What Breeds Are Best for Raising Black Pigs? Risks to Know About Ecological Black Pig Farming
As life gets better and better, people's demands for food are also getting higher and higher. We all know that wild boar meat tastes better than domestically raised pork! Not only that, black pork also tastes better than the white-haired pork from domestic pigs. The key point is that today's black pigs are all raised ecologically. So here comes the question: can black pigs be raised at home? Are there any risks in ecological black pig farming? Which breed should be chosen for raising black pigs? Let's look into it together!
Which Breed Is Best for Raising Black Pigs
1. Min Pig
1. Origin: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei and other provinces.
2. Main characteristics: The head is medium-sized, the face is straight and long, the ears are large and drooping, the body is flat, the back and loin are narrow, the rump is sloped, the limbs are sturdy, the whole body is covered with black hair, and dense down grows in winter. It has strong cold resistance. It still does not shiver at -28°C, and farrows and nurses normally at -15°C. The average body weight of adult boars is 195 kg, and that of sows is 151 kg. The early maturity of the various parts of the carcass appears in the order of bone—muscle—skin—fat. Sexual maturity is early; sows show first estrus at 4 months of age, with follicle diameter of 900-1000 microns, and ovulate about 15 eggs at 9 months of age, and they have a strong mothering instinct. Litter size is 11 piglets for the first litter, 11.9 for the third litter, and 13.5 for the fourth litter and above. During the fattening period, the daily gain is 458 grams, and the dressing percentage is 72.5%. After reaching 90 kg, fat increases and lean meat percentage decreases.
2. Bamei Pig
1. Origin: The central production areas are mainly distributed in Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other provinces and regions.
2. Main characteristics: The head is narrow and long, the ears are large and drooping, and the forehead has vertical “eight”-shaped wrinkles, hence the name “Bamei” (eight-brow). It is divided into three types: large Bamei, second Bamei, and Xiaohuo pig; the second Bamei is an intermediate type between the large Bamei and the Xiaohuo pig. The coat is black. Growth and development are slow. The average body weight of adult large Bamei boars is 104 kg, and that of sows is 80 kg; second Bamei boars weigh about 89 kg, and sows about 61 kg; Xiaohuo boars weigh 81 kg, and sows 56 kg. Boars are mated at 10 months of age at 40 kg, and sows at 8 months of age at 45 kg. Litter size is 6.4 piglets for the first litter and 12 for the third litter and above. During the fattening period, the daily gain is 458 grams, the lean meat percentage is 43.2%, the muscle shows marbled streaks, and the meat is tender and fragrant.
What Are the Risks of Ecological Black Pig Farming
1. Large-scale outbreaks of pig diseases.
2. Large-scale pig farming competes with smallholder farmers in a price war.
3. The state's macro-control of agriculture promotes rising grain prices, which will directly lead to higher feed prices, but pig prices do not have much room to rise, leading to lower profits.
4. The breeds of piglets purchased from other places cannot be favorably guaranteed.
Conditions for Choosing a Black Pig Breed
1. High lean meat percentage: Consumers prefer and accept it more.
2. High dressing percentage: When prices are equal, a higher meat yield is more profitable.
3. Strong disease resistance: Fewer or no illnesses, reducing or even eliminating the use of medication, bringing pork quality to a higher level. The Sichuan-Tibet black pigs raised at our Linqi Local Pig base are a breed that satisfies the above conditions at the same time; in addition, Sichuan-Tibet black pork has a higher intramuscular fat content, and its taste surpasses that of ordinary black pigs.
What Temperature Requirements Are There for Raising Black Piglets
Suitable temperatures for suckling piglets: 31.8°C-28.3°C for 1-7 days of age, 27.7°C-23.5°C for 8-35 days of age; the temperature inside the barn should be controlled at 18.3°C-22.1°C, with relative humidity of 49.7%-70.4%, and fresh air maintained. Piglets should have a warm box or warm room, and a 250-watt infrared light bulb should be hung at the bottom of the warm box or 30-40 cm from the bottom of the warm room. At the same time, do a good job of piglet care, and install a piglet protection rail in the farrowing pen.
Whether raising black pigs or white pigs, piglets should be selected according to local conditions. Use local materials for convenient, low-cost farming. Do not add growth-promoting feed indiscriminately, so as to give consumers a safe and reassuring consumption environment. Those who need to get into pig farming should get moving!