Exotic appearance, unpretentiousness, excellent taste of meat - these are the main characteristics of the Karmaly pig breed. They inherited hereditary traits from two ancestors: the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig and Mangal. It is important that Mangal is also a hybrid (Hungarian mangalitsa and wild boar). Thus, the Karmala pigs are semi-wild, which determines a number of their pros and cons.

Breed characteristics

Types of pigs of the Karmaly breed:

  • Regular. Mother is a Vietnamese pig, father is Mangal. The ratio of the characteristics of the new breed in this case is 50/50.
  • Royal Karmals are a pig breed bred in two stages. The mother of the first generation is Mangal, the father is a Vietnamese pig. Their descendants interbreed with Mangal. The resulting breed is more close to Mangal.

The appearance of the Karmals depends on their ancestors. It will combine the traits of Mangals and Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. Royal pigs look almost indistinguishable from Mangals.

Karmals

Newborn piglets of even one litter can have different colors: black, gray, brown, striped and two-color. With age, this feature is lost: the color evens out. Adult pigs have thick, curly hair that is brown, ash or black. After singing, the skin will be white, clean and even.

In some sources on pig breeding, one of the ancestors is not called the Vietnamese, but the Korean pig. The question of the existence of two separate breeds, Vietnamese and Korean, is still open. In Russia and the CIS countries, no distinction is made between them, there is a fair amount of confusion on the market.

Fertility

Fertility is very high. Her Karmals inherited from the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. Piglets become sexually mature by the age of 4 months. The female is able to produce offspring by the age of 8 months. The number of piglets from one pig - up to 20. Feeding of such a number of females goes without difficulty. At the age of 1 month, the piglets are easily weaned from the mother and switch to self-feeding.

Important!At the same time, the sow is able to mate and reproduce again. Approximate offspring from 1 female per year - 50 piglets.

Meat yield and its characteristics

Important!The breed is meaty. The meat has extremely high qualities: tender, aromatic, with hints of veal, lean and unusually juicy. May be elite. The layers of fat in meat are minimal, no more than three fingers. The Karmals owe this quality to one of their ancestors - the Vietnamese pot bellies. Sometimes you can find information that Karmala fat is easily separated from meat. It is a myth! This quality is not possessed by any original breed.

Individuals at the age of 1 year have a weight of about 100 kg, at the age of 1.5 years, the possible weight is 200 kg.

For comparison. Pietren pigs gain weight of 100 kg not after 365 days, but after 240, but at the same time they are extremely demanding on the temperature of the content and the balance of the feed.

What is the weight of an adult pig of the Karmaly breed - it also depends on the type of hybrid. A brazier in an adult state can weigh up to 300 kg. The weight of the Korean pig is 150 kg. Therefore, Karmals, which are ¾ closer to the Mangal, are able to gain weight faster. They can be fattened up to 150 kg after 6 months. An adult of such a hybrid can weigh 250-300 kg.

The Karmala hybrid attracts attention with its loud characteristics. However, it is called a breed only conditionally.In the State Register of Breeding Achievements as of the end of 2018, the Karmal pig breed and its description are absent.

Breeding features

On a note!Suitable for breeding in any climatic zone of the Russian Federation, due to good protection from the cold and excellent health. Picky, less demanding on the volume and content of food than many other breeds.

They are unpretentious to feed, thanks to the excellent health of the gastrointestinal tract. Grains are well absorbed. Favorite food is meadow grass. Omnivorous, gratefully accept other types of food: cereals, vegetables, hay, beets, food waste. They can eat raw food - no need to heat it. Grass can be given to piglets from a week of age, from two weeks - porridge. For high productivity, animal proteins should be given to the livestock: dairy products and meat and bone meal are included in the diet.

Individuals whose meat taste is not important, for example, mother pigs, are given fish and fish waste.

Breeding features

The effect of specific foods on the taste of meat:

  1. Milk and dairy products - add tenderness, aroma.
  2. Oilcake, soybeans, oats - deteriorate the quality of meat in general.
  3. Cereals and vegetables - make them leaner, bland, tasteless.

Important!Products that deteriorate the quality of meat are given to young pigs. Two months before slaughter, pigs are transferred to feeds that have a positive effect: millet, barley, peas, melons and gourds, nettles, clover, alfalfa, dairy and meat products.

Karmals have excellent immunity and are resistant to infections. Free grazing and maximum time in the fresh air are acceptable, even in frosty weather. Vaccinations are standard. Excellent pig health does not mean that infection safety requirements can be ignored. A pig of the Karmal breed suffers from epizootic diarrhea, like any other.

Important!The pen must reliably protect the animals from drafts - this is the only requirement. Plus, it is enough to enclose the area for free herd grazing with a net or a fence. Individual pigsties are not necessary.

Newborn piglets of the Karmal breed need the same standard care as other pigs. Individual farmers completely trust the process to nature, but this is not effective. It will be more reliable to control a number of points: in the first hour, the piglets must receive colostrum, they must be examined, bandaged and treated with the umbilical cord, and mucus must be removed from the respiratory tract and from the skin. From the age of one month, piglets of the Karmaly breed can be kept in open pens. But if it's winter or mid-season, this is not recommended. These piglets will grow more slowly or not at all. Either the process of "feeding the meat" is postponed until the onset of warmth, or warm corrals (+ 15 ° C) are organized to keep the young, so that in six months they will receive individuals weighing 100 kg.

The disposition of adults is calm, but in many open sources this characteristic is exaggerated. In fact, adult pigs of the new Karmal breed can be aggressive, so children should be protected from them. In addition, their main occupation is not only to absorb food and gain everything, but also to dig the ground. Therefore, fences must be reliable.

Important! Do not forget that one of the direct ancestors of Karmala is a wild boar, an animal with which it is dangerous to contact even predators.

Breed advantages and disadvantages

Pros of the breed:

  • Excellent health: resistance to infectious diseases, cold weather, strong stomach.
  • Unpretentiousness. Reduced requirements for living conditions and feed.
  • Fattening is 3 times cheaper than the average domestic meat breed.
  • High performance characteristics, not much inferior to officially recognized beef breeds.
  • Rapid onset of puberty. High fertility.
  • On a note!Breeding Karmals can be used to improve the quality of local pig breeds.

Cons of the breed:

  • The breed is new, its characteristics are not as well known and tested as those of the breeds included in the Register. There are many rumors and speculations.
  • This is a hybrid, so the characteristics of the pigs may vary. For example, one piglet from one uterus will gain 100 kg by 6 months, the other - only 70 kg.
  • Piglets Karmaly are more expensive than Mangals or Korean, while it is difficult to distinguish them from their ancestors in appearance, which is what cunning businessmen use, passing off familiar breeds as a novelty. Piglets for sale are found everywhere: from the Nizhny Novgorod region to the Sverdlovsk region. But the only reliable way to get Karmaly piglets in your backyard is to do crossbreeding on your own or to personally know the breeder.

If you have reliable breeding material on hand, then the Karmaly breed will really delight pig breeders. The heterosis effect allows the hybrid to borrow the best from both ancestors. Karmals develop rapidly, like the Vietnamese pot bellies, while gaining considerable weight, like Mangals. The excellent taste of meat completely sweeps away fluctuations. The novelty is definitely worth your attention, especially if you already have experience in breeding the original breeds.