Hungarian mangalica: characteristics and description of the breed of pigs, keeping and breeding

Among the original-looking breeds of pigs, the Hungarian mangalitsa stands out. Its unusualness lies in the fact that the animal is covered from head to toe with thick curly hair. The non-standard look attracts breeders, the breed becomes popular and in demand. Although bred for lard, the mangalica is now increasingly used as an unusual decorative pet.

Origin story

The breed appeared in Hungary in the 19th century as a result of crossing local pigs with wild boars and Serbian Shumadi. The pig turned out to be fast-growing, unpretentious in care.It is believed that the Hungarian mangalica is close in its features to the Lincolnshire English. In 1927, Hungary began to improve the breed. Until the middle of the 20th century, it remained one of the most popular, after which the livestock began to decrease everywhere. Since the end of the 20th century, the Mangalitsky breed has been cultivated in Canada, the USA, and many European countries.

Features and characteristics of the mangalica pig

Hungarian Downy is distinguished by its long, curly coat, for which piglets are sometimes called sheep-pigs. When living in a warm pigsty and getting plenty of food, the need for a wool cover disappears, and pigs can go baldIn harsher natural conditions, by winter, the wool cover actively grows and becomes thicker. Through it, black stripes are clearly visible on the skin, reminiscent of wild ancestors.

The main standards of the Hungarian Mangalica breed include:

• straight back line:
• wide chest;
• medium-sized head;
• hooked snout;
• erect ears;
• voluminous tail with a tassel at the base.

Among the main characteristics of the Hungarian mangalica:

• average adult weight 200kg for pigs, 300kg for boars;
• maximum weight of individuals - 500 kg;
• at the age of six months, their weight is 70 kg;
• at the first farrowing, the number of piglets is 4-5, then - about 9;
• Fared sows of the Hungarian mangalica have a pronounced maternal instinct, carefully feed their offspring;
• farrowing goes smoothly;
• meat quality is above average;
• fat 5 to 10 cm thick at one year old;
• high immunity.

Mangalitsa pigs are unpretentious in food, able to find their own food on a free range. In cold weather, piglets lie down between furry females, who warm them with their warmth.

Existing varieties

Purebred Hungarian mangalits have three types of coat color - white, swallow, red. All of them have a grayish skin tone, and the edging of the eyes, mouth, all hooves, nipples, eyebrows, nose edges are black. A spot on the ear measuring about 5 cm is a hallmark of the breed.

There were more species, but gradually some of them were lost, and restoration is almost impossible.

White mangalicas

The main part of the entire population of the breed (about 80%) is the white species of the Hungarian Mangalic. Pigs of medium size, with a strong constitution, strong bones.

White down coat can have gray, reddish, yellow coat. It depends on the type and composition of food and the presence of specific minerals in it.

Red and black mangalicas

Piglets with red hair are larger than white ones. This type of Hungarian Mangalitsa breed quickly gains weight and is more productive. The coat is dark red or brown. Thanks to the curly coat, animals easily tolerate winter temperatures. At first, the coat is straight, later, at the age of several months, the piglets become curly-shaggy. Considered one of the tastiest meats, lard is creamy white and high in omega-3 fatty acids. The black type of mangalica is so rare today that many experts consider it lost.

Swallow

This type of curly pig is obtained by crossing a white species with a disappeared black. The result is a combined color - the coat on the sides and back is black, and the underside (belly) is light (grayish or yellowish).

Looks smaller than white mangalits, although the physique is powerful. The coat of the swallow is hard, coarse, and can protect against severe frosts and injury.

Pros and cons of the breed

According to breeders, the advantages of the breed should include:

• unpretentiousness in content - almost the whole year they can easily be on the pasture, only in winter fluffy piglets are transferred to the premises;
• low cost of feed - free-grazing mangalits are able to find their own food;
• stable immunity - animals rarely get sick, do not require vaccination, use of antibiotics;
• calm disposition - attached to home and owners;
• stress resistance - they do not need to create special conditions;
• quick weight gain - within a year can reach 170 kg;
• high quality meat - environmentally friendly product has a marble structure, and lard is easy to heat.

Hungarian mangalica breed has few shortcomings:

• expensive breeding material - hard to find, some species are on the verge of extinction;
• long puberty - occurs no earlier than the 7th month of life;
• low fertility - no more than 5 piglets are born at the first farrowing;
• the need for large pastures to provide food and maintain sanitary standards.

Feeding and care

It is believed that the Hungarian mangalica belongs to the greasy type. When pigs are free-range, meat is formed with fatty streaks, creating a marbling effect. It is not recommended to keep woolly piglets in stalls throughout the year, because in this case the percentage of fat increases, the marbling of the product disappears.Semi-free grazing is considered the most favorable for the Hungarian Mangalitsa breed. Animals feed on grass, insects, frogs, worms, plant roots. Free access to clean water must be provided. With this method of maintenance, weight grows slowly. To speed up the process, you can additionally feed the pigs with grain feed.

If free grazing of Hungarian mangalits is not possible, it is worth including in their diet:

• juicy green food;
• crushed barley;
• wheat;
• bran;
• corn;
• fish meal.

Juicy foods make up at least 2/3 of the total diet. When fattening on potatoes and grain, the percentage of fat in the resulting product increases significantly, the palatability decreases, and marbling disappears. Corn, pumpkin, weeds, algae, bush branches, root crops are used as vegetable feed.In winter they give hay, acorns, chestnuts.

Observing the diet, it is realistic to achieve the formation of layers and the growth of the live weight of a pig of the Hungarian mangalica breed up to 500 kg.

Frequent diseases

The Hungarian mangalica is in good he alth. This is due to the lifestyle and innate immunity of the animal. The breed is resistant to infectious diseases, which is not a reason to refuse prevention. Veterinarians advise not to violate the vaccination schedule, since there is no guarantee against epidemics, especially for free-range individuals.

For the Hungarian mangalica, as well as for other breeds, treatment measures against skin parasites and helminths are mandatory. They often have helminthic invasions, infection on free pasture occurs through dirty water of reservoirs, fish, household waste.

When feeding spoiled food or eating poisonous plants, gastrointestinal diseases occur - poisoning, gastritis, enteritis, stomach ulcers. Keeping shaggy piglets in rooms with drafts leads to pathologies of the respiratory tract - bronchitis, chronic cough.

When eating large vegetables, fruits, root crops, blockage of the esophagus is possible. Foreign bodies - nails, chips, wire - can get into the gastrointestinal tract of the Hungarian mangalica. It is necessary to carefully monitor the sanitary maintenance of premises and walking areas, the animals themselves, in order to provide assistance in time, if necessary.

Hungarian mangalic breeding

At the age of 1 year, the Hungarian mangalits reach sexual maturity. By this time they weigh about 100 kg. The gestation time is 110-120 days. Newly born piglets have short hair. By the time of farrowing, the room is equipped with a heat lamp to quickly dry them. The sows are kept indoors with the young, fed with mother's milk for up to one and a half months. At the age of 4 days, the fangs are broken off so that they do not injure the uterus during feeding. In 2-3 weeks, hogs intended for growing for meat are castrated. Thanks to the pronounced maternal instinct, the sows of the Hungarian mangalica carefully care for and protect their offspring.

In two weeks, piglets begin to feed bran, barley. In a month they eat rough food. A complete transition to a normal diet occurs at 4 months. Buy young Hungarian mangalica for breeding should be on a farm where you can see the parents of the purchased piglets.

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