Landrace is the best breed of bacon type pigs. Due to the large amount of lean meat and a thin layer of subcutaneous fat, pigs have gained immense popularity among breeders. The characteristic features of the breed, the pros and cons, the conditions for the care and breeding, as well as the preventive measures against possible diseases, are discussed in detail later in the article.
The history of the breed
The bacon-type Landrace breed was bred at the beginning of the twentieth century in Denmark as a result of crossing two breeds: a lop-eared Danish pig and an English large white. In the process of selection, pigs received a complete balanced diet, saturated with protein of animal origin. The selection and selection of crossbreeds for meat quality, early maturity and payback of the final product took a rather long period of time.
However, due to its lack of stamina, awkward physique and exacting conditions of detention, landrace most often used to improve the meat qualities of other breeds of pigs. Two- and three-pedigree landrases significantly surpass representatives of the purebred breed in durability and strength, while not inferior to them in high quality meat indicators. Today, Landrace is widely popular in Europe, Australia, Canada and the CIS countries.
Description, Features and Productivity
The animals of this breed are inherent in a fairly strong physique and impressive meat volumes. They are characterized by:
- elongated torso-shaped body;
- medium-sized head, slightly elongated;
- long large ears hanging over the eyes;
- thick fleshy neck;
- deep sides;
- soft, flat back;
- narrow chest
- legs of medium length, with a wide ham, squat;
- thin elastic skin of a pinkish tint, covered with soft infrequent white bristles.
Landrace refers to large-breed bacon-type pigs. An adult boar can have a body length of about 2 m, and a chest girth of more than 1.5 m. The body length of a sow is on average 1.5-1.7 m.
By the age of one year, the sow is gaining 190-195 kg of weight, and the boar is gaining 270-300 kg. Despite their impressive weight, healthy individuals are quite active, move quickly.
The breed has high productive qualities. A unique feature of Landrace pigs is the accelerated protein synthesis in the body, due to which piglets are able to gain 700-750 g per day during the growth period. At two months of age, their live weight is approximately 20 kg, and by six months - about a centner. Rapid weight gain significantly reduces the cost of feeding breeders of pigs and, as a result, increases the level of profitability.
In sows, maternal qualities are well developed, they are very fertile. For one farrow, up to 10-12 piglets can be born. Newborn piglets are characterized by excellent survival. The uterus has a fairly high milk production.
According to the yield of pure lean meat (up to 70%) and the small thickness of bacon (up to 20 mm), Landras pigs are 2-5% higher than those of other breeds.
Advantages and disadvantages
The obvious advantages of the Landrace breed include:
- accelerated weight gain;
- good fertility of sows;
- strong offspring;
- ability to adapt to various climatic conditions;
- precocity
- excellent productivity;
- activity.
Despite its undeniable merits, pigs of this breed have a number of important disadvantages:
- low stress resistance;
- weak constitution (weak hind limbs and sides, uncertain gait);
- exactingness to the composition of the feed and the conditions of detention.
How to choose piglets and what is their price?
In the conditions of personal subsidiary plots, it is better to keep two or more piglets for growing and feeding. It is not financially profitable to grow one piglet - one animal eats worse and, as a result, develops more slowly.
When buying a pig Landrace breed, you should first pay attention to his physique and appearance. It should have a straight back without interceptions behind the shoulder blades, a wide and deep chest, a wide sacrum and lower back, fleshy ham, a taut belly, and strong limbs with the correct setting.
Piglets with long legs quickly add in live weight, grow well. If the limbs are low, the animals quickly round up and get fat, while stopping early in growth and settling.
It is also important to assess the head and length of the snout. Too elongated snout indicates that the pig will be long-growing. A light head with a snub-nosed profile indicates that the piglet is rapidly becoming fat.
Teeth bite is also of great importance. Piglets with malocclusion are difficult to eat thick feeds, which is why they lag behind in development and have low productivity. Short ears indicate the unpretentiousness of this animal to the choice of food. They eagerly eat all kinds of succulent food, roughage, wild grasses and weeds.
Piglets that are too well-fed should not be purchased: they were fed milk and sugar for quick sale, so they are spoiled for food. With care it is necessary to take too thin animals, as this can be a consequence of a previous illness (the exception is piglets sold with all litter from one sow).
Attention should be paid to the development of genital organs. Guinea pigs with signs of hermaphroditism are unsuitable for the tribe. A boar should also not have one or both testes pulled into the pelvic region. You should check the absence of inguinal or scrotal hernia, which manifests itself in the form of a bulge the size of a nut or acorn.
The behavior of the pig is also extremely important. A healthy piglet emits a loud piercing screech, it is cheerful and mobile, its eyes are vigorous and clean, and its tail is bent in the form of a ringlet.
If the purpose of growing is to produce offspring, then you should buy a pig and a pig in the spring. For fattening, you can use both boars and pigs. Mumps grow more slowly, but their meat is more tender and tasty.
Landrace piglets are preferred for at least one month and weighing from 7 to 10 kg. They already eat food well, quickly adapt to other people's conditions and do not require such close attention.
The acquisition of piglets under one month of age with low live weight requires considerable effort and special maintenance skills.
The cost of Landrace pigs directly depends on the age of the animal, the region of purchase and the size of the batch. On average, today the cost of one pig Landrace breed ranges from 4000 to 6500 rubles.
Content conditions, pigsty
The high productivity of Landrace pigs, as well as the rapid growth and development of piglets, occur only if quality conditions are maintained.
Necessary conditions for keeping Landras pigs:
- the room for pigs must be stably warm (not less than + 20 ° С), without drafts;
- high humidity in the pigsty is unacceptable;
- It is very important for animals with a lot of weight that there is a lot of space in the room (the pigsty area for a boar is at least 6 square meters, for a sow - 4 square meters; corral - 1 hundred square meters of land);
- with insufficient natural light (window area less than one fifth of the floor area), you should resort to artificial light sources, especially in winter;
- cleaning in the pigsty should be carried out at least every other day;
- it is advisable to arrange a so-called swimming pool for pigs, otherwise you should water them from a watering can in the heat;
- the litter should be deep, fresh and dry, in order to avoid dampness, it should be changed regularly.
Feeding and diet
To maximize the potential of Landrace pigs and get delicious lean meat, you need to provide them with a full and balanced diet.
Pigs of this breed are quite picky in food. In their diet must be present dry, succulent feed, animal feed. Supplement the feed with hay, silage, oilcake in order to prevent an excess of nutrients and the formation of excessive subcutaneous fat. It will be useful to add to the diet various vegetables and root vegetables, pumpkins, greens.
It is preferable to cook food specially, however, kitchen waste can also be used after obligatory preliminary boiling. Feeding of adults occurs twice a day, the daily norm is 2.5 buckets of food. In winter, three meals a day are recommended.
Landrace pigs should always have free access to clean and fresh drinking water.
When growing free-range in the spring-autumn period, pigs additionally get the opportunity to eat fresh grass, clover, nettle.
Breeding
Breeders use the Landrace breed to breed on an industrial scale with other pig breeds in order to improve the productive qualities of the latter. Breeding pigs of this breed is available both to experienced professionals and in private households, subject to appropriate conditions.
It is necessary to prepare for the mating in advance. Pigs should be purebred and have obvious characteristic features that should appear in the next generation.
In order to improve the quality of the seed material and provide the boar an increase in weight, it should be well fed throughout the year. Long summer walks in the fresh air are also useful. Equally important is the number of already completed incidents. For mature males, the norm is about 30 cases, for young males, no more than 15. Otherwise, if these indicators are exceeded, sperm will no longer be suitable for insemination.
Food for sows should be high in minerals, protein and vitamin complexes.
It is necessary to think about the selection of a boar in advance, since the time of sexual hunting of a sow is limited to only two days. During this time, the male should cover the sow twice: the first mating should occur after 10 hours after the first signs of readiness for mating appear in the sow; the second - approximately 12 hours after the first.
Multiple crosses should not be allowed, as this may adversely affect the planned offspring.
During mating, aggressive behavior of pigs can be observed with causing wounds and mutilations to each other. In this regard, this process should be monitored.
A sign that fertilization was successful is the calm and measured behavior of a sow that does not show a desire to hunt in the next 2-3 weeks. If this does not happen, the following reasons are possible:
- poor quality boar semen;
- the wrong time for mating when the sow was not yet ready;
- overweight pig;
- exhaustion of the body.
The attempt can be repeated with another seeder.
Farrow in Landrace breed occurs 114 days after mating. This is a complex process that requires constant monitoring of the breeder and his willingness to help the sow at any time.
Offspring
Landrace pigs are very whimsical and demanding on the conditions of detention, as well as the composition and quality of the diet.
The weight of the newborn Landrace piglet is about 1.5-2 kg. After birth, wipe the pigs dry and remove the umbilical cord by treating the umbilical wound with iodine solution. Piglets are laid on a dry clean litter, and an incandescent lamp with a power of 150 W is installed next to them to maintain heat or oil heaters are used.
In order for newborn animals to receive a maximum of useful substances, piglets must be brought to the sipples of the sows during the first hour after farrowing. Longer and thinner piglets are fixed to the front nipples, more rounded and strong - to the back, less milk tight nipples. The use of valuable colostrum will significantly increase their vitality.
Due to the fact that the sow is heavy and can accidentally strangle piglets, it is undesirable to settle them in one pen. In this case, young animals are released for feeding 2-3 hours after the uterus settles. If there is no opportunity to arrange a separate pen, piglets are separated by a special partition. It is noteworthy that in a state of stress the Landrace sow is aggressive and even able to eat its offspring.
The temperature in the room with pigs in the first week should be at least +30 + 32 ° C, then every 3-5 days it is reduced by 2-3 degrees. By the time of weaning, it will be + 18 ° С.
To prevent anemia from three days old, piglets should be given 1 teaspoon of a 0.25% solution of iron sulfate (2.5 g of iron sulfate per 1 liter of boiled water).
In the first month of life, the main food for piglets is mother's milk. However, regardless of the sow's milk production, piglets need additional nutrients.
Starting from 4-5 days of life, piglets should be watered with clean, fresh water. Containers with mineral top dressing (charcoal, chalk, red clay, burnt bones) are placed in the food compartment.
Cow's milk is administered from 5-7 days of age 4 times a day for 10-15 g. Before feeding it must be warmed up to a temperature of 37 ° C. At first it is given fresh, and then in the form of acidophilic yogurt.
To improve the development of the gastrointestinal tract from the tenth day, the piglets are given toasted grain of oats, barley, and peas. The grain should not be burnt. Toasting destroys microbes and mold in the grain, stimulates an increase in the secretion of gastric juice, increases the digestibility of protein and starch, and also improves its taste.
Another useful property of this grain is that it reduces gum itching when teething at a weekly age.
After the introduction of grain, feed should be added to the feeders. You can give small portions of cereal with milk or skim milk.
Of succulent feeds, potatoes are considered the best, from which mashed potatoes are made in milk with the addition of dried nettles, finely chopped carrots or hay dust.
Root crops and gourds are grated and given raw.
In the summer, piglets that have reached the age of one month are allowed to eat green grass rich in vitamins. First, it is passed through a meat grinder, then it can be added in finely chopped form to other feeds.
In winter, to supplement the diet with vitamins, you can give carrots, sprouted grains. Fish oil, as a source of vitamins A and D, gives 6-8 ml along with cow's milk. It is useful to feed Landrace piglets with various vitamin complexes. They increase resistance to infectious diseases, prevent the appearance of rickets, stimulate metabolism and contribute to the overall strengthening of the body.
Weaning of piglets occurs at the age of 28-45 days. Sows should be reduced gradually with breast milk.
Feeding after weaning should occur 4 times a day with the same feed in order to avoid a sharp transition. Further, animal feed is introduced into the diet of young animals - meat and fish waste, yeast feed, reverse, as well as legumes, oilcake and meal. This will contribute to the development of all internal organs, and help the enhanced growth of muscle and bone tissue.
Common Landrace diseases
Most often, Landrace pigs are affected by such diseases:
- white muscle disease;
- erysipelas;
- plague;
- dysentery;
- finnosis (cysticercosis);
- ascariasis;
- scabies;
- ringworm.
Sick animals must be urgently isolated. Treatment is carried out under the strict supervision of a veterinarian.
Disease Prevention, Vaccinations
To prevent the occurrence of possible diseases of Landrace pigs, a whole range of preventive measures should be taken. It includes:
- Disinfection. In a small household, irrigation is the best way. In order to destroy spore-forming microorganisms, a solution of bleach (5% active chlorine) and a 4% solution of formaldehyde are used at a rate of 3 liters per 1 sq. m pigsty. In a medium-sized pig farm, a 5% solution of soda ash, a 3% solution of Phospar or parasoda preparations and a 20% suspension of freshly slaked lime are used for irrigation. The temperature of these solutions should be around 80 ° C. The room must be cleaned and washed, disinfection is carried out 2-4 times lasting 3-5 days.
- Pest control. Various insects (flies, ticks, gadflies, fleas, lice) can be carriers of dangerous diseases. In combination with disinfection, disinsection solutions are used, such as a 5% solution of iodine monochloride with chlorophos or a 1% solution of formaldehyde with chlorophos. In the summer, manure, a garbage container, cesspools with water emulsions of 50% trichlomethaphos-3 concentrate (0.3%), 65% polychlorpinene concentrate (0.5%) with a flow rate of 4 liters per 1 sq. Km should be regularly treated. m pigsty.
- Deratization. Rodents can not only be carriers of viral and bacterial diseases, but also cause material damage to the household. For deratization, high-speed poisons are usually used - zinc phosphide, monofluorine, poisons with anticoagulant action. It is important to keep these drugs away from pigs to avoid poisoning. The most effective are bacterial preparations with specific pathogenicity, for example, bactocumarin.
- Manure disinfection. If stored improperly, natural fertilizer is very dangerous. The provoked diseases are dangerous for both animals and humans. The manure vault must be isolated. The most effective, harmless and budgetary is biothermal composting of manure, in which pork litter is manageable. The disinfection period lasts from 10 to 24 weeks, depending on the initial moisture of the manure.
- Vaccinations. Routine vaccinations are mandatory for Landrace pigs. The acquisition of piglets should occur with an accompanying document - a special veterinary certificate confirming the normal state of health of these animals. Within a month after purchase, the piglet must be isolated from the rest of the pigs. Vaccination is carried out according to the following calendar:
3rd day | 1 month 2 weeks | 1 month 3 weeks | 2 months | 3 months |
Salmonellosis | + | |||
Colibacillosis | + | |||
Leptospirosis | + | + | ||
Erysipelas | + | |||
Plague | + |
A few days after birth, vitamin preparations are also recommended.
In order to prevent the development of pneumonia, a comfortable temperature in the room and the complete absence of drafts should be ensured.
Is it profitable to breed Landrace pigs?
Despite the exactingness of the conditions of detention and selectivity in food, it is economically viable to grow Landrace pigs. Slaughter meat yield is about 60%. Excellent productivity allows you to get a high level of profitability when growing both on an industrial scale and privately.
Reviews
Ivan, 45 years old. A year ago, he acquired four Landrace piglets. I had to get confused with heating and additional lighting, since I did not have such conditions before. I did not eat much food, the only thing was that I gave them vitamin supplements for almost half a year. I did not expect such a rapid weight gain. The meat is of good quality, it was possible to quickly and profitably implement.
Maria Evgenievna, 53 years old. I have been breeding the Landrace breed for more than 6 years. I can say that pigs are very clean, they don’t feel a specific smell, like from other breeds. The character is very playful. The meat is of excellent quality, the fat layer is not more than 3 cm. Of course they need to create comfortable conditions, but these costs quickly pay off.
Alexander, 34 years old. Faced with the fact that due to the light and delicate skin of landrace in regions with hot sunny summers, it is necessary to carefully take pigs out for walking and control the time of their stay in the sun. There have been cases of sunburn. But overall I am pleased with this breed. Piglets gain weight well, rarely get sick.
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How landrace pigs behave in the pigsty and their appearance at seven months can be clearly seen in the following video:
Despite difficulties in breeding, the Landrace breed has become very popular among livestock breeders. Fast weight gain and a large yield of meat products of excellent taste brought this breed to the first place among bacon breeds. This is a universal breed that can be successfully bred both at home and on a farm scale.