbreed, a hybrid of the Hungarian and Vietnamese Whiskered Pig showed itself well. Both breeds gain good mass at the time of slaughter and have a similar diet. The basis of the Vietnamese Whiskers diet, as well as the Hungarian one, is green feed, and piglets received from such a union look very cute in the photo and video.

You can’t buy well-fed piglets. Most likely, they were prepared for sale by drinking with sweet milk. Such a drink does not bring harm to health, however, piglets get used to a treat and quickly lose weight on pasture.And it’s quite difficult to transfer pigs spoiled with sweet milk to regular food.

Breeding pigs

Growing and breeding pigs of the breed Hungarian Mangalitsa can be considered a good business, which pays off fast enough. But even if you buy pigs exclusively for yourself and do not plan to sell meat or lard, then it’s better to buy a couple at once. According to reviews of people who have been breeding for more than a year, paired pigs eat much better, which contributes to rapid weight gain. In addition, animals are much more fun together.

A pig and a boar are brought together to achieve puberty. During the gestation of piglets, a room for a young family is prepared in the pigsty. After farrowing, a sow and newborn pigs are placed there. In the first 1.5 months, the basis of the diet of pigs is mother’s milk. Accordingly, you need to provide the sow with good nutrition. You can buy compound feed intended for sows, or you can do it yourself. Premix for piglets is necessarily added to home-made compound feed.

After the first week of life, they begin to give newborns pigs complementary foods. It can be a liquid talker or pre-fried barley. Experts recommend stopping at the second option. Bone meal or ground chalk should also be added to the feed. A good mineral supplement for young animals is red clay.Make sure that young animals do not eat from the sow feeder. This can cause both gastrointestinal problems and the death of young animals.

At the age of 1 month, young animals begin to be given starter feed. You can mix crushed root vegetables, grass or hay in small quantities. Also during this period, it is worth starting to take out young growth for walks. Piglet nutrition consists of green fodder and mixtures made from barley, wheat, corn, macukha, bran and premix.

Conclusion

It is easy to breed downy pigs from Hungary profitable. But if we consider breeding as a business, the investment will pay off no earlier than in 1.5-2 years. This is due to the fact that young growth ripens late.

Despite the fact that pigs of the breed Mangalitsa are unpretentious in leaving, hardy and tolerate frosts, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for them. In a warm and spacious barn, it will be much more comfortable to winter them than in a small temporary house. And not only weight gain, but also the taste of meat depends on how comfortable animals feel.