Microlivestock Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future (1991) / Chapter Skim
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4 Micropigs
4 Micropigs
Pages 63-72
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From page 63... ...
Pigs adapt to a wide variety of management conditions, from scavenging to total confinement; some are even kept indoors.2 They gain weight quickly, mature rapidly, and help complement grazing livestock because they relish many otherwise unused wastes from kitchens, farms, and food industries, as well as other foods such as small roots, leafy trash, or bitter fruits that are not consumed by humans or ruminants. ' We use the word in its generic sense to represent all extremely small types.
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From page 64... ...
However, in most countries commercial pig production has focused on a mere handful of breeds, and much genetic diversity is unstudied or even threatened with extinction. Some microbreeds have already been lost, and others are dwindling in numbers.3 Many European breeds have been completely lost.
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From page 65... ...
Contrary to common belief, pigs are clean and tidy if provided adequate space. Larger breeds, however, wallow in mud to stay cool in hot weather and require a wallow or shade (except for some Latin American types, which seem less susceptible to heat)
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From page 67... ...
Pig skin, once decreased, is easily tanned into leathers that are popular for garments, shoes, and other products demanding soft, light, and flexible leathers. Pig manure is a good fertilizer.
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From page 68... ...
Governments, research stations, universities, and individuals should make special efforts to preserve types that have outstanding or unusual qualities. When it is necessary to eradicate feral pig populations (as is common on Pacific islands)
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From page 69... ...
Despite this protection and the fact that it is listed among the 12 most endangered species on earth, it still falls victim to hunters and to habitat destruction-especially illegal grass fires. If saved from extinction, this minute species-barely reaching a person's calf might become useful throughout the world.
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From page 70... ...
Small black Chinese pigs were crossed with European types in the early 1800s and produced the foundation stock of many modern Western breeds. Criollo There are a number of "native" breeds throughout Latin America commonly known as "criollo." Many are quite small.
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From page 71... ...
Yucatan Miniature Swine A subtype of the black hairless from Mexico's hot, arid Yucatan Peninsula, it was imported into the United States in 1960. It has been downsized for laboratory use in the United States and is known as the Yucatan Micropig~.
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From page 72... ...
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