Landrace Pig Bacon

Landrace pig breed appeared in our country recently, but has already managed to win the hearts of many farmers. Interest is due to the fact that it is bacon. This means that the fat layer between the meat and the skin is thin, and the meat is lean. Consider the description of the Landras pig breed, the features of their content and breeding.

Landrace pig breed

General description

Landrace pigs were bred in the last century. thanks to the work of Danish breeders. When crossing, Danish fold and large White pigs were used. Their hybrid took all the best characteristics from both breeds.

In purebred Landras, the trunk has a rectangular format and resembles a large log in shape. If we talk about average indicators, the length of the pig’s body is 1.65 m, and the boar – 1.85 m. The chest circumference of both boars and sows reaches 150 cm. In general, the physique is strong, if you do not take into account weak legs. It is also worth noting that Landras pigs have weak sides. The weakness of the legs of medium length affects the gait, which is somewhat shaky. It is also worth noting that this breed is not hardy, but in general pigs are active and mobile.

Landrace pigs have excellent meat forms. The small head looks neat. It has large and wide ears. The thick neck goes into the narrow chest. The line of the back is straight, the ham is wide. Thin skin is covered with white bristles. Axial hair is soft to the touch, but sparse. The color of the skin is pink.

The description of Landras meat pigs will be incomplete, not to mention the specific features of the appearance of piglets. In general, all the traits inherent in piglets of breeds of bacon direction are traced in piglets. But Landrace breed pigs give out large ears that hang over the eyes and have the shape of a wide petal. The body in young animals, as in adults, is elongated. When you see Landrace breed pigs in a video or photo, it is impossible to confuse them with representatives of any other breed.

Productivity

Landrace breed pigs are bred for meat that is distinguished by excellent taste. It contains a minimal amount of fat, which is a specific feature of this breed. Boars gain up to 300 kg of weight. Piglets weigh 70-80 kg less. Landrace pigs are good because they quickly gain weight. Already at the age of 60 days, their body weight is 19-20 kg, and after 6 months the young growth weighs about 100 kg. With proper feeding and proper care, daily gains vary between 720-750 g.

It is worth noting that during sowing, the sow gives birth to an average of 11-12 piglets.There are frequent cases when more than 12 piglets are born, therefore Landrace pigs can be raised not only for the purpose of selling lean meat, but also for the sale of young animals.

Today Landrace is the best bacon category.

Content Features

Landrace piglet breed is not unpretentious regarding the conditions of detention. If the temperature or sanitary standards are not observed, the piglets will not gain weight properly and will begin to hurt. Poor nutrition also negatively affects the condition of animals.

Landrases are afraid of cold, drafts and are sensitive to changes in temperature conditions. They feel comfortable at a temperature of at least 20 ° C, so before you start these artiodactyls, you must properly prepare the barn. In regions with a cold climate, you need to consider a heating system in the pigsty.

Also, Landras do not like flea markets in the barn. For every pig that has large dimensions, you need to allocate considerable space. Ideally, a healthy boar needs up to 5 square meters. m of space in the barn. This is not always possible. If the barn is not even 3.5 square meters. m per adult, it’s worth looking at smaller breeds.

The advantage of Landars pigs in terms of keeping is that they are not particularly hardy. Accordingly, you can get by with small paddocks for walking.One boar is enough a hundred square meters of land to stretch your legs, but walking areas are planted with grass, which animals eat during the walk.

The pigsty should always have a normal level of humidity, so it is important to monitor the cleanliness and dryness of the litter, which should be changed as needed. High humidity levels increase the risk of various infectious diseases.

Power Features

Unlike the white pig, Landrace is moody in matters of feeding. Feed must be highly nutritious and high quality. This requirement is due to the precocity of the breed. Since fast weight gain requires a lot of energy, the diet should be carefully thought out.

Landras pigs are good because they eat almost everything, so it’s easy to create a varied diet in which pigs get all the nutrients necessary for fast weight gain.Conventionally, all the food necessary for Landrases is divided into 3 groups:

• Cereals, which must be present in the diet. This also includes silage and peas, vegetables (pumpkin, beets).
• Corn bran, buckwheat and potatoes. Recommended to add to the diet and molasses.
• Oilcake, bone meal, soy and fishmeal. These foods are included in small amounts in the diet. They are needed in the form of additives. 60 days before slaughter of artiodactyls, this group of feed is excluded from the diet. Replace the food of this group before slaughter with products that are in the first group.

Also, according to reviews of Landras pig breeders, it will not be superfluous to add whey or nonfat milk to the diet during feeding.

As an option, you can buy ready-made feed intended for pigs. But, choosing food, should pay attention to its composition and pricing policy. Good feed cannot be cheap. It is best to opt for products that are medium and high cost.

The best option for feeding Landrace pigs, according to reviews of people who have been working with this breed for years, is a combination of high-quality compound feed, grain crops, vegetables and green feed.

How to feed your Landrace, decide for the farmer himself.When feeding, you can confine yourself to only mixed feed, but when juicy greens of dairy products and bone meal are added, Landrace piglets gain weight faster, and a balanced diet positively affects the taste of meat.

Feeding mode

Landrace should eat twice a day. We feed at the same time. The second meal should take place no later than 12 hours after the first. In winter, you can add another meal, but you need to monitor the gain.

Excessive feeding often causes obesity. And with obesity, pigs grow fat. Accordingly, meat, which is valued precisely for its low fat content, is falling in price.

Since early spring, they have been releasing artiodactyls in fresh air, where they themselves will find green fodder. Previously, paddocks for walking are seeded with grass useful for pigs. This is primarily alfalfa and nettle.

When walking, pigs should not be under the scorching sun. If there are no trees on the territory of the pens, you will have to build a canopy under which the animals can hide.

Features of breeding

According to the characteristics of the breed, breeding of these pigs can become a profitable business.It’s worth mentioning right away that just as the Landrace pig breed took the best from white pigs, other breeds can improve by mixing the blood of these bacon pigs, so it makes sense to cross them with other pigs on the farm. In the case of the sale of such piglets, their price will decrease significantly.

Cases

Prepare for the mating in advance. They choose a pig and a boar for another year and provide them with proper care. To improve the quality of boar sperm, it is necessary to strengthen its nutrition. In the warm season, increase the duration of walks, which positively affects the health status of future offspring. If the breeding work is ongoing, excessive load on the seedling boar negatively affects his health. The permissible number of cases for 12 months is 30. But this is the maximum figure. It is advisable to focus on the number 22-25. If the boar is overloaded, it will have to be discarded after 4 years.

Pig hunting lasts only 48 hours, so it is important to place the sow and the boar in one room in a timely manner. During these 48 hours, the boar should cover the sow twice (in the first and second 12 hours).

Landrace during sexual hunting often behave aggressively. To avoid injuries that animals can cause each other, they are observed during mating. If there is a threat, the boar is taken away from the sow.

If the pig is calm after the mating, and there are no signs of hunting, the mating was successful and you can prepare for farrowing.

Farrowing

Is born young after 114 days after mating. At this time, someone should be near the sow. All large-sized pigs have a chance of complications during farrowing, and Landrases are just such pigs. About what difficulties may arise during farrowing pig Landras, there is a video on the Internet. It is extremely difficult to take birth with complications on our own, even after watching the video, so it’s advisable to invite a specialist who will oversee the entire process from beginning to end.

After the pigs are born, they are wiped with a clean and soft rag, get rid of umbilical cord and disinfect the umbilical wound. Then apply newborns to the sipple nipples. This must be done even if the farrow has not yet ended. This will reduce the pain of giving birth. It is very important for piglets to drink colostrum as early as possible. This product has a unique composition and starts the work of all the digestive tract organs, forms the body’s immune system.

Lay the newborns on the soft tissue prepared before farrowing. After the newborns get drunk, they are taken away from the sow, which often becomes aggressive after farrowing. Newborns are released to the mother exclusively for feeding, which occurs with an interval of 2.5 hours.

Piglet care

Taking care of newborns at home is easy. The conditions for keeping little pigs are not much different from the conditions for keeping adults. According to the characteristics of the breed, Landras pigs are afraid of the cold, drafts and temperature fluctuations. A shelter for them is constructed in such a way that even with open doors and windows, the young growth does not end up in a draft.

During the rearing and rearing of young growth, special attention is paid to nutrition. At first, pigs feed on mother’s colostrum (from 2 to 4 months). Sometimes more than 12 piglets are born. In this case, some of them should immediately be transferred to lure from a bottle, but breeders do not recommend feeding young animals in this way for a long time, because it will be difficult to accustom pigs to normal food later. Gradually, young animals are transferred to conventional feed. At first, it is advisable to buy starter feed intended specifically for piglets.

The first days are the most important when breeding and growing pigs. At this time, you need to keep the young under the heaters. After 3 days, the heaters can be removed.

If there is a lack of milk in the sow, it will be necessary to feed the young stock on their own

Disadvantages of the breed

About what Landarsa pigs are good at we already said. But the breed has its drawbacks.First of all, it is worth noting that the breed is heat-loving, so during the breeding of artiodactyls in our country there are difficulties. In winter you have to additionally heat the pigsties. And, since in the winter it is impossible to let pigs go outside, initially you need to allocate a large territory for the pigsty. Depriving an animal of walks for 3-4 months will negatively affect their state of health. In addition, pork will not be so tender and tasty. This is why the pigsty should be so large that the pigs can walk freely there.

If there is no bone meal, skins and other additives in the diet, the reproductive function of the boars weakens, and Landras piglets are born less often than we would like. In addition, no more than 6 individuals are born during farrowing.

Conclusion

Landras pigs stand out in the photo and video due to their excellent meat forms. Since pigs gain weight quickly, it is beneficial to keep them, but caring for them cannot be called simple. We need to provide quality food, which will be expensive.