Prairie Farmhouse Homestead

Kunekune Pigs

Docile, friendly, intelligent pigs. Females are generally around 100-175lbs & males around 200-300lbs. Their short snouts discourage rooting so they don’t destroy pastures like other breeds. They produce high quality pork, make great pets, and are ideal for smaller farms/homesteads. They are herd animals, it takes a lot to stress them out, but a solitary life can do it.

It’s important to keep your kune used to being brushed and handled in order to make veterinary care easier. Get them used to flopping for belly rubs, touching their face, ears, and feet. Spend time with your pigs between meals to teach them that it’s you they love, not just your snack dispensing hands.

KUNEKUNE PIG CARE

FOOD:
Kunekunes require about 1/4 the amount of grain of standard pigs, but they do still need some in combination with their grazing to make sure their diet is complete.
Treats & scrapes: Stick to fruits and veggies. Avoid too much citrus/tomatoes, stuff from the allum family (celery, garlic, leeks, onions), and avocado skins/pits are toxic, as are the pits of stone fruits (peaches, cherries, etc).
WATER:
Dehydration & over heating are serious issues with pigs! And they don’t always make this easy on us since they love making water dirty and dumping out their water bowls.
Pigs require fresh, clean drinking water every day, multiple times a day. You can offer a variety of clean water options including kiddie pools, tubs, rubber bowls, and food grade barrels fitted with nipple waterers.
SPACE:
These docile pigs are not escape artists as long as their food, water, and shelter needs are being met. These pigs are born to graze and forage and need a quarter acre of pasture per pig or supplemental grass hay.
HOUSING:
They need shelter from extreme weather in order to regulate their body temperatures.
In the winter they need a dry, draft free house with the door facing away from prevailing winds. Provide enough bedding for them to burrow into. Kunes are pretty oblivious to cold temps as long as they can snuggle up together.
In the summer heat can kill pigs in a very short amount of time, so shade and wallows (mud puddles or kiddie pools) are a MUST in the summer. Wallows can be as fancy as plastic kiddie pools or as simple as a shallow hole you dig with a shovel.
HEALTH & WORMING:
To keep your Kune in excellent health, make sure to watch their weight and worm/trim their feet regularly. Obesity and parasites are the two most common medical conditions with kunes. Fortunately both are easy to keep in check! Wormers like ivermectin/safeguard do a fantastic job of killing internal and external parasites. We generally worm our pigs 3 times a year: after first frost, mid spring, and late summer.