A Detailed Guide to Wild Boar Farming Techniques and Feeding Methods

Wild boars are not only very different in appearance from domestic pigs, but also grow much more slowly than domestic pigs and weigh more. Let's take a look below at the feeding techniques for farming wild boars.

1. Feeding

When raising them by hand, small wild boars are generally purchased for taming, with a body weight of 10-22 kg. During the taming process, it is best to use a mixed raising method with domestic pigs accounting for 20% and wild boars accounting for 80%. Generally, they are fed twice a day following the practice for domestic pigs. At the beginning of domestication, they should be fed with raw feed; after one month, half raw feed and the other half domestic pig feed, such as cornmeal, bran, tofu residue and starch residue; add an appropriate amount of salt and mix it in for feeding. Once the wild boars have basically adapted to pen raising, they can simply be fed domestic pig feed, but some root-type and leaf-type plants should also be added appropriately.

2. Breeding Techniques

Select purebred wild boars that match wild boar characteristics, such as a long body, tall legs and a pointed snout, to keep as breeding boars.

Female wild boars generally have 6-7 pairs of teats, produce 2 litters per year, and generally have 12-26 piglets per litter. The suitable breeding time is at 5-6 months of age after birth, with a body weight of 40-60 kg. Generally, the principle is to breed first-litter sows early and multiparous sows late. When a wild boar is in heat, the external genitalia are obviously red and swollen. When the external genitalia change from red to dark purple, from swollen to slightly wrinkled, or when the sow's rump is held by hand and the sow stands still, with both ears erect and tail raised upward, this is the best breeding time. It is best to use a repeat mating method, that is, mating once again after an interval of 6-8 hours. When a female wild boar is in heat and suitable for mating, the boar can also be driven into the sow's pen for 1-2 days; at this time, the male wild boar can mount and mate multiple times at night. After successful mating is confirmed, drive the male wild boar out. The estrous cycle of a female wild boar is generally 18 days. If she does not return to estrus after 20 days from mating, it indicates that she is pregnant.

3. Disease Prevention

Wild boars have the characteristics of naturally liking cleanliness, having strong disease resistance and being less prone to illness. Wild boar pens should be disinfected regularly and kept clean. Generally, disinfect once every half month. For disinfection, 10%-20% limewater, 10% potassium permanganate solution, 5%-10% bleaching powder and other disinfectants can be used. The pigpen should be cleaned at least once a day. Clean water should be provided in a timely manner, and work on keeping warm in winter and preventing heat in summer should be done well.

Piglets should be injected with piglet edema vaccine within 15 days, piglet paratyphoid vaccine at 20 days of age, and the triple vaccine for swine fever, swine erysipelas and swine pneumonia at 30 days of age. The dosage of each vaccine should be used according to the instructions. Breeding wild boars should be injected once every 6 months with the triple vaccine for swine fever, erysipelas and pneumonia, 2 ml per head.

Piglet Weaning

There are two commonly used methods for weaning wild boar piglets: one-time weaning and transitional weaning.

One-time Weaning

One-time weaning, also called decisive weaning. When the wild boar piglets reach the predetermined weaning age, the female wild boar and the piglets are separated decisively, completing weaning in one step.

Because of the sudden change in living environment and nutrient supply method, wild boar piglets often suffer from indigestion and restlessness, and growth is affected to a certain extent. Most wild boar piglets show a drop in body weight. At the same time, because the sow suddenly loses the piglets' suckling, the udder becomes swollen and painful, which can easily cause mastitis.

This weaning method causes relatively great stress to both the female wild boar and the wild boar piglets, but it is convenient, quick and simple to operate, and is suitable for factory farming. In order to reduce the adverse effects on the female wild boar, the feed amount for the female wild boar should be reduced 2-3 days before weaning. In order to reduce the stress of weaning on the wild boar piglets, the piglets should not be moved to another pen immediately after weaning; they should be raised in the original pen for 3-5 days before being transferred.

Transitional Weaning

Transitional weaning is gradually reducing the number of daily suckling times for the wild boar piglets. This weaning method requires setting up separate supplementary feeding pens, with the wild boar piglets and the female wild boar raised separately.

Taking wild boar piglets weaned at 45 days as an example, they are separated for raising after 35 days of age. On the first and second days, they are suckled 6 times; on the third and fourth days, 5 times; on the fifth and sixth days, 4 times; on the seventh day, 3 times; on the eighth day, 2 times; on the ninth and tenth days, once a day; and on the eleventh day, they are completely weaned.

Although this weaning method increases the workload of the keepers, the 10-day weaning period allows both the female wild boar and the wild boar piglets to pass through the weaning stage smoothly. It reduces the stress on the female and piglet wild boars. It also has very good effects on preventing diarrhea in wild boar piglets and mastitis in sows.

Care Measures

(1) After weaning, the wild boar piglets must certainly be raised in the original pen. At weaning, drive the female wild boar away, keep the wild boar piglets in the original pen for continued raising for 2 weeks, and then transfer them and group them.

(2) Do not change the feed: maintain the original feed for raising. In the first 2 weeks after weaning, the feed formula for the wild boar piglets must remain the same as the suckling feed, so as to avoid reducing feed intake due to a sudden change in feed.

(3) Increase the temperature: because the feed intake of the wild boar piglets decreases after weaning and their resistance to the outside environment declines, the temperature must be raised by 2-3 degrees C above the original pen temperature. Only in this way can the stressed wild boar piglets feel comfortable despite reduced physical condition and avoid diarrhea caused by declining physical condition.

(4) Pairing wet feed and dry feed: before weaning, the nutritional supply form for wild boar piglets is milk and dry feed. After weaning, this supply method should also be followed, simulating the pre-weaning supply method and feeding a combination of wet feed and dry feed.

The specific method is: on the first 2 days after weaning, 6 parts wet feed and 4 parts dry feed; on the third and fourth days, 5 parts wet feed and 5 parts dry feed; on the fifth and sixth days, 3 parts wet feed and 7 parts dry feed; on the seventh day, all changed to dry feed. Feed using the free-choice feeding method.[9] 

Artificial Domestication

For artificial domestication of wild boars, it is generally best to start with small wild boars of 5-15 kg, as small wild boars have strong plasticity and are easy to tame. In the initial stage after capture, purebred wild boars are timid and suspicious, highly vigilant and rather fierce in temperament, so the site should be kept quiet. After about half a month, some wild boars gradually adapt to the environment and become bolder. When the keepers feed them, they first make a fixed sound and then put down the feed. Usually, by achieving "small amounts and many meals" and making the same sound each time, the wild boars form a conditioned reflex and develop a sense of security, no longer fearing people or attacking people. In order to accelerate their artificial domestication, newly captured purebred wild boars can also be placed into the pens of domestic pigs or special wild boars at a 1:1 ratio of the opposite sex. Because wild boars and domestic pigs have strong affinity and do not bite each other, they easily form a group. Led by the domestic pigs or special wild boars, they quickly begin to eat boldly, and their growth rate also speeds up. At the same time, for bold male wild boars, a bamboo pole can gently be used first to scratch them, and then the hand can be used to scratch them without startling them. In this way, they can be considered completely domesticated.

Building Pig Pens

Breeding male wild boars have strong wildness, rough temperaments and great strength, and are extremely destructive to pen floors and facilities, so breeding pig pens must be built firmly and solidly.

Feed Pairing

Wild boar meat, with its characteristics of low fat, high nutritional value and rich gamey flavor, has gradually become a substitute for domestic pork and a new type of green health food. Special wild boars eat relatively little, and generally feeding twice a day is enough. They like raw feed and have omnivorous feeding habits. Various weeds, vegetable leaves, plant roots and stems, and crop straw can all be used as feed. Wild boars especially like eating green feed, which can account for more than 50% of the daily ration. With a small amount of concentrate feed added, robust wild boars can be raised.

Feed Additives

Feed additives currently used include nutritional additives such as vitamins, amino acids, minerals and trace elements, as well as growth promoters such as antibiotics, enzyme preparations, growth promoters and sedatives, and Chinese herbal medicine additives. When raising wild boars, according to the nutritional components of various feeds in the daily ration and the nutritional needs of wild boars at different stages, a small or trace amount of the above nutrients is added to make the daily ration nutritionally complete. This can significantly improve feed utilization rate and conversion rate, reduce nutrient loss of feed during storage, and improve the quality of wild boars. Antibiotics, Chinese herbal medicine additives and others have the effect of stimulating wild boar growth, enhancing immunity and preventing certain diseases. After years of research, a Chinese herbal medicine additive made from 20 valuable Chinese medicinal herbs including Leiwan, Baizhu, Guizhi, Shanzha, Huangqi, Guanzhong, Huangqin and Houpo has been used to raise wild boars and has the effects of strengthening the spleen and tonifying the kidney, promoting digestion and strengthening the stomach, and clearing heat and detoxifying. It has remarkable effects on strengthening the physical condition of wild boars and preventing and treating diseases.