Vietnamese piglets were bred by breeders from South Asia. But they came to European countries from Vietnam. Thanks to this, such a name stuck to them. They very quickly became widespread in pig breeding, since they are profitable to maintain. This is a meat type of pig, which was created specifically for the gain of body weight by animals due to fat deposits and a decrease in muscle mass. In the Russian Federation, these pigs appeared relatively recently. But there are already several varieties of Vietnamese piglets: pot-bellied, Korean, Chinese. They all belong to the same type of animals - the Asian herbivorous pigs. Chinese are called decorative pigs, which are raised as pets, which has also become very popular recently.

Characteristics of the Vietnamese breed

Vietnamese piglets are difficult to confuse with animals of other breeds. They have their own characteristic features, such as:

  • Sagging belly;
  • Black coat color;
  • Flattened muzzle;
  • Wide chest;
  • Small legs;
  • Erect ears;
  • The weight.

    Vietnamese piglets

The mass of adult pigs that are ready for slaughter is about 80 kg, but, with long keeping and fattening, the weight can fluctuate around the 150 kg mark.

There are a number of features that are characteristic of the cultivation and breeding of these particular breeds of pigs. They can be classified as breeding merits. Among them are the following:

  • Ripening soon. Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 4 months. At this age, she can mate and bear offspring. Males take a little longer, about 6 months.
  • Females of this breed have a highly developed maternal instinct, so the farmer does not have to make any effort in caring for newborn pigs. The sow takes on all the burden of taking care of the offspring.
  • Vietnamese pigs have strong immunity, which allows them to be resistant to many infections and diseases. It also adapts very well to different climatic conditions. Despite the fact that they were bred in a fairly dry and hot climate, the pigs grow and develop without problems even in the northern strip of Russia.

Interesting. The meat and lard of Vietnamese pigs are very juicy, not tough.

Pigs are resistant to diseases that often affect their immediate family. This breed does not need to be vaccinated. The only problem is worms. No vaccinations will save them. It will be enough to take a number of preventive measures that will not allow worms to spread in the body of animals.

Pellet gilts, when properly kept, can produce up to 18 piglets per litter. Fertilization takes place 2 times a year. On average, a pig produces about 30 piglets in two litters.

On a note. Pigs have a genetic memory, so they are not afraid of poisonous plants.

They consume small amounts of feed, but quite often. Their diet is based on plant foods.

They are clean, which helps a lot when cleaning the barn in which they are kept.

Vietnamese pigs feeding

Feeding Vietnamese pigs at home has some peculiarities. For a very long time, there has been a lot of controversy about the diet of pot bellies. Some farmers feed them exclusively on plant foods and pasture. But this does not bring the desired rapid weight gain.In practice, it has been proven that feeding Vietnamese pigs cannot be based solely on such a diet.

How to feed piglets

The Vietnamese pig feed recommendations indicate that, in addition to the greens that pigs eat in large quantities, they need to be given cereal products.

Lactating sows are fed with the required amount of dairy products and eggs. It is advisable to buy feed not in stores, since it is unprofitable, but to grow it yourself or buy it first-hand. It is also recommended to learn how to make your own feed mixtures for feeding piglets. They should be high in calories and vitamin supplements.

Note! Pig food is different in summer and winter.

How to feed Vietnamese piglets at home? In the summer, herbal mixtures are the basis of nutrition. Due to the fact that pot-bellied pigs and adults have a small stomach and a short esophagus, the process of processing food by the body takes less time than animals of other breeds. For their body, heavy food is considered to be feed with a high fiber content, as well as roughage. Most often they use a mixture of herbs: alfalfa and clover.

But the diet cannot consist of only green mixtures. The diet should include cereals, such as:

  • Barley;
  • Wheat;
  • Peas;
  • Oats;
  • Corn, etc.

    Compound feed for piglets

When preparing feed from a mixture of cereals, it is necessary to adhere to certain proportions, since oats and corn should not be fed in large quantities. This provokes an increased deposition of fat. So, how to feed Vietnamese piglets and in what proportions:

  • Barley - 30%;
  • Wheat - 40%;
  • Oats - 10%;
  • Peas - 10%;
  • Corn - 10%.

To prepare the feed mixture, the grain must be grinded, since whole grains are not digested in the stomach by the bellies. The wheat grain content must exceed all other cereals.

Based on observations, we can conclude that the meat and fat of the vislobryushki are much juicier and tastier when feeding them with moist ground cereals. In order to achieve the required consistency, add a dessert spoon of salt without a slide to the feed dose and pour boiling water over it. For a dose of 4.5 liters of feed, add 9 liters of boiling water. Then the mixture should be infused and swelled for 12 hours. Fish oil and other vitamins are added to the mixture immediately before feeding. This amount of feed is used for three sows at a time.

Vietnamese piglets

Pregnant and lactating individuals need dairy products such as:

  • Serum;
  • Milk;
  • A small amount of curd mass.

Also in their diet should be a high content of vitamins and eggs. Small piglets need to be fed twice a day. The feed dose can be fed to 10 month old piglets at a time.

To speed up the digestive process in small pigs, it is recommended to cook thick cereals from compound feed. This will allow you to gain weight faster and convert the resulting starch into sugar.

In the cold season, fortified feeds will become indispensable products in the diet of the bellies. In addition to dry grass, which is given to pigs every day, you can add zucchini, carrots, dry legumes to the diet. All this should not be boiled, since all vitamins will disappear during the heat treatment. Bread and potatoes can be given to increase the calorie content of the feed. Only this vegetable is boiled.

Important! Only if all the recommendations in the complex are followed, the pigs will gain weight well and correctly.

Taboo in feeding Vietnamese piglets

How to feed monthly piglets

Pigeon-bellied piglets do not take much time for the farmer to care for and feed. These animals can eat everything, but in order to prevent such a frequent illness as indigestion, it is worthwhile to responsibly approach the food supply.

In order for food to digest well, pigs must have increased salivation. Therefore, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs should not be given food in the form of soups or stews. They should not just swallow the food, but chew it thoroughly. It is not recommended to add beets to the diet of vislobryushki, as it is considered a roughage and is not digested as required.

Newborn piglets feed on mother's milk. Therefore, the diet of lactating sows must be carefully studied. Piglets are weaned from mother feeding in the period from one month to the 4th from the day of birth, further milk feeding can harm the health of the sow.

Keeping Vietnamese boars

Worms in piglets, symptoms

To get more quality meat, boars must be castrated. This will reduce the level of aggression, rid the meat of an unpleasant odor, and prevent the accumulation of toxins in the body. Experienced farmers can carry out this procedure on their own, without any special equipment.

Vietnamese pig

How to determine which pig is ready for the procedure? The optimal age of the boar is 1.5 months. The main condition for the procedure is the absence of diseases.

If you need to castrate an adult boar, you should seek the help of a veterinarian. The procedure takes a little time, but it requires some skill. The boar is fixed on a special machine, and painkillers are injected into it. Next, the veterinarian makes a neat incision in the scrotum, catgut is applied to the vaginal membrane. This is done in order to be able to chop off the seminal canal without damaging other organs.

After all the procedures, which are desirable in the first half of the day, in order to observe the condition of the animal, an antiseptic ointment is applied to the wound. Adults are more difficult to tolerate this operation than young pigs.

Based on all the characteristics, it can be concluded that the breeding of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs has a large number of advantages and very minor disadvantages. These animals develop rapidly, are quite unpretentious in care and, when slaughtered, give a large amount of high-quality meat and lard. For their maintenance, it is enough to have a small piece of land and a supply of high-quality and fresh feed.