Winter care for Kune Kunes
Well, winter has finally hit here in the homeland and with it a whole new set of problems here on the farm. Water buckets must be freed from ice, stalls must be filled with fresh bedding and feed consumption is up a lot. Here on the farm, we pride ourselves on the care that we give our animals but wintertime can be tough on all of them. Luckily we were cautious when we chose our animals and tried to match them to our environment.
Nowhere is this more true than with the humble Kune Kune hog. While their heritage is from the Pacific islands they are especially well suited to the cold climate here in Indiana. Kune Kunes have a thick coat of hair this time of year and as a fat type of hog, they have plenty of lard to help insulate them. While they prefer grass they will eat hay when no grass is available. Due to their size, they eat less feed than most other hogs as well.
Kunes are great mothers and While I wouldn’t recommend it they are capable of rearing their young, with a good nest at some very cold temperatures. So let’s look at some ways that we can help our hogs thrive in the winter.
First of all Kunes like to burrow or nest in deep beds of straw and they will fare much better if they are with several of their friends as they will cuddle up together and conserve warmth. Never leave a hog by itself in very cold weather or it may freeze to death for lack of a snuggle buddy. Secondly, feed a good amount of high-quality feed. We feed a 16% hog grower ration as the extra protein helps generate more heat. Usually, a pound or maybe a little more feed is needed along with good quality hay to provide the needed warmth to combat the cold. Thirdly, Kunes need a draft-free housing set-up, the cold is hard but the wind will kill them quicker than anything. Fourthly, water is important and hard to keep up with as the pans will freeze quickly. In the extreme cold, I like to give them warm water they seem to appreciate it and it will help warm them for the long night ahead. Since all of the hog waterers are frozen I use short 3-4 gallon rubber feed bowls as water pans. These are easy to break the ice out of and will hold enough for several hogs to get a drink. in extreme cold, I water at least 3 times a day as the water that does not get drunk quickly will freeze fast and they will need more opportunities to drink throughout the day. In temps closer to freezing I only water twice a day as the water will freeze slowly enough to give them several hours to drink.
I have kept Kunes at temps as low as -10 f in these conditions with no ill effects. I have only lost three young piglets that wandered out of the nest on a very cold night, around zero. Those sows were bred too late and I knew better at the time but, even then they have fared well and are thriving in the cold weather. So the takeaway here is to breed around the first of the year and your piglets will come around April which will be much more conducive to farrowing.
Overall Kunes are tough animals that handle the heat well and as you can see with a little bit of preparation and care they can handle the cold as well too. Kunes are a delicious way to add a protein source to your small farm and they need very little care throughout most of the year, making them a good choice for the small farm with a little bit of hay acreage.
Good luck with your choice of hog no matter what it is but for my money there is no better pork than the humble Kune Kune.