Karmaly pigs: a breed that one can only dream of for now

The Karmaly pig breed is a meat-oriented hybrid.

The uniqueness of the hybrid origin is emphasized by the innate characteristics characteristic of this breed:

• clearly defined meat orientation;
• unpretentiousness to feed and the ability to get enough of small portions;
• high level of immunity to typical pig diseases;
• tolerance to different temperature conditions;
• multiple births and the possibility of the next fertilization 4-4.5 weeks after farrowing;
• absence of aggressive manifestations towards other animals, birds, people;
• accelerated puberty;
• forced gain of meat mass in a short time.

Origin story

Photo:

Karmals were bred as a result of multi-stage crossing. After bringing together a female Mangalitsa and a wild boar, a hybrid was bred, which was subsequently mated with a boar from a herbivorous Korean pig.

As a result of outbreeding, piglets were born that combine the endurance and protection from diseases of a natural boar, the unique appearance of a Hungarian barbecue and the incredible calmness of a true Asian.

Description of the breed

At birth, piglets of the Karmal breed can have almost any color:

• striped;
• “smooth” gray;
• red;
• black.

Exterior characteristics of hybrid piglets:

• head – small in size in relation to the length of the body;
• the stigma is elongated, the ears are small;
• neck – shortened and powerful;
• back and chest – wide, massive hips;
• skin – white and smooth;
• in adults, the legs are less than standard length, strong and muscular.
• the lower back is straight;

A special feature of pockets is their specific hair.

The wavy, thick coat and dense undercoat make it possible to keep piglets without a heated room, even in severe frosts. Animals feel comfortable in the open air at any temperature - both in extreme cold and in hot summer.

Hybrids are distinguished by excellent health, inherited from wild boars.

Resistance to any climatic anomalies and strong immunity are factors that make it possible to raise piglets in all regions of the country and do without additional methods of improving the health of young animals.

The high productivity of Karmals is another distinctive feature of this breed. Sexual maturity in females occurs in less than 4 months.

Only 115 days pass from the birth of a piglet to the possibility of the first mating; pregnancy lasts about the same amount of time. Thus, offspring can be obtained from an eight-month sow.

Newborn piglets rapidly gain body weight; by one year their weight can reach 100-120 kg. In addition, forced metabolism prevents the pockets from accumulating a significant amount of fat - the average percentage ratio of meat and fat layers is 85% to 15%.

Adult males reach more than 195 cm in length.

Reproduction

Puberty in females of the large white breed occurs in the sixth month of life, but in order to avoid problems with pregnancy and childbirth, it is recommended that they occur no earlier than ten months of age. It is also not recommended to use in breeding queens whose weight has not yet reached 120 kg.

The calm nature of the breed makes the sows excellent for artificial insemination. When choosing this method, you can not keep breeding boars, but order seed material from nurseries and large pig breeding farms.

The onset of a favorable time for fertilization can be determined by several signs:

1. Behavior. The female becomes restless and squeals.
2. Changes in the appearance of the genital organs: due to a rush of blood, they increase in size and turn red.
3. Appetite. The pig eats less than usual or refuses to eat at all.

Interesting video

In this video you can see what the behavior of a female large white breed looks like during the period of sexual heat (loud frequent grunting, squeals, position of readiness for mating):

Note! Pregnancy in sows lasts about 115 days. Shortly before giving birth, the female begins to worry and look for a suitable place, digs and drags the litter

Before childbirth, the mammary glands become greatly enlarged, and the abdomen sags. Redness of the genitals is also possible.

In order for the birth to take place without complications, you should monitor the process and help the sow: clean the stigmas and feet of newborns from mucus, cut and cauterize the umbilical cord. It is worthwhile to immediately place the first piglets on the nipples, without waiting for the end of labor. This will ease the condition of the sow and help her give birth faster.

To gain useful knowledge about pig breeding, we recommend reading the relevant articles on pig mating and artificial insemination.

Varieties

Karmals have the best qualities from their ancestors.
Karmals, depending on the order of crossing different breeds, are divided into two types: regular; royal. An ordinary karmal is produced as a result of the mating of a mangal and a Korean pot-bellied pig, while a royal one requires additional selection work.

The hybrid obtained from the “marriage” of a Mangalitsa and a Korean boar is subsequently mated to a purebred Mangal. Royal karmals are distinguished by an intensive rate of fattening and the high properties of the resulting meat.

Today it cannot be said that the main characteristics of the Karmal breed are fully formed, since breeders continue to work on improving these pigs.

conclusions

1. Despite the fact that Karmals are hybrids , they are unpretentious in care and not picky about food.
2. Pigs of the breed have inherited the best qualities of their ancestors, so keeping them at home can be considered very profitable.
3. In order to obtain high-quality gourmet meat, it is important to provide animals with balanced food and prevent them from becoming obese.
4. Resistance to common pig diseases allows breeders to refuse vaccination and obtain meat as a valuable eco-product.

Reviews

According to farmers, the advantages of this breed include:

• calm disposition - pigs behave serenely both when free grazing and in a pen;
• early maturity - a brood can be obtained every 8-9 months;
• productivity - in one litter the sow produces up to 20 piglets;
• unpretentiousness in feeding - the hybrid is capable of giving good weight gain even with a predominance of the herbal component in the diet;
• good health – a strong stomach digests any food, and strong immunity contributes to endurance and resistance to all types of infections;
• high percentage of meat yield at slaughter - due to the lightness of the bones, pockets provide the owner with 80-85% of the meat yield of the live weight of the pig.

Meat quality

Young animals grow slower than others - they gain weight suitable for slaughter only by one and a half years. The meat of Karmal pigs is highly prized. The amount of lard is small and located in thin layers. The yield of clean meat from each carcass is at least 85%. This is a very good indicator for pork.

The greasiness of the carcass greatly depends on the presence of vegetables and grass in the diet, subject to free range. Pigs raised in close quarters will have a higher percentage of fat in their meat.

Farmers who specialize in raising Karmal pigs believe that caring for them does not require special knowledge or high expenses. Pigs are calm, not aggressive and have a good appetite. Animals spend most of their time outdoors, which reduces cleaning costs.

If you have your own vegetables and pasture, the cost of fattening pigs is low, so the business is considered quite profitable.

According to reviews from Karmal owners, this breed is overly praised. Among the disadvantages, pig farmers noted poor weight gain with excellent nutrition and digestive problems after introducing crushed grains into the diet. In general, the Karmala pig breed is interesting, promising, and the quality of the meat is excellent.

Meat productivity

Karmal meat contains virtually no fat and is low in calories.
Pork obtained after slaughtering a karmal is close in taste to young tender veal. Thin and even layers of lard give the meat a marbling effect, which makes this product ideal for cooking bacon.

The average energy and nutritional value of pork is as follows:

In addition to the high content of B-group vitamins, carmal meat can be called a record holder for the amount of vital minerals - selenium (26%) and zinc (16%) and essential amino acids.

Thus, per 100 g of meat there are up to 44% valine, 66% histidine, 52% each tryptophan and threonine. This fact makes karmalov pork not only a delicacy, but also extremely beneficial for human health.

The surface fat layer of pockets is small; the fat is easily separated from a piece of meat. The skin is white in color and is characterized by thinness and softness.

Due to the fact that pockets are not intended for long-term cultivation, the lard of young piglets remains plastic, melts well and has a pleasant taste and aroma.

Advantages and disadvantages

As we wrote above, karmals have many advantages, which makes them quite popular in agriculture. In addition to the advantages already described, there are also the following:

• High survival rate of pig offspring.
• Sows take good care of their piglets.
• The thick curly coat of the Karmals protects them from the cold.
• Pigs eat any food: dry, steamed, juicy.
• These pigs have a lot of meat with a thin layer of fat. It tastes much better than regular pork, as it is very tender and juicy.

Breeding karmals is very profitable from a financial point of view. The costs of buying a pig and caring for it pay off in the first year.

Unlike other breeds of pigs, you do not need to spend a lot of money on buying expensive feed, building a special pigsty with heating, and there is practically no need to treat the piglets, since they have a very strong immune system.

By selling karmal meat, you will get much more profit than by selling regular pork. Therefore, choosing this type of pig will bring you much better results.

Despite the advantages, there are also disadvantages. Due to the fact that the breed is a hybrid, the characteristics of subsequent offspring are split. Simple Karmals may produce piglets that are exactly similar to Asian Folds, but it is also quite possible to get a piglet that is almost 100% of the Mangal breed.

Breeding

A sow can produce up to 20 offspring in one farrow.
Sows of this breed are considered leaders in their fertility. They ripen early and in less than 8 months already bear the first offspring. During farrowing, human assistance is not required - childbirth takes place successfully without human intervention.

The number of piglets in a litter varies from 8 to 20 heads. At the same time, the genetic peculiarity of the breed is such that there will always be more female pigs in the brood.

Karmalitsa has a large supply of mother's milk, which allows her to feed a large litter. From birth, piglets are in good health and highly active.

After a week, they are able to feed on meadow grass, and in winter they gradually get used to the adult feeder. To obtain a large number of karmals, it is enough to have one producer.

The boar matures a little later than the sow - he is ready for mating upon reaching the age of five months. And the female karmala is ready for the next mating a month after farrowing.

Resistance to disease and the originality of the coat of the Karmals allow them to be bred in any climatic conditions. These pigs are not afraid of subzero temperatures; they happily spend the day in the snow without being exposed to colds.

Producer boars can be used for mating with pigs of other breeds to improve the quality characteristics of animals.

Young piglets do not require vaccination against infectious or inflammatory diseases, since they have strong immunity from birth.

Once karmals reach the age of puberty, they need regular vaccinations and anthelmintic treatment, especially in regions with a high virological danger.

How to choose piglets when purchasing?

The best time to buy piglets is spring, since during this period it is possible to feed the piglet grass and vegetables.

When choosing a pig, you need to be careful and pay attention even to small details:

• The animal's chest should be wide, its back straight, its legs strong and long, its hooves should be shiny, and its ears should be small and pink.
• The tail should be dry and not adjacent to the body; it is usually curled into a ring.
• Even a very small pig should not be bald; it is covered with thick hair, most often striped. No bald spots on the animal's body are allowed.
• Make sure that the karmal's eyes react to your movements; they should shine brightly.
• The piglet should be very active and slightly fussy, this indicates its good health.
• A piglet's head is usually heavy, which means the pig will be precocious.
• When choosing a piglet, you need to feed it and see how it eats. The animal must eat quickly and with appetite.
• The piglet's two jaws must be the same size, otherwise the animal will not eat well.
• Do not think that a fat big pig at a small age is a good choice. Most likely, he was specially fed with milk with added sugar to prepare him for sale. Such a pig will not want to eat regular food, but only sweets.
• If you pick up a piglet, it should squeal loudly. If his cry is quiet and muffled, then this indicates that the animal is weakened or has diseases.

Content

Once purchased, the piglets should be placed in a small barn. They will remain there until they reach the age of 1.5-2 months, when they can be released into the wild.

To protect young pigs from diseases, it is advisable to ensure that the room is dry and completely free of drafts.

In the warm season, you can build a small enclosure next to the pigsty so that the piglets can graze in the open air during the day.

The presence of wild pigs in the pedigree of wild pigs largely determines the conditions for keeping representatives of the hybrid breed - it is not necessary for them to have a separate pigsty, since they feel best in an open-air pen.

Starting from the age of two months, piglets enjoy being in a herd grazing in a fenced area.

At the same time, they do not require a large space - young animals can easily tolerate being kept in enclosures; when they grow up, a small area surrounded by a metal mesh or wooden slats around the perimeter is sufficient.

Karmals have a well-developed sense of family - they prefer to stay surrounded by their relatives, intuitively choosing the leader of the herd.

In order to drive the pigs into the room, it is enough to send the leader there - and the piglets will calmly follow him. In an open pen, it is advisable to place water containers and feeders, although in the summer, carmals are able to feed on pasture - field grass and raw vegetables.

Piglets are clean animals, so they need to be provided with a bathing tank.

Interesting! To protect young karmals from diseases, recycled automobile oil is used, which is added to the bathing container for piglets.

Nutrition selection

These hybrid animals are unpretentious to food. In summer, they can stay on the pasture all day and eat grass. They love it when oak trees grow in the area. These animals collect acorns, which are usually sufficient in August and September. They look for them in the grass.

Karmals are smart animals. If they don't find their favorite treat, they surround the tree and push it until acorns begin to fall from the oak tree. If there are no oak trees in the area, pigs find an alternative. These could be wild apple trees. They happily eat them. Livestock can be supplemented with vegetables and cereals in the summer.

Karmals love to eat, and therefore extra food intake is not harmful for them. In order for individuals to gain weight well, it is necessary to offer them crushed grain, food waste, vegetables, animal feed and cereal porridge. Karmals are very fond of fodder and sugar beets. Even if the nutrition is quite intensive and involves the use of yeast in large quantities, the animals do not form a thick layer of fat.

Karmal meat is tender, has minimal fat content and is quite juicy. One of the most profitable breeds for farmers is Karma pigs. They are resistant to any disease. Their maintenance is much more profitable than raising ordinary families. At the same time, karmals produce large offspring. Their wool can be used to produce yarn, which can provide an additional source of income for the farm.

Feeding

Feeding karmals does not cause any difficulties. The specificity of this hybrid breed is the exceptional functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, which allows it to cope with any type of feed.

In accordance with their age, young animals should be fed according to the following scheme:

Once the piglets reach two weeks of age, they can be switched to adult food. At the same time, new components should be introduced gradually, monitoring the baby’s condition.

It is advisable to add products in the following sequence:

• grated juicy vegetables - pumpkin, carrots, beets;
• boiled or steamed porridge;
• boiled potatoes - no earlier than 3 weeks;
• concentrated feed.

In addition to the basis of the diet - green grass (in winter - hay), piglets can be given crushed cereals, simple vegetables and fruits.

Advice! When raising young carmols, the use of special feed additives is not required - the piglets receive the required amount of nutrients from regular food.

Adult pocket

The unpretentiousness and omnivorous nature of karmals is a feature of this breed, making keeping pigs extremely simple and easy.

The diet of an adult pig may include:

• crushed grain;
• steamed porridge;
• unspoiled food waste;
• raw and boiled vegetables;
• acorns, apples.

Karmals give good weight gain even with the most unpretentious diet - meadow grass and crushed grain. Due to the presence of herbivorous pigs in the family tree, the presence of expensive components in the diet of karmals is unnecessary.

To obtain more juicy and flavorful meat, animals are given dairy products and juicy greens. Despite the undemandingness of pockets to the contents of the feeder, it is undesirable to use low-grade products when feeding - cake, fishmeal, soy.

The presence of such food in the diet will lead to a significant decrease in the consumer qualities of meat and the appearance of a characteristic taste.

If the owner cannot provide the karmal with a sufficient amount of natural food, cereals and greens, concentrated feed will come to his aid. At the same time, the principles of a balanced diet must be observed.

The best product for pockets is natural food. Concentrated feed should not exceed the specified norm and it is advisable to use them in winter, when it is not possible to make maximum use of natural products.

To compensate for the deficiency of mineral substances, it is recommended to give chalk and a small amount of table salt to karmals. In winter, you can use special vitamin feed additives.

Caring for piglets

The young offspring of karmals do not require any special conditions or care. But if you feed piglets correctly and in a balanced manner, their meat will ultimately be tasty and juicy.

If piglets eat only grains and vegetables, their meat will be tasteless. If you give fish to young animals, the meat may smell like fish. Soy, fish meal and cake also greatly degrade the taste of pork. While dairy products, on the contrary, will make the meat tasty, juicy, and the pig will be healthy and grow faster.

Before the cold weather sets in, little piglets need vitamin and mineral supplements in their feed. But in order to choose the right dosage, discuss this with a specialist.

Newborn piglets do not need to be vaccinated against infections due to their high immunity. However, these measures must be taken when they reach puberty. Karmals also need to undergo anthelmintic treatment. After all, worms in these animals lead to weight loss and allergies. And many types of helminthiasis can even be transmitted to humans. Therefore, taking preventive measures is simply necessary. Medicines for this come in the form of injections, powder and solutions.

If you purchased the product in powder or suspension, mix it with the food, then dilute it a little with water and place it in feeding areas. On the day of this procedure, the amount of food should be reduced by a third. For small piglets, you can dilute the food with the drug with milk or broth. Weaker piglets are best fed separately, in a group of up to 30 piglets. The remaining animals should be dewormed individually.

Sometimes pigs may vomit during this procedure. To prevent this, do not give water to animals before and after the procedure. You can feed after deworming 7 hours later.

Do not give pigs medicine on the tongue, as this will greatly reduce the effect of the drug. And besides this, there is a possibility of it getting into the lungs, which can cause the piglet to die.

Experts also advise adding machine oil to the tank for bathing piglets; it will protect the animals from many diseases.