How should Taihu pigs, the pig breed with the largest litter size in the world, be raised? How many piglets can they farrow?

The Taihu pig is the pig breed with the largest litter size in the world and enjoys the reputation of a “national treasure”. It is mainly distributed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the Taihu Lake basin where Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai meet, and the Wuxi area of Jiangsu is a key production area for Taihu pigs. So, how should Taihu pigs be raised well? How many piglets can they farrow?

I. How should Taihu pigs be raised well?

1. Build the pig pens

Building pens for Taihu pigs is different from other pigs. Their pens must be divided into two sides: one side is the rearing pen, where they are fed and rest, and the other is the exercise pen, where they walk around and bask in the sun daily. The pens must have good lighting and ventilation. The floor of the rearing pen should be cement and can be covered with some dry grass, while the floor of the exercise pen should be soil, and drainage where the two pens connect should be convenient.

2. Prepare feed

Taihu pigs are not picky eaters. To save time and effort, many people like to feed a single type of feed, but the pork raised this way is dry and firm in texture, which greatly affects sales. It is recommended to add some vegetable-type food to the feed to strengthen the pigs' constitution and ensure their health. If this is too troublesome, pure vegetable-type food such as green grass and pumpkin can be fed once every 2 days. If there is not enough vegetable-type food, the pigs can be let out to forage for themselves once every 3 days.

3. Prevention and treatment of pig diseases

The diseases Taihu pigs are relatively prone to are asthma and diarrhea. When a Taihu pig is lying down and its belly moves much faster than other pigs, the sound from its mouth gradually becomes louder, and its mouth opens wide with white fluid flowing out, it has come down with asthma. When a Taihu pig's appetite worsens and it has diarrhea, it has diarrhea. When asthma or diarrhea appears in Taihu pigs, treat it promptly to avoid infecting other pigs.

4. Notes

For the two pens of Taihu pigs, sanitation and disinfection should be done well at ordinary times; Taihu pigs can be trained to distinguish where to feed and where to excrete; when feeding, do not give too much at one time, so as not to affect digestion, and increase it little by little. After feeding, drive them to the exercise pen for some activity, which helps improve their growth and disease resistance.

II. How many piglets can Taihu pigs farrow?

1. The Taihu pig belongs to the Jianghai-type pig breed and is the variety with the highest reproductive capacity and the highest litter size among pig breeds in China and even the world. Depending on the place of origin, it is divided into types such as the Erhualian pig, Meishan pig, Fengjing pig, Jiaxing black pig, Hengjing pig, Mi pig and Shawutou pig.

2. According to statistics from several main breeding farms in the production area from 1977-1981, the number of piglets born in a sow's first litter was 12.14±0.09, in the second litter 14.48±0.11, and in the third and later litters 15.83±0.09. Apart from a few exceptions, the differences in litter size among the various groups were not significant.

3. Taihu pigs have very high farrowing performance, but the Erhualian pig and Meishan pig are the highest: an average of 12 piglets for the first farrowing, an average of more than 16 for multiparous farrowing, 20 piglets for the third and later litters, 26 piglets per litter for excellent sows, and a highest record of 42 piglets (of which 40 survived).

The above is an introduction to the breeding methods and litter numbers of Taihu pigs, and we hope it is useful to everyone.