Kunekune Boars

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  Often I am asked questions about Kunekunes.   Below the info on our pigs I have added a section to answer some of these questions. Topics I've covered so far:

• Our pig raising experience
• Pig terminology
• Farrowing pens (video)
• Why choose Kunekunes over conventional breeds?
• What to feed Kunekunes? and can they live on pasture alone?  
• Do Kunekunes root?
• How do you pronounce Kunekune?
• Kunekune bloodlines
• Understanding how naming pigs works.
• Will Kunekunes work for me?
• Vaccinations, shots and tusks.
• Why choose registered stock over unregistered stock?
• Do you sell unregistered stock?
• What about COI?    
• How much pasture do I need for Kunekunes?
• Can I get my unregistered pig registered?
• How do I register a litter of piglets?
• Nesting behavior (video)
• Sow lullabies (video)
• Fermented feed (video)
• Pregnancy progression (a link to multiple videos)

 We started out in 2011 with a pair of potbellies and a pair of York/Hamp cross pigs. We butchered out the larger pigs by about 7 months and kept the PB for breeding. I didn’t like the pushy larger pigs (I have a fairly irrational fear of pigs from an experience about 40 years ago). Hubby and I both disliked the pork on the York crosses. Not so much that it was bad, but it wasn’t any better than store bought and we had done our best to raise them better. Well about a year or so after that we processed our first PB pig and it was some of the best pork we’ve ever had. We liked the how easy they were to handle as well. But as we got into it a bit more, I did some research into slightly larger pigs that were still known for their wonderful delicious (and redder) meats. We went with Mulefoot and Mangalitsa crosses (not huge pigs, but bigger and faster growing than our PB). We slowly phased out our PB and for a few years had the larger crosses. I loved the meat and we sold a lot, but I hated the pigs themselves. They ate pasture and hay great, but tore it up.  They were GREAT mothers and farrowed without issues, even outside in February in Michigan! Heaven forbid though if I needed to do something with piglets. Our set up just wasn’t great for working with the piglets of super protective mothers! And to be honest, our old butts weren’t really set up well for doing that either! So for a few years I drooled and dreamed of getting Kunekunes. They were bigger than our original PB pigs, but smaller like we really wanted. I was blessed to one day be able to barter for a partially registered trio (one sow was registered). I kept that trio for just about 1 year before loading up every other pig on the farm and taking them to the processor! That was in 2017 and 5 years later I'm still in love!  It’s taking a bit longer to get back to where we were with our breeding, but I don’t for one minute regret our choice.

Please note, other than a few bottle babies, we have never owned or raised a "house pig".  We just have no interest in keeping a pig inside.  It is our belief that even pet pigs are happiest outside and I think many pigs would agree.  All of our experience and advice is geared towards outside raising and primarily towards raising for meat purposes. We do feel that a total house pig is kept solely for the enjoyment of the humans and is not in the best interest of the pigs.  

Boar - Intact male

 In Pig - Pregnant 

Gilt - young female pig who has never given birth

 Short bred - Not very far along in pregnancy  

Sow - Female pig who has had at least one litter of piglets.

Long bred - Far along in pregnancy 

Barrow - Neutered male

Farrow - Give birth 

Wattles - The large "skin tags" normally located on the chin/cheek area of Kunekunes. They hang down and are generally quite noticeable.   Also called Puri Puri in Kunekunes. 

Split litter - Having more than one sire to the litter 

Conformation - The external visible details of a pig's structure and how it matches up with the breed standard.  

 COI - Stands for "Coefficient of Inbreeding".  This is a number generally expressed as a percentage.  It is derived from a formula that (in short) gives you a percentage of "relatedness".

Here is our personal pro/con list for both the “bigger pigs” and the Kunekunes.  This is based on our experience and somewhat on researched info.

Larger "traditional" pigs:

Pros – 

• Grow much faster
• No problems with farrowing
• We could keep all pigs together during farrowing since sows were protective enough to keep all other pigs away during the first few days
• The cuts were closer to “normal” and what people wanted (or more aptly, what they are familiar with).
• Large litter sizes
• The breeds we ended up breeding had great meat

Cons – 

• Aggressive/protective mothers
• Destructive (I once had one tear all the siding off a barn to make a nest!)
• They root/dig holes you could park a VW bug in 
• They could get too big to process easily at home pretty quickly
• The first breeds we tried had white tasteless meat

Kunekunes:

Pros – 

• Their temperaments allow me to work with them and the offspring and have no issues (even the 4 year old sows we purchased, I could never handle an unknown adult full sized breed of sow that weighed 800#!)
• The pork is amazing
• They don’t root (yes, this may not be true for all KK, but at the time of this writing, our group of 12 doesn’t root)
• We can easily graze them with our other stock (we do avoid feeding together for the most part and we separate birthing mothers and newborns for a little bit)
• They are great at turning hay/pasture into pork (although we do supplement with hog feed all year around).
• Easy to process at home, no matter what age. 
• We like lard!

Cons – NOTE: I found the following issues all things I can work with. While the pro list may look small, those things are HUGE and, for us, far outweigh any of the following cons.

• Smaller litter sizes  (Note: this can be dependent on genetics, I have seen litter sizes of 10-12 from other breeders) *updated info:  We have peeled some weight off of our girls and now are finding larger litter sizes with our girls!*
• After years of allowing pigs to farrow together we found that for our KK this didn’t work as well. It wasn’t that anyone attacked or purposely hurt the babies, but all the other pigs did their usual snuggly pig pile with the sow giving birth and piglets were squished and/or unable to find teats. 
• Our current sows also seem to be poorer nest makers than our previous pigs so we have opted to use heat lamps for a few days with litters born in the super cold months. ETA: Our newer sow, Rachel is a terrific nest maker.  We had to bring her sticks and branches to satisfy her nest making needs at farrowing!
• They grow slower than most traditional breeds. 
• While they are bigger than the PB we used to raise.   Taking them to the processor at lower weights than you would a traditional pig may cost you more per pound if you processor has a flat kill or disposal fee. This can bring up your overall per pound pricing on a smaller pig.  

Disclaimers:  

There are plenty of "traditional" large to medium breeds that may work well for you.  Temperament can be a heritable trait, so if it's important, find stock (no matter the breed) that has what you want. 

Rooting can be a learned behavior.  If one roots, it can teach the rest of your herd to do the same.

Fermented Feed: 

**still under construction**Hay and pasture forages do make up a significant portion of our Kunekune's diet.   However we prefer to supplement with commercial feeds to make sure all their nutritional needs are met. 
Fruits and vegetables are great for treats and as supplemental feed sources.  Eggs and dairy products are also great for supplementing your pig's diet.  Meats should be avoided (there are legal reasons for this in many states). Sugary, salty or carb filled foods (like doughnuts, breads, chips, snacks etc) should be avoided.  Remember, these are lard pigs, not your typical farm pig.

Caution should be used when feeding to avoid overfeeding.   Kunekunes do have a tendency to become overweight easily.   It is not advised to totally restrict the diet of an obese pig, be sure that the diet is still balanced, just reduced in calories.   Pigs will almost ALWAYS act like they are hungry, don't cave to their squeals!   
In the past with our other pigs, we fed a fermented feed (pictured in video).   We may get back to that again soon.  We do soak our feed, with at least a 12 hour soak, but usually 24 hours. 
We moved back to allowing a longer ferment and now I've also added a video of our newest winter method of fermented feed.   

How to ferment feed in the winter:  

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WaUr_LpNSNw" title="Fermenting livestock feed in the winter" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Video of what fermentation looks like. 

https://video.fdet2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t42.1790-2/11175064_842855625790299_754787197_n.mp4?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=55d0d3&efg=eyJybHIiOjgxMSwicmxhIjo1MTIsInZlbmNvZGVfdGFnIjoic2QifQ%3D%3D&_nc_ohc=Ko32J9jkHhAAX--nGjv&rl=811&vabr=451&_nc_ht=video.fdet2-1.fna&edm=AGo2L-IEAAAA&oh=00_AfAZ8pW6quHQ6G0CMr26rcvyqWfV3iq9SfPLsfg_8C_9CA&oe=64DB5CC8

Yes AND no.

To say a Kunekune pig won't root at all can be very misleading.  There are plenty of purebred Kunekune owners out there that can confirm that.  

Now if you asked me if MY Kunekunes root, I'd be able to say no.   So far the 12 adult/teen pigs I have here on the farm have never rooted our pastures.  They have worked up their designated wallow however.  

Rooting can be a learned behavior.  If one pig in your herd roots it can and will often teach the others the joy of rooting.  

Due to their shorter nose, Kunekunes usually won't root.  If however they do, it is usually very superficial in nature.  Not the deep, park a bus in it digging you will see with other pigs. 

So if your Kunekune is rooting what can you do about it?

Well there could be certain reasons they are doing it and you will need to address those reasons.  

1) Is pasture forage adequate?  Have they over grazed their area?   If so you may need to rotate them more, replant with better/different types of forage or increase their grazing area. 

2) Is there something enticing just below the surface? Grubs? Plant roots?   This is harder to take care of, but it may be necessary to do so if you don't want them to root.  If it's only a smaller area, maybe allowing that area as a sacrifice area would suffice.

3) Are they bored?  They may have enough forage, but perhaps they are alone or bored.  You can add enrichment activities even for pasture pigs.  

4) Are they getting the nutrition they need?  It is usually recommended that pigs are not left to solely survive on pasture alone.  Some kind of supplementation is often required.   You can increase what they are able to get from your pasture but adding a larger variety of healthy plant species for them to graze on.  Clovers, alfalfa, chicory, sun chokes, comfrey, vetch, kale, radish and more can be used for pigs. 

5) They are enjoying it.  Rooting is a NORMAL rooting behavior.  It is not always something that should be stopped.  However many of us got into the breed because of the "non-rooting" aspect. I have pastures that don't need as much "rejuvenating".  I rotational graze multiple species so I prefer a non-rooted pasture.  I don't believe in ringing noses.   Sometimes you just need to let pigs be pigs.  If you have exhausted all the above ideas and really want non-rooting pigs, my only other suggestions are this:  Get rid of the offender(s) or put together a sacrifice area that will allow them to do what comes naturally.

 Coo-knee Coo-knee 

Here is what they work very well for:

• Grazing behind, with or instead of other livestock
• In pasture or in woodlots 
• Family farms
• Lard production
• Chartuerie  (pronounced:   "shaar·koo·tr·ee"  or “shar - koo - tuh - ree”   Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire.)
• Being able to be part of the breed preservation of a very special breed. 
• Home processing

Here is what they will NOT work well for.

• Quick birth to freezer pork 
• Working up raw ground

Disclaimer:  There are some exceptions to both of the above.   There are breeders working on  "200in12" programs.  While we aren't part of the program outright, we do focus on good growth and pork production.   However even for those reaching "200in12" the results aren't consistent and there are still other breeds who grow much faster. 

***still under construction***

I hope to get more in-depth on this subject soon but here is a quick note. 

As of this time,  we have never given vaccinations, iron shots or cut tusks or needle teeth.  

***still under construction***

Both registered stock and unregistered stock can serve a producer well.  We've raised both.  We however made the choice to switch over to using only registered pigs as our breeding stock.   Of course we still offer unregistered stock for sale because your farm mascot or the meat you breed for your freezer doesn't require paperwork.  

Why do I prefer registered stock for our breeding program?  First let me tell you about what it takes to register a Kunekune.  When a litter of piglets is born you must notify the registry of birth date and all pertinent information about the litter (number of piglets, genders, colors, wattles, number of live/dead).  After you decide which one(s) to register you must send in a DNA sample (plucked hairs) to verify both parents.  Since all registered pigs are DNA verified (all the way down the line), you know you are getting a pure Kunekune and also know for sure who the parents are. 

I want to add a few things that I didn't originally cover in this section. 

There are many breeders who feel that selling ANY intact registered pig is very much a disservice to the breed.  I totally understand what is behind this viewpoint.  Selling unregistered pigs often means that a breeder is selling ones that are less than perfect.  To these breeders this lessens the overall integrity of the breed.  It really does make sense and is a very valid argument.  I really want to be a breeder who has the main goal of preserving the breed's integrity.  I am working hard to be that breeder and I will get better at judging conformation as I see, handle and raise more piglets.  However to be totally transparent, one of my larger goals is self sufficiency and helping others build up their own self sufficient lifestyle.  I personally think that the Kunekune breed is an awesome homestead meat hog.  Only offering high cost registered quality stock doesn't allow nearly as many people the opportunity to experience the breed.   I started with my own little trio of 1 unregistered boar, 1 unregistered sow and 1 registered sow.  If I had not had this option, I may never have gotten to "try" these wonderful pigs and decide to go registered.  

So at this time, I still prefer to offer some unregistered stock. This includes boars, sows and gilts.  Our barrows are always unregistered.  If I see any serious defects that should be totally removed from the gene pool they will be retained here for meat or castrated and sold. 

 ***still under construction***The answer to this question has too many variables to give a generalized answer for everyone.  But I will take a moment to go over those variables so hopefully you can figure out the answer based on your situation.Things to consider

• Available forages in the area to be grazed?
• Time of year? 
• Location? 
• Weather?
• Size of the pigs?
• Are pigs breeding (are there babies, will there be feeder pigs growing out)?
• What do you expect your pigs to get from pasture?
• Do your Kunekunes root?
• What is your manure management protocol?
• Are you utilizing some type of rotational grazing or multi species grazing program?

Here is what we do based on our answers to the above.We can easily keep 4+ adult pigs on 1 acre of grassy pasture during our Michigan spring, summer and fall.  We also graze 6+ adult sheep on the same acre off and on to keep it grazed down a bit "neater".  In the winter our pigs have significantly smaller areas as they are kept in pens rather than out on pasture. 

• Our 1 acre is heavily planted and includes mainly grasses but also contains a good assortment of plants like dandelion, plantain, chicory, kale, sunchokes and even comfrey.  
• For us here in Michigan the heaviest growing time is usually spring (late April and May) and early summer.   So much depends on temperature and rainfall of course.  Most of our pastures have cooler season grasses so if we have a hot and dry summer we have to be cautious to not allow areas to be over grazed. 
• We expect our pigs to get a large portion of their diet from pasture during the warmer seasons. This isn't our only goal of course, as we want to make sure they are provided with exercise, sunshine and enrichment.  If you are supplementing heavily with garden waste (fruits and veggies) or feeding a regular hog diet, how much they need to eat is reduced, but keep in mind the boredom issue and the fact that pigs are ALWAYS hungry. 
• With the pasture we are able to provide, we haven't had rooting issues, but keep in mind if you have a very small, over grazed area you may find even more "damage" can be done by a bored, hungry pig.  A rooting pig, even on a good pasture may tear things up to make areas unfavorable. 
• The pigs that are normally grazing the main 1 acre have an average adult size of 225#, piglets are not factored in.  Above, I say 4 PLUS adult pigs because it is normally about 2-3 adult sows and their unweaned offspring.   Then there are usually a few grow out piglets around as well.  

A good way to go is to use a total poundage to figure your minimum grazing area.   Based on our experience and the factors (like soil fertility, plants, weather) we could keep approximately 900# of pig on our one acre.  For example, this could be a 400# boar, a 200# sow, a 200# grow out and a litter of unweaned piglets.  Or it could be three 200# sows, two 100# grow outs and a few litters of unweaned piglets.  
So to break it down a little more, it can be figured to about 50 Square feet per pound of pig.  This is for OUR pasture, your pasture most likely will vary quite a bit as many pastures are better than ours and I'm sure there are a few that are worse.  I like to figure conservatively.  Keep in mind, even with the 900# of pig, we also keep other species on the same area (probably an added 900#) so without that you could probably go as high as 2000 lbs of pig per acre (or 10 200# pigs). That would be about 22 square feet per pound of pig.   I do however feel it is better to under stock than overstock when it comes to the health of the pigs and the land.  
And a final disclaimer.   The numbers I threw out above, like 10 pigs per acre, is what works for us in most years.   Even on the same farm things can change from year to year or even month to month.  There is NO real formula to figure what you can stock.  It can only be determined for you by using your common sense and some trial and error.  I would always recommend starting on the low side and increasing numbers only as you see it appropriate.  
**Note:  I do remember once reading that Joel Salatin raises approximately 10 pigs per acre as well.  I believe they would be feeder/grow out pigs up to 200# or so and raised using rotational grazing. 

Here are a few links I found on line to help do some calculating on your own.  I haven't fully researched these but they seem like a good place to start.

 Forage Calculators - https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/animals-forages/pastures/forage-calculators.aspx

Grazing Math  - https://www.foragecouncil.com/post/grazing-math?fbclid=IwAR0klLYYTcLzjBcpFhmsp-KSgV-vkNSnC82MYbE-A4YXlW32rPktnGIK4Sw

 The short and most appropriate answer is no.  Only the breeder of a pig/piglet can get it registered.  

There may be (that is a slight maybe) an exception with the registries if you were promised and paid for a registered pig and the breeder welshed on the deal.  This would only be possible as well if the parents were properly registered.  In some cases a breeder might be willing to register a previous unregistered piglet, but if so, expect to pay a fee as registering costs money and overall a registered pig costs more than an unregistered pig and it is only fair they get paid a registered pig price for one they previously sold as unregistered.

If you buy an unregistered pig/piglet (and weren't promised that it would be registered) there is probably a reason why the breeder didn't register it.  Perhaps it didn't fall within breed standards.  Perhaps it had a conformation defect.  Perhaps the general quality of the pig was not up to the breeder's personal standards and they didn't want it registered as a representative of their breeding program.  This is perfectly acceptable for a breeder to do.  It doesn't mean that the pig is poor quality, only that it may not be superior quality.  For a homestead or meat only program I wouldn't hesitate to start out with quality unregistered stock.  

I see this question asked a lot "Why can't I register it if DNA is all that is needed for registration?  Can't the lab tell you that my pig is pure Kunekune?"  It isn't nearly as simple as this.  First off, see above - if the breeder didn't register it, there is usually a reason why.  Second, when DNA is sent into the UC Davis lab it is only run to verify parentage.  This means that they don't have the extended storage of data that allows for checking "purebred" status.  Also the way the registries are set up with the lab the ONLY thing the lab is able to do is match the DNA of the offspring to possible parents that YOU supply numbers for, they don't just search the entire database for possible parents.   

So here is an example.  I have three registered pigs Adam, Marvin and Eve.  Adam, Marvin and Eve had DNA sent in by their original breeders to match it with their parents before they were able to be registered.   Adam was assigned a DNA case number of ABC123  Eve was assigned a DNA case number of XYX789 and Marvin was assigned EFG246.  Now when I have BabyX out of Eve I send in BabyX's DNA and tell the lab to test it against XYZ789 (Eve) as the dam and both ABC123 (Adam) and EFG246 (Marvin) as the possible sires.   Eventually I will get notification back that BabyX qualifies as offspring for XYZ789 (Eve) and ABC123 (Adam) and she then receives her own DNA case number of LMN369.    

Now I know you're thinking:  Well the DNA case file of each pig is on their paperwork (and available in the registry pedigree databases) so can't I just send in a hair sample and use those numbers?   You theoretically can if you have an idea of who those parents could be and can find them in the database.  Also, you would need proper numbers to send in (using your registry prefix and the piglet/pigs litter notification number) as the identifier for your pig.  (For example BabyX above might be CSA11200).  Technically though, the owner/breeder "owns" the DNA of the parents, not you. However even if you manage to get a parentage verification, ONLY the breeder could then register the pig.  It's the way the registries have things set up and it makes sense to me (see again above).