In the countries of the former Soviet Union, it is customary to breed a variety of pig breeds in order to obtain nutritious meat. This trend has developed due to the fact that these animals are very easy to care for. It will be enough to provide them with a comfortable room, which would be protected from drafts, and feed them with high-quality feed. In our article, we will talk about the types of pigs, as well as what this mammal is.
Animal description
A pig is a mammal from the artiodactyl order, which belongs to the suborder of non-ruminant and the family of pigs. Most likely, it got its name due to its excellent fecundity, but scientists and breeders are still arguing about this among themselves. According to some, the word "pig" came from the ancient Latin word "son", which is a transformation of "fruiting" or "birth". There are quite a lot of adherents of this theory, but it is not completely clear why pigs began to be called that way.
Do not also forget that the first domesticated pigs came from wild boars. In the course of history, it so happened that people always needed healthy and fresh food, and forest hogs were ideally suited to domesticate them. Shortly after changing the living conditions, they got used to the person and with great pleasure ate all the feed that they were given. Over time, the appearance of animals has undergone quite significant changes, but we will talk about this in the next section.
Appearance of the pig
Many novice breeders wonder what a pet pig looks like. Especially for such people, we made a small description of the appearance of a mammal. Get the most complete picture of these animals will help given in the article photo.
So, the pig has a fairly strong physique, as well as an elongated elongated face. The skin of even young individuals is covered with a very rare and short, but coarse hair. At the end of the pig’s snout there is a characteristic feature - a cartilaginous patch in the form of a disk, which is designed to extract various goodies from the earth.
Why is a pig a clean animal?
Have you ever heard that pigs are not at all dirty animals that love to wallow in puddles? They are forced to do this for completely natural reasons. Firstly, dirt helps cool the body in hot weather. Secondly, the dried pieces fall off the skin along with parasites, which cause severe discomfort to the animal. Therefore, mud baths have a very practical purpose. Pets inherited this tactic of behavior from their wild ancestors. In nature, wild boars go out in search of food at night, and during the day they remain in the shade and bathe in the mud, fighting off mosquitoes and cooling the body.
The benefits of pigs in the household
It is worth noting that a pig is a rather large animal, the weight of which can range from 45 to 400 kilograms depending on the breed. As a rule, mammals are raised for one purpose - to obtain meat. In this matter, they simply have no equal. Huge fertility, along with great weight, allows to achieve excellent productivity even for a developing economy.
As for wildlife, some pigs also live in such conditions. The average life expectancy of such animals can be from 7 to 8 years, which is two times more than in domestic varieties. Females behave quite aggressively, trying to protect their offspring. But the domestic counterparts of wild sows are calmer in this matter and allow the person with piglets to do whatever they want.
Species of pigs
The wild animal pig has about 20 different subspecies that can be found in the natural habitat. As for domestic varieties, here breeders tried their best and bred more than 100 different breeds. It is also worth noting that these mammals live on all continents except Antarctica. The most interesting varieties are listed below.
- Babirussa is one of the rarest species of pigs that is listed in the Red Book. These animals have a somewhat unnatural appearance and are very different from their counterparts. The impressive fangs on the face give them a very frightening appearance. Habitat - Sulawesi Island in Indonesia.
- A large forest pig is a rather large species that grows up to two meters in length. Also, individuals are distinguished by a rather long hairline on the body and pronounced large warts. Habitat - equatorial forests of Africa.
- A bearded pig is a rather unusual species that lives in Southeast Asia. He got his peculiarity thanks to a piece of hair near the tip of the nose, which resembles a human beard. As for the size, the individuals are slightly smaller than ordinary forest hogs.
As you can see, there are quite a lot of different types of pigs. Which animal to grow at home? Preference should be given to meat breeds bred by breeders for breeding in the household. Almost all of them are equally undemanding to care and have a fairly good immunity to various diseases.
Pig breeding in the household
A pig is an animal that can be raised at home without any problems. All that is needed is a small barn, in which the mammal will feel comfortable in the winter season, as well as a large number of various feeds. Pigs eat quite a lot and often, but almost any waste from the table and cheap feed are suitable for them.
As for the reproduction of pigs, it occurs with the greatest possible speed. It will be enough to have in the farm one healthy boar for several dozen sows. As an alternative, you can simply acquire the seminal fluid of a male individual and administer it to the animals using a special catheter.
Conclusion
We hope you now understand who this pig is. Photos of the animal from our article should help novice breeders to decide which breed to start breeding at home. Well, if this information did not seem enough to you, we strongly recommend that you watch a short video in which a professional breeder shares his experience about which meat breeds are the most productive.
As you can see, a pig is a pretty good option for growing at home and creating a business. Caring for animals is nothing special, so anyone who has the desire to engage in agriculture will be able to organize such a business.