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The domestication of the modern pig proceeded in complex ways. The remains of pigs that obviously lived next to people in Europe are found in layers dating back to the 13th century BC. e. In the Middle East, in the Mesopotamia, pigs were kept in a semi-wild state as early as 000 years ago. In parallel, pigs were tamed in China. But the data is different there. Either 8 years ago, or 000. There is no doubt that the first truly domesticated, and not semi-wild, pigs were brought to Europe from the Middle East.
Apparently, this greatly hurt the pride of the then Europeans and stimulated the domestication of the wild European boar. Middle Eastern pigs were soon forced out of Europe and European breeds were brought to the Middle East.
In the process of domestication, pigs went through several stages of complex crossing of European and Middle Eastern pigs, and in the 18th century Asian pigs were added to them.
Thanks to the endurance, unpretentiousness and omnivorousness of pigs, primitive man easily domesticated them. And, in fact, the use of pigs has not changed a bit since then. As in primitive times, so now pigs are bred for meat, skins and bristles for brushes. Only if earlier shields were covered with pigskin, today shoes and leather clothes are sewn from it.
Pigs are an invasive species. Thanks to man, they got to the American continents, fled, became wild and began to damage the economy of the American natives. However, not only American. They were also noted in New Zealand with Australia.
The natives of any of the continents were not happy with the appearance of such an animal in their homeland. The pig, in general, is one of the first in terms of adaptability. No wonder scientists believe that after the next global extinction of mammals, the pig will survive and adapt to new conditions. Just as she adapted to life in South America and Australia.
Since the European pig is, in fact, a hybrid of a domesticated pig with a European wild boar, having escaped into the wild, the European pig quickly regained its original form, becoming, as in Europe, one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the forest.
In the photo, the Brazilian “javoporco” is a European pig that has gone wild several centuries ago.
Today, the main purpose of a pig, as before, is to give a person meat and fat, as well as “related products”: skin and bristles. But humanity has become fat and has ceased to look at pigs exclusively as a source of food and to three groups of pig breeds: meat, greasy and bacon, a fourth was added – mini-pigs intended to be pets.
All breeds of pigs are divided into 4 groups:
- meat-sebaceous (universal);
- meat;
- sebaceous;
- decorative pets.
The last group in Our Country is still exotic.
There are more than 100 “pig” breeds in the world, and pig breeds bred in Our Country occupy only a small part of the total livestock. Moreover, 85% of the total number of pigs are large whites.
The main breeds of pigs in Our Country today are the large white (this is the number of pig farms), Landrace and the Vietnamese bellied pigs that are gaining popularity. Other breeds, unfortunately, are declining in numbers.
The main breeds of pigs
Big white
She’s a big white one. Bred in England in the 19th century by mixing a fairly large number of European and Asian breeds. At first, it was called Yorkshire, and only then the name Big White stuck to this breed.
This is a general breed. In fact, what is now called broilers. It grows rapidly, in six months by the time of slaughter it reaches 100 kg. Adult boars weigh up to 350, sows up to 250.
The first pigs of this breed began to penetrate into Our Country at the end of the 19th century. They were imported by the landlords and this breed did not have an impact on the state of pig breeding in Our Country at that time.
Today these pigs are everywhere. To a large extent, this was facilitated by the massive importation of a large white breed of pigs in the 20s of the 20th century. It was necessary to quickly feed the population after the devastation of the Civil War.
During the development of the breed, its purpose has changed several times. Since lard, when consumed, provides maximum energy at minimum volumes, at first preference was given to pigs that quickly gain weight due to the deposition of lard. Then animals weighing more than 400 kg were valued.
After the market was saturated with food products and the fashion for a healthy lifestyle in England, the demand for lean pork increased. And the big white was “repurposed” for gaining muscle mass at the expense of size and the ability to store subcutaneous fat. The size of the animals became not so important.
The Great White stands out from the orderly distribution of pig breeds in directions, since in the breed itself there are lines of meat and lard, meat and lard breeding. Thus, the Great White could replace all other breeds, if not for its certain demands on maintenance, in particular, the presence of a warm pigsty in winter.
During breeding in the USSR, the Great White has acquired qualities that are different from its English ancestors. Today, with formally purebred breeding on the territory of the former Soviet Union, in fact, a new breed is grown, which is more adaptable to conditions and has a high ability to adapt in various climatic zones of Our Country.
Great Whites have a stronger constitution than modern English pigs of this breed. “s” belong to the universal type and weigh from 275 to 350 kg for boars and 225 – 260 kg for sows. Great Whites are recommended for breeding as a factory breed in all regions of the country, but are not very suitable for breeding by private owners, as they do not tolerate heat and cold.
Landrace
A meat-type pig breed developed in Denmark at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by crossing a local pig breed with a large white. As a factory breed, Landrace is demanding on the conditions of detention. Landraces are similar in size and weight to the Great White breed, but look more slender. A landrace boar weighs up to 360 kg with a body length of 2 m, and a sow 280 kg with a length of 175 cm.
Landrace is widely used for breeding other breeds of pigs, as well as for broiler lines, using heterotic crosses with pigs of other breeds.
It is believed that landrace is widespread throughout Our Country, but in comparison with the population of large white pigs, landraces are very few.
Factory pigs are very responsive to feed and in subsidiary farms it would be possible to get by only with them, if it were not for the capriciousness of these breeds of pigs in relation to climate and feed.
For home breeding in household plots, relatively little-known and small breeds are much better suited: mangalitsa and karmal.
If mangalica is more or less known and Vietnamese lop-bellied pigs are even sometimes confused with it (although nothing in common except for hooves), then karmal is a new hybrid recently bred by breeders by crossing mangalitsa and lop-bellied pigs.
For a complete picture of how the animals look, it is necessary to describe these frost-resistant breeds of pigs with a photo, and preferably with a video.
Mangalica
This is a lard-type breed, so lovers of bacon with garlic need to start a mangalica. In addition to the “supply” of fat to the owners, mangalica has a number of advantages over factory breeds. She is unpretentious in food and does not require the construction of a capital warm pigsty, being content even in 20-degree frosts with shelter from the wind.
History of the breed
Mangalica was bred in the first third of the 19th century in Hungary by crossing a domestic pig with a semi-wild Carpathian. The task set: to obtain a breed of pigs that is not afraid of the cold and unpretentious in food, was successfully completed.
With such a successful result, mangalitsa quickly gained popularity and they tried to breed it in Transcarpathia and England. Mangalitsa took root in Transcarpathia, but not in England, since English producers, who by that time had flooded the markets of Europe with pork from meat breeds, did not need the greasy breed of pigs. The number of mangalits began to decline, including in Hungary. By the 90s of the 20th century, mangalica had practically disappeared and the Hungarian Pig Breeders’ Association had to take urgent measures to save the breed.
Salvation also happened. Now the number of pigs of the Hungarian Mangalitsa breed is already more than 7.
The unpretentiousness of mangalitsa interested pig breeders and mangalitsa was brought to Our Country.
But you can’t buy a mangalica pig cheaply, since it’s hard to find flaws in the breed. Actually, he is alone: infertility. Mangalica never has more than 10 piglets. Due to the price and low fertility, unscrupulous sellers may be tempted to sell crossbred piglets. Therefore, you need to know the distinctive features of the breed, inherent only to the mangalica.
Breed description
The first thing that catches your eye is the thick curly wool of the mangalica. But such wool can also be found in a crossbred pig with a large proportion of mangalica blood.
Additional signs of thoroughbred mangalits:
- a small spot up to 5 cm in size on the lower edge of the ear, called the Wellmann spot;
- ears are directed forward;
- exposed areas of the skin: in the area of the patch, eyes, hooves, nipples, anus, – should be black. A different skin color betrays a cross;
- little piglets have stripes on their backs, like wild boars;
- pigs are able to change coat color depending on feeding and living conditions;
- seasonal molting in these pigs is hardly noticeable due to a long process, but piglets darken in summer due to the loss of winter undercoat, as black skin begins to show through a little.
Today, only 4 colors are recorded in the mangalitsa standard.
Fawn, which may be bleached to white.
Red or red.
“Martin”.
Very rare and almost extinct black.
Such hybrids do not suffer from friendliness and can be dangerous.
The weight of the mangalitsa is low compared to other pigs, but by the age of 6 months the piglets of the mangalitsa are gaining 70 kg.
Vices of the Mangalitsa breed:
- white skin with well-marked spots;
- dark spots on the coat;
- striped or completely white hooves;
- pink skin near the nipples;
- red tassel on the tail.
These signs indicate that you have a crossbred pig in front of you.
The first wintering of the Hungarian mangalits:
Karmal
A newly bred hybrid of two breeds of pigs: the Hungarian Mangalitsa and the Vietnamese bellied pig. Moreover, the hybrid is so new, rare and little known, that if you have to deal with photographs and think whether it’s pocket or not, at least there are photographs. Here’s the problem with the video. Many owners think that it is enough to cover the mangalitsa with a Vietnamese boar, or vice versa, as karmals will be born from a sow. In fact, everything is not so. Just a cross between a Mangalitsa and a Vietnamese bellied pig will be born. In order for this cross to become a karmal, selection work is needed to consolidate the traits desired for this hybrid. Therefore, most often on the video there are not karmals, but crossbreeds.
From mangalitsa, karmals inherited frost resistance, unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention and immunity of the wild boar. From Vietnamese pigs precocity, prolificacy, well-developed maternal instinct, the ability to quickly gain weight and meat direction. Just like the Vietnamese, they either do not lay fat, or lay it strictly under the skin, and such fat is easy to cut off, resulting in lean pork.
In a year, Karmal gains 100 kg of weight, and by two he is able to double this figure.
The colors of Karmals are very diverse, which is explained by the different colors of the parent breeds.
From the Vietnamese pigs, the Karmals took friendliness and a calm disposition, but their unwillingness to misbehave is clearly from the mangalica.
Conclusion
The owner of the household plot decides which breed of pig to choose. Some buy a pig for their meat, preferring Landrace or a large white. Others want to sell piglets. Then a lot will depend on the current fashion for the breed of pigs. The craze for Vietnamese bellies is already fading away. These pigs became familiar, and the myth of a cute domestic pig turned out to be a myth. And today, Vietnamese pigs are happily bred for meat, not deceived by the possibility of keeping a pig of this size in an apartment.
On the other hand, it seems that the passion for mangalicas is gaining momentum due to their unusual fluffy appearance and minimal requirements for comfort. Of course, you can’t take a mangalitsa into an apartment either, you need a real miniature pig for an apartment, but such pigs have not yet taken root in Our Country.