If you are squeamish, pig breeding is not for you! I have included anatomical pictures in this post to help visualize breeding, heat, and changes during gestation. You will want to be very familiar with your pigs baseline anatomy so you can notice changes. It is as easy as taking a glance once a day …
Author Archives: Amanda Nelson
Kunekune 101: Coefficient of Inbreeding – COI
The Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) is a number that can be a tool or a stumbling block. It can also be very confusing for first-timers. My advice is to pick livestock that fits your program goals, and not get overly focused on COI. That being said, I do use COI in my program – as …
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Kunekune 101: Shelter, Seasonal Considerations and Fencing
Pigs require protection from the elements and predators. Shelter and Bedding A basic shelter is sufficient as long as it is weatherproof and dry inside. Protection from the wind from at least three sides with room to get out of drafts and warm straw bedding to insulate and cozy up in. To a lesser extent …
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Kunekune 101: Husbandry
The Code of Practice (2014) is available in its complete form from the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC). This code is the basis of all husbandry practices relating to pigs, and is an essential read for anyone who is considering raising pigs of any type. On a smaller, day-to-day scale, our typical husbandry tasks …
Kunekune 101: Transportation and New Arrivals
Tracability By law, all breeding pig stock must be tagged (or microchipped or clipped) and all movements must be registered on PigTrace Canada. This is not required at this time for non-breeding stock intended for slaughter. To sign up for PigTrace you will need to get a Premises ID if you don’t already have one. …
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Kunekune 101: Feeding
I get a lot of people asking me, “What do you feed your Kunekune pigs?” The concise answer is forage and pig feed. The better answer is much longer – so hang on and stick with me as we zip through the basics. I am a firm believer that there are a lot of right …
Vineyard on Vineyard
It only makes sense that we put in a vineyard of kiwi vines given where we live. To that end, we had a productive long weekend! The cedar supports for our fuzzy kiwis are in. We have Hayward and Saanichton varieties of kiwis and are hoping to see fruit in the next 6-7 years. When …
How to make a pig water barrel
One random skill I have acquired and become unexpectedly adept at is making barrels into water receptacles for pigs. It is a simple concept but when I first looked into it I found it really hard finding instructions that made sense or worked for me. I love the idea of hooking the nipple right up …
Pork and Lard
This week we received our first batch of pork back that was harvested last month. It was a lot of pork! The hanging weights on our two hogs were 111 and 127lbs. On the hoof they were approximately 155 and 176lbs, so it worked out to exactly 72% which exactly aligned with the accepted industry …
Orchard update
Spring has sprung! This is our first spring on the farm and we have been working hard to get everything set up so we can enjoy some harvests in the next 3-7 years. The sooner we get things in the ground the fewer years we will have to wait to hit full production. In the …