Pig Breeds – What are the best Pig Breeds

Landras Pig Breed

The breed and hybrids based on it are distinguished by a strong physique and classic meat forms. Adult boars reach two meters in length with a chest girth of about 1.5 meters. Sows are noticeably shorter – no more than 1.6 meters, but the chest circumference remains the same.

Landrace has a straight back, and the chest is rather narrow. The legs are of medium length and are generally quite proportional to the rest of the body. Therefore, pigs remain quite mobile even in adulthood, when they gain solid weight.

Since the land pig is based on a white pig from England, most piglets are born with the same uniform light pink skin color and white hair, which, by the way, is quite rare and short. Nevertheless, individuals are also found with pockmarked (white-black) color.

As for the character, according to the reviews of the owners, the Landrases are quite peaceful and obedient, extremely rarely display aggression. At the same time, animals are vigorous and mobile, so it is difficult to call them phlegmatic.

The breed is deservedly considered precocious. Already at the age of two months, piglets reach a weight of 18-20 kg. With a balanced diet and properly organized feeding, young animals are able to gain 650-700 grams per day in weight. Feed conversion is about 4 kg per 1 kg of growth, which is undoubtedly an excellent indicator.

At the 25-27th week of life, the live weight of young animals reaches 100 kg. In most cases, this is the optimal limit at which the animal should be slaughtered. The maximum weight reached by sows and mature boars is 200-220 and 280-300 kg, respectively.

For completeness of the characteristics of the Landras pig, it is worth saying that the yield of pure meat from one carcass is on average 56-58%, that is, 2-5% more than other meat breeds.

At the same time, bacon meat is obtained especially high-quality, for which, in fact, this breed is appreciated by most farmers. But the content of subcutaneous fat is extremely small, so Landrace are not suitable for obtaining high-quality fat.

Finally, it is worth noting the relatively high fecundity of sows. For one farrow it turns out 10, and sometimes 12 strong piglets. Moreover, the farrowing female shows perfect maternal qualities, including characterized by high milk production.

Pigs of this breed are extremely demanding on the conditions of detention, so even seemingly insignificant violations in the feeding regimen or deviations in the conditions of the pigsty will inevitably affect the productivity. Especially markedly reduced the number of piglets in the offspring. As many farmers note, for all their merits, Landrace pig breeding will only be possible for someone who already has experience working with other breeds.

Advantages and disadvantages of Landrace pigs

Along with the obvious advantages, the characterization of the Landrace pig breed also includes significant disadvantages, which may well become a reasonable reason to avoid them when choosing the main breed for the livestock being grown. According to farmers, the main advantages of landrace are:

Low subcutaneous fat. If your farm is focused on obtaining meat, including bacon, then this breed is the best suited. Cheap offal makes up a relatively small fraction of the carcass.
Young growth shows excellent daily gains with a fairly small feed consumption per kilogram of growth. Clearly observing all the rules of keeping and feeding Landras pigs, you can have a very decent profitability of their cultivation.
High fecundity. On average, one sow leads about 10 piglets, but often 11-12, which is a very good indicator.
Loving nature. Although these pigs are quite active and mobile, no particular aggressiveness was noticed. They get along well with each other and obey the person.

With all these pluses, many farmers, however, prefer to bypass this breed, preferring less prolific and productive, but easier to maintain breeds. Most often, Landrace scolded for:

Demanding on the conditions of detention. It is worth violating at least one of the conditions for keeping pigs (feed composition, temperature in the pigsty, light level, cleanliness, humidity, room area per head, etc.), as this will immediately affect the productivity of animals.
Pickiness in food. Even taking into account the fact that the composition of the feed must be strictly balanced according to the content of nutrients, pigs can also be capricious, simply refusing the food offered to them. Then you have to feed the Landrace pigs almost forcibly.

Large White

This breed is classified as universal, meat-greasy, which also manifests itself in its exterior. Animals have a strong constitution, but have a slightly tender body. With a fairly massive body, the head is small with a moderately wide forehead and a not very long snout. The ears are large, but not drooping.

The body is oblong and wide, connected to the head with a long wide neck. The back is straight, sometimes slightly arched up. Hams of almost perfect shape. The ribs are rounded, the stomach is tightened, not saggy. The skin has a classic light pink (piggy) color, which is also classified as white. The bristles are thin but thick. The white pig’s character is calm and even phlegmatic.

Large White Breed of Pigs – Productivity Characteristic

White pigs are characterized by excellent precocity. They are able to gain 700 g of weight per day. Optimal for slaughter 100 kg of weight, the young growth on 180 days of life. Feed conversion is about 4 kg of feed units per 1 kg of weight gain. At the age of 12 months, the pig weighs within 200 kg. Adult sows can reach 230-250 kg, boars – 300-350 kg.

At the same time, meat has excellent taste characteristics. Due to the fact that the muscle fibers of the white pig are penetrated by a network of thin layers of fat, the meat is very juicy and soft. Among the most important characteristics of a large white breed of pigs should also be attributed to good fertility. The sow gives an average of 11-12 piglets, and sometimes all 14.

Advantages and disadvantages of large white pig breed

Without significant advantages over other breeds, this breed would never have made up 4/5 of the domestic livestock of breeding pigs.

What qualities ensured such a popularity for a large white pig? The following factors influenced this most of all:

Adaptability to domestic conditions. According to the official description, the large white breed of pigs is excellent for breeding in conditions of Europe. Even some sensitivity to sunlight and frost is not a real problem for farmers.
Unpretentious diet. Pigs respond well to improve feed quality, but if the farmer does not have the opportunity to provide the pigs a perfectly balanced diet, animal productivity will not be affected very much. And serious health problems will also not arise.
High precocity. In just 6 months, young growth confidently reaches the full mass. Thus, the cost of production is lower than that of late-ripening breeds, since the gross cost of feed is reduced.
Delicious meat. White pigs receive very high-quality “marble” meat, which is in great demand in the food market.
Fertility. Sows steadily produce 12 piglets, which allows very quickly to grow livestock with a relatively small brood stock. And this ultimately also reduces the cost of meat products.

As for the shortcomings of the white breed, they are not so significant:

High fat content. For a long time, Europeans breeders were engaged in raising the grease of a white breed.
Intolerance to the sun and frost. This breed feature is not a real serious problem. But in the southern regions of the Europe, where the weather is hot all summer, the grazing of pigs in the pasture is excluded, where it is impossible for them to provide protection from direct sunlight. In the northern regions, in winter, it is difficult to provide even short walks in the fresh air during severe frost.

Duroc Pig Breed

Representatives of this breed are easily recognized by a number of characteristic features in appearance. They have long forward hanging ears and an arched back. They are also distinguished by a characteristic red color – all shades between dark red and yellow-golden colors. In this case, individuals with tan marks are found, however, in any case, no white impurity.

The characterization of the Duroc pig breed would be incomplete without mentioning that they have a strong body constitution and generally large sizes. Both male and female individuals have almost the same body length: 180-185 cm in males and 5 cm shorter in females. These pigs have strong legs with massive hams.

Duroc is considered not a very prolific breed. For one farrow, a sow brings on average about 8-9 piglets, which is the lower limit of the norm for domestic pigs. On the other hand, this drawback is compensated, firstly, by a perfectly developed maternal instinct, and secondly, by the calm nature of the sow. all this together gives calm, caring sows that take good care of piglets.

Duroc is a meat breed of pigs, and it belongs to the category of precocious. This is achieved both due to the large mass of newborn piglets (1.1-1.6 kg), and due to the high average daily weight gain (750-950 g). By two months, the total mass of the nest can reach 190 kg. With a balanced diet, the feed cost per 1 kg of weight gain is only about 3,750 g of feed. The yield of meat, depending on the diet, is 60-70%. In addition, another 10-15% is fat, the thickness of which over the spine can reach 1.8 cm.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Duroc breed

The fact that pigs of this breed are in second place in the world in terms of the number of livestock speaks about its advantages. It is not for nothing that these pigs are actively bred all over the planet. However, as follows from the description of the breed of duroc pigs, they also have certain disadvantages, because of which they, apparently, will never be able to come first.

So, the main advantages of the Duroc breed are:

High precocity. The animals reach marketable weight by the end of the sixth month of life. Most other breeds reach these values 1-2 months later.
Fitness for walking. Pigs of this breed do not just like to walk outdoors: walks bring a tangible practical effect, qualitatively improving the characteristics of the meat.
High initial meat quality. According to many, Duroc pig meat is the best pork, because the high fat content in the muscles makes it softer and tastier.
Balanced character. Duroc is one of the calmest pigs. This character trait greatly simplifies the care of them both in a large livestock complex and on a small farm.

Among the disadvantages that inhibit the growth of the popularity of this breed are:

Susceptibility to the common cold. Atrophic rhinitis is a fairly common disease among animals of this breed.
Low fecundity. One sow leads on average about 8 piglets, which is less than that of the simplest outbred pigs.
Demanding on the diet. Without a high protein content in feed, these pigs are not able to show their full potential.

Mangalit Pigs

The first thing that attracts attention in the appearance of these pigs is their long thick coat. Moreover, the wool is quite pleasant to the touch and curls into the same even rings. The cover that results is very much like a sheep fleece. In England, the term “sheep-pig”, is even used to this breed. Hungarian pig farmers prefer to call their wards “curly pigs.”

Thicker and most magnificent is the hair of the mangalits in the winter, when they need to protect themselves from the cold. In spring, the thick cover thins and turns into a thin stubble, and on the backs of the pigs black stripes clearly appear, betraying their kinship with wild boars. Well, if you keep pigs of this breed all the time in a warm pigsty and give a plentiful balanced feed, the wool necessary for wild life almost completely drops out, and they take the form of almost ordinary pigs.

In general, braziers have a strong constitution and a strong skeleton. In the exterior of adult pigs, a large belly is clearly visible until caricature, looking awkward against the background of short legs. The pig has a large chest, flat or with a slight deflection of the back. The head is of medium length, the snout is curved, and the ears are quite large and oriented forward.

At present, four colors of mangalits are distinguished: black, swallow, red and white. The last color option is the most common, accounting for about 80% of the breed. The red brazier was obtained from the crossbreeding of a white pig brazier with the breed szalontai, it has the highest productivity among all types of breed. The color type Swallow was bred by crossing with the Sirius breed. In addition to the peculiar color, pigs of this type are also distinguished by a larger physique.

Although the pig breed brazier was bred almost two hundred years ago, its number in the world does not exceed a couple of tens of thousands. And this is connected not so much with the fact that 30 years ago the breed was on the verge of extinction, but with the complexity of its content. The advantages that it possesses manifest themselves only under specific conditions of detention, which not every farmer can afford.

Advantages of the mangalit breed

Undemanding to the conditions of detention. Pigs can live in the open all year. All they need is a stack of straw in which you can hide from the frost. In the summer, they don’t need any shelters at all.
Cheap feed. In summer, braziers are ready to be content with pasture, which they themselves will find in the pasture, and in winter they only need hay and some vegetables. They do not need any expensive feed.
Quality meat. Pigs of this breed produce very high-quality marbled meat, which is highly regarded in cooking.
Good health. Since Hungarian down pigs are immune to the diseases of ordinary domestic pigs, vaccinations and other veterinary care can often be dispensed with.

Now it should be said about the shortcomings in the characteristics of the breed of pigs barbecue:

Conditions of detention. Hungarian pigs reveal all their advantages only if they are kept in semi-wild conditions. However, not every farmer has enough unoccupied land that could be used for grazing pigs.
Low productivity. Compared to other pig breeds, the gross output from one carcass is relatively small.
Tendency to obesity. When describing barbecue pigs, many authors indicate that overfeeding provokes obesity in pigs, which leads to a decrease in the value of meat products received from them.