By Dr. Tony M. Monda
Many Zimbabweans will be familiar with the succulent meat of the Njiri – the prolific, hardy indigenous wild pigs.
Smaller in size than the commercial domesticated pig, the Njiri is distinctly slim legged, round bodied, with a short-dished snout, a sparse stripped wiry coat of a rusty colour and a ridge strong bristle down its back.
The domestic pig – sus scrofa typically has a long head with a movable snout, thick bristle-covered skin and weighs over 54.5kg on the average, to nearly 70-80kg under intensive feeding programmes.
The foundation of the domesticated commercial pig is known to have derived from Asia and India, given the specific designation of Sus indicus.
It was smaller than the later day commercial stock. In Britain and many parts of Europe it was known as the Siamese breed widely employed for crossing with European breeds.
Many have been influenced by the infusion of its eastern blood seen in the smaller and early maturing English breeds such as the Berkshire and the Middle White breeds of Yorkshire descent.
The earliest known remains of domesticated pigs in the northern hemisphere belong to the very early Neolithic period of a small, slender built animal –Sus scrofa palustris.
The remains are found with those of the so-called Celtic short-horned ox – (bos longifrons), and of the peat sheep – (ovis Aries palustris), which are small and ill developed types.
Whilst domesticated pigs in the northern hemisphere are believed to be descendants of the native European wild boar, they have an admixture of the blood of the closely related Asiatic species which is sus vitatus.
All three of these early domestic forms of pig breeds were brought to Europe in an already domesticated form from Asia.
During the 18th and 19th Centuries a considerable number of pigs belonging to a different breed type were introduced into Britain.
These pigs originated at a very early date in China and South Western Asia and were variously known as Siamese, Chinese or Oriental pigs and were given the specific designation of sus indicus.
Although smaller than the native British stock, the most marked characteristics of the sus indicus were its early maturity and tendency to rapid fattening, although less hardy and prolific than the British pig, the oriental breeds were widely employed for crossing with native British stock.
Thus it is certain that all modern commercial pig breeds have been influenced by the infusion of eastern blood, seen in the Berkshire, Middle White, and the bacon breeds such as the Tamworth and Wessex pigs.
English pig breeds were imported into southern Africa by the settlers to introduce new blood and assist to improve the breed types for specialised porker and baconer production. Pig abattoirs were established by the Pioneer Column soon after 1892.
In Zimbabwe today, successful pig breeding is dependent on the farmer’s skills and care; the selection of breeding stock and the objectives the farmer wants to achieve.
There are certain qualities and characteristics of various pig breeds that deserve close attention and sound veterinary advice if one wants to breed pigs professionally.
Constitutional vigour, the ability to make rapid growth and sufficient strength of bone to carry the carcase are other points of obvious importance.
Apart from the breed, the temperament of the breed is equally important. The sow especially should be moderately active and have a mild temperament. Excitable and nervous sows are prone to great losses among their young at farrowing time
Milking is equally important and is often neglected by the new farmer or breeder.
In this connection, the commercial value of litters should be considered with the number of teats on a sow, which usually varies from eight to fourteen teats.
These represent the number of piglets that can be properly nourished by a sow. However; a good profit can be anticipated if the average litter in a herd can be maintained at eight or nine.
The size of a litter is affected by the general physiological constitution of the mother sow during pregnancy which in turn depends on the farmers’ skills, care, housing, hygiene, feed and the maintenance of the breeding stock.
Gilts or yelts, as young female pigs are called, are ordinarily put to the boar for the first time at the age of eight to twelve months, so that the first litter is dropped when the animal is between twelve to sixteen months of age. Boars may be used for breeding from seven to nine months according to their size and development.
From an economic point of view, breeds of pigs are usually classified as bacon, dual purpose or pork breeds.
For bacon/baconer production the pig should weigh 90-92ks live weight, or 65-68ks dressed carcase, with long and deep sides, full ham, thick loin, light shoulder and jowl, with a high proportion of lean meat. The subcutaneous fat should be evenly distributed in a layer no less than 2.5cm thick
Dr. Tony M. Monda is a Veterinary epidemiologist, land management expert and agro-economic writer for Gemnation. Contact him on 0773 805 700 or email on tonym.MONDA@gmail.com or tonymichelmonda93@gmail.com
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