Breed Origin
The Kunekune pig, originating as a landrace breed in New Zeeland, was taken out of some unknown group of Asian Heritage Hogs. The AHH are largely characterized by their dwarf stature, short legs, flat shout, pot belly, and ability to produce large ratios of extra-muscular fat. Kunekune means short and round. That’s the basic description of the breed.
Breed Basics
They are a lard breed, quite similar to the Vietnamese Potbelly. In fact, they seem to share a common breeding line in their ancestry. Kunekune pigs, being a landrace, are highly adaptable to many environments and raising systems. While modern commercial hogs have been intensively selected for 80 years to thrive indoors on a diet of corn and soy, Kunekune pigs have been naturally selected to take care of themselves.
They are incredibly resilient and have far fewer health issues than commercial hogs. They are also naturally adapted to a wild-type forage. Because of that, they are able to handle alternative and lesser-quality feeds than modern breeds. That’s why they are so popular with homesteaders and that’s their most valuable factor.
The biggest things you have to remember are that they are a lard pig and that they are a small breed. Lard pigs have a higher ratio of body fat, primarily extra-muscular fat. That’s fat between the skin and muscle. These pigs regularly carry more than 25 percent body fat, while modern commercial hogs are normally 10-12 percent.
Lard hogs will fatten more easily after 5 months of age, when the initial growth spurt normally slows down. Kunekune pigs as a breed are roughly ¼ the size of commercial market farm hogs.
Butcher Age
Because Kunekunes are a small breed, they are often butchered at twice the age of the modern hog in hopes of reaching a 300-pound market weight. In my opinion, these are not ‘market hogs’ and you shouldn’t try to hit ‘market weight’. I butcher mine at around 6 or 7 months old. Yes, they’re smaller, but they are also significantly more efficient than an 18-month-old pig.
Pigs decrease their feed to gain (called feed conversion ratio) with age. I like 6 months as a baseline because the muscles are well-developed and the fat will have accumulated nicely for a lard yield as well. I expect 60 to 75 pounds live weight at 6 months and 50 to 55 percent of that ends up as tablefare.
If you are feeding little to no grains or other starch and protein concentrates, you’re going to have leaner, slower-growing pigs. That’s okay if it’s what you can do. Remember, these pigs are adaptable and resilient.
Breed Feeding
In my experience, this breed does very well on around 40 percent pasture forage (grass, tree leaves, roots, etc.) and 60 percent grain-based feed. We’ve had great luck with commercial hog feed and fermented whole grains. We’ve also had good results with feed crops like Jerusalem artichoke, sunflower, peas, and wild acorns.
In feeding Kunekune pigs, it’s important to consider their protein and energy needs. If raised outside, minerals are rarely a concern. Younger pigs have less ability to extract energy from roughage so they need the most feed attention. I would certainly offer something of a concentrate (strong source of protein and/or calories). Something as simple as fermented oats or corn will make a big difference.
They should have at least 12 percent of their diet as protein, with 16 being more ideal. They require about 0.5 percent of their diet to be the amino acid Lysine, which is found in all good sources of protein. A lysine content of 0.75 percent is more ideal. If raised on a high-roughage diet, extra care needs to be extended to the amount of protein and particularly lysine in their regular diet.
Breed Behavior
Kunekune pigs are more docile than many breeds, showing their ability to shed stress. They seem to like human interaction but don’t need it by any means. They are fairly calm and not known to be aggressive with the exception of a protective sow caring for a newly birthed litter. Sows are great mothers and most often are left alone during the farrowing (birthing) process.
Boars can be more aggressive at times but are not considered a legitimate threat. My kunekune boars have all been easygoing and safe around kids. Due to their smaller size, they aren’t known to cause accidental injuries like larger breeds.
The piglets are active and small. They can run through pasture fence, cattle panels, and sometimes hog panels. Keep an eye on that. As is normal for pigs, piglets begin to eat solid food around 4 weeks old and will not need milk anymore by 8-weeks. The sow will begin to refuse nursing them by that time, but the piglets may still try to nurse for quite a while.
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