Landrace bacon pig
The Landrace pig breed appeared in our country recently, but it has already won the hearts of many farmers. The interest is due to the fact that it is bacon. This means that the fat between the meat and the skin is thin and the meat is lean. Consider the description of the Landrace pig breed, the features of their maintenance and breeding.
Pig breed Landrace
general characteristics
Pigs of the Landrace breed were bred in the last century. And they were born, thanks to the works of Danish breeders. When crossing, Danish Fold and large White pigs were used. Their hybrid took all the very best characteristics from both breeds.
In purebred Landrace, the body has a rectangular shape and resembles a large log in shape. If we talk about average indicators, then the body length of the pig is 1.65 m, and the boar - 1.85 m.The chest girth, both in boars and sows, reaches 150 cm.In general, the physique is strong, if you do not take into account weakness of the legs. It is also worth noting that Landrace pigs have weak sides. Weakness of the legs of medium length affects the gait, which is somewhat wobbly. It is also worth noting that this breed is not hardy, but in general the pigs are active and mobile.
Pigs of the Landrace breed have excellent meat forms. The head is small in size and looks neat. It has large and wide ears. The thick neck passes into a narrow chest. The line of the back is straight, the leg is wide. The thin hide is covered with white bristles. The axial hair is soft to the touch, but sparse. The color of the skin is pink.
The description of pigs of the Landrace meat breed will be incomplete, if not to say about the specific features of the appearance of piglets. In general, piglets have all the traits inherent in bacon piglets. But the Landrace piglets give out large ears hanging over the eyes and having the shape of a wide petal. The body of young animals, like that of adults, is elongated. Seeing Landrace piglets in a video or photo, it is impossible to confuse them with representatives of any other breed.
Productivity
Pigs of the Landrace breed are bred for meat, which is distinguished by excellent taste. It contains a minimum amount of fat, which is a specific feature of this breed. Boars are gaining up to 300 kg of weight. The pigs weigh 70-80 kg less. Good piglets of the Landrace breed are that they quickly gain weight. Already at the age of 60 days, their body weight is 19-20 kg, and after 6 months, young animals weigh about 100 kg. With proper feeding and proper care, daily gains range from 720-750 g.
It is worth noting the fact that during farrowing the sow gives birth to an average of 11-12 piglets. There are often cases when more than 12 piglets are born, so Landrace pigs can be raised not only for the purpose of selling lean meat, but also for selling young animals.
Landrace is the best bacon category to date.
Features of the content
The breed of piglets Landrace is not one of the unpretentious in terms of keeping conditions. If the temperature or hygiene standards are not observed, the piglets will not gain weight properly and will start to get sick. Poor nutrition also negatively affects the condition of animals.
Landrace are afraid of cold, drafts and are sensitive to changes in temperature. They feel comfortable at a temperature of at least 20 ° C, therefore, before starting these artiodactyls, you need to properly prepare the barn. In regions with cold climates, you need to consider a heating system in the pigsty.
Also Landrace do not like crush in the barn. For each large pig, a considerable amount of space must be allocated. Ideally, a healthy boar needs up to 5 square meters. m of space in the barn. This is not always possible. If the barn doesn't even have 3.5 sq. m per adult, it is worth taking a closer look 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 pens for walking. One wild boar has enough acre of land to stretch its legs, but the walking areas are sown with grass, which the animals will eat while walking.
The pigsty should have a normal moisture level at all times, so it is important to keep the litter clean and dry, and change it as needed. High humidity levels increase the risk of a variety of infectious diseases.
Power features
Unlike the white pig, Landrace is capricious when it comes to feeding. Feed should be highly nutritious and of high quality. This requirement is due to the early maturity of the breed. Since gaining weight quickly requires a lot of energy, the diet should be carefully considered.
Landrace pigs are good because they eat almost everything, so it's easy to create a varied diet in which the pigs get all the nutrients they need to gain weight quickly. Conventionally, all food products required by Landrace are divided into 3 groups:
- Grain feeds that must be present in the diet. Silage and peas, vegetables (pumpkin, beets) also get here.
- Corn bran, buckwheat and potatoes. It is recommended to add molasses to the diet.
- Oilcake, bone meal, soy and fish meal. These foods are included in the diet in small quantities. They are needed in the form of supplements. 60 days before the slaughter of artiodactyls, this group of feed is excluded from the diet. The foodstuffs of this group are replaced before slaughter with products from the first group.
Also, according to the reviews of Landrace pig breeders, it will not be superfluous to add whey or low-fat milk to the diet during feeding.
Alternatively, you can buy ready-made feed for pigs. But when choosing a feed, you should pay attention to its composition and pricing policy. Good compound feed cannot be cheap. It is best to opt for products with an average and high cost.
The best option for feeding the Landrace pig breed, according to reviews of people who have been working with this breed for several years, is a combination of high-quality compound feed, grain crops, vegetables and green feed.
What to feed his Landrace, it is up to the farmer to decide. You can limit yourself to feed alone when feeding, but with the addition of juicy greens of dairy products and bone meal, Landrace pigs gain weight faster, and a balanced diet has a positive effect on the taste of meat.
Feeding mode
Landrace must eat twice a day. We feed the food 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 weight gain.
Overfeeding is a common cause of obesity.And with obesity, pigs grow fat. Accordingly, meat, which is valued precisely for its low fat content, falls in price.
Starting in early spring, cloven-hoofed animals are released into the fresh air, where they can find green food on their own. Previously, the pens for walking are sown with grass useful for pigs. These are primarily alfalfa and nettle.
During walks, pigs should not be under the scorching sun. If there are no trees on the territory of the pens, then you will have to build a canopy under which the animals can hide.
Breeding features
According to the breed characteristics, breeding these pigs can be a profitable business. Immediately it is worth making a reservation that just as the Landrace pig breed took the best from the white pig, other breeds can be improved by mixing the blood of these bacon boars, so it makes sense to cross them with other pigs on the farm. If such piglets are sold, their price will be significantly reduced.
Case
Prepare for mating in advance. They choose a pig and a boar a year before and provide them with proper care. To improve the quality of boar semen, you need to increase its nutrition. In the warm season, the duration of walks is increased, which has a positive effect on the health of future offspring. If breeding work is carried out constantly, an excessive load on the inseminating boar negatively affects its health. The permissible number of cases in 12 months is 30. But this is the maximum figure. It is advisable to stop at the number 22-25. With an excessive load, the boar will have to be discarded after 4 years.
Hunting in pigs lasts only 48 hours, so it is important to place the sow and the boar in the same room in a timely manner. During these 48 hours, the boar must cover the sow twice (in the first and second 12 hours).
Landrace often behave aggressively during the sexual hunt. To avoid injuries that animals can inflict on each other, they are watched during mating. If there is a threat, the boar is taken away from the sow.
If, after mating, the pig behaves calmly and does not show signs of hunting, the mating was successful and you can prepare for farrowing.
Farrow
Youngsters are born after 114 days after mating. At this time, someone must be near the sow. All large pigs have a chance of complications during farrowing, and Landrace pigs are just such pigs. There is a video on the Internet about what difficulties can arise during the farrowing of a Landrace pig. It is extremely difficult to independently take childbirth with complications even after watching the video, so it is advisable to invite a specialist who will oversee the entire process from start to finish.
After the piglets are born, they are wiped dry with a clean and soft cloth, the umbilical cord is removed and the umbilical wound is disinfected. Then the newborns are applied to the sow's nipples. This must be done even if farrowing 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 organs of the gastrointestinal tract, forms the body's immune system.
The newborns are laid on the soft tissue prepared before farrowing. After the newborns are 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 at intervals of 2.5 hours.
Piglet care
Caring for newborns at home is easy. The conditions for keeping small pigs are not much different from the conditions for keeping adults. According to the characteristics of the breed, Landrace pigs are afraid of cold, drafts and temperature fluctuations. The corral for them is built in such a way that even with the doors and windows open, the young growth does not end up in a draft.
During the breeding and rearing of young animals, special attention is paid to nutrition. At first, the pigs feed on the mother's colostrum (from 2 to 4 months). Sometimes piglets are born more than 12. In this case, some of them should immediately be transferred to bottle feeding, but breeders do not recommend feeding the young in this way for a long time, because later it will be quite difficult to accustom the pigs to normal food. Gradually, the young are transferred to conventional feed. At first, it is advisable to buy a starter compound feed intended directly for piglets.
The first days are the most important during the breeding and rearing of 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, the sow will have to feed the young on their own.
Disadvantages of the breed
We have already said about what the Landars pigs are good at. But the breed also has disadvantages. First of all, it should be noted that the breed is thermophilic, therefore, difficulties arise during the breeding of artiodactyls in our country. In winter, the pigsties have to be additionally heated. And, since it is impossible to let pigs out on the street in winter, initially you need to set aside a large area for the pigsty. The deprivation of the animal for walks for 3-4 months will negatively affect the state of their health. In addition, the pork will not be as tender and tasty. That is why the pigsty must be large enough for the pigs to walk freely there.
In the absence of bone meal, skim milk and other additives in the diet, the reproductive function of boars weakens, and Landrace piglets are born less often than we would like. In addition, no more than 6 individuals are born during farrowing.
Conclusion
In the photo and video, the large breed Landrace pigs stand out thanks to their excellent meat forms. Since pigs gain weight quickly, it is beneficial to keep them, but caring for them is not easy. It is necessary to provide quality food, which will cost a lot.