# Pics of my new Kune Kune pigs So Cute!



## cat1994 (Feb 1, 2013)

So I finally got the money to go out and buy some Kune Kune pigs! I have wanted some since I was in high school so finally getting to see them and buy some for my own was great!! 
So introducing Gala and Fuji (lol I named them after apples) my two fully registered ten month old Kune Kune gilts  















We are planning on taking them back to the guy I bought them from in June to be serviced by one of his Kune Kune boars. We plan on growing out most of the piglets for pork I may sell a few also. Im excited to see how well they do on rotational grazing as they are known as a grazing less rooting hog. I have come to understand that if you have enough grass they can grow off nicely with lil if any grain just veggies, fruits, and grass Im pumped to prove to all the old men around here (they call me a silly girl) that you dont need to raise a hog on concrete and corn to get some nice pork!


----------



## alsea1 (Feb 1, 2013)

Those are hairy lil things. Reminds me of something I would see on the flintstones cartoon


----------



## Royd Wood (Feb 1, 2013)

cat1994 said:
			
		

> Im pumped to prove to all the old men around here (they call me a silly girl) that you dont need to raise a hog on concrete and corn to get some nice pork!


Good on you and I know it will work out for you


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 1, 2013)

*Are Kune Kunes meat pigs? They look tiny like potbellies. 




Are those Large Blacks Royd?*


----------



## Royd Wood (Feb 1, 2013)

WhiteMountainsRanch said:
			
		

> *Are Kune Kunes meat pigs? They look tiny like potbellies.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes mostly with a couple of Tamworths and 1 Hamp
White - all pigs can be meat pigs and I think Kunes get to a reasonable size

Cat - are the trotters like a horses hoof on these guys


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 2, 2013)

Originally Kune Kune pigs were breed for meat. They would live among the peoples houses eating the table scraps so they became very tame and like human company. Due to their short noses they cant plow under all the grass and tend to graze instead which is yet another reason why I really like them. They are a lil on the hairy side but when we butcher them we will just have to skin them. We like to make head cheese but unfortunately these guys dont have much when in comes to a meaty head and neck lol kind of looks like they dont have any neck at all. They are not mule footed they have cloven hooves and very lil dainty feet. They get up to about 200 to 240 lbs.


----------



## bonbean01 (Feb 2, 2013)

They are really cute!  Like their long hair 

You said you were going to have them bred by the breeder's boar...now I'm confused...they are gilts...thought that meant young males???  Oh...I have so much to learn before even considering pigs!

ETA....just looked it up...gilt is a young female pig...yeah...I'm a long way from even thinking about pigs obviously


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 2, 2013)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> They are really cute!  Like their long hair
> 
> You said you were going to have them bred by the breeder's boar...now I'm confused...they are gilts...thought that meant young males???  Oh...I have so much to learn before even considering pigs!
> 
> ETA....just looked it up...gilt is a young female pig...yeah...I'm a long way from even thinking about pigs obviously


 yeah learning pig terminology is probably a good idea I would think


----------



## bonbean01 (Feb 2, 2013)

Yup...I think so too...could order some young females and a few gilts and be waiting for baby piggies


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 2, 2013)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Yup...I think so too...could order some young females and a few gilts and be waiting for baby piggies


Hahaha yeah you would be waiting for a loooooong time lol  You should hang out with me and my two girls for a day Gala and Fuji could definitely teach you a few things


----------



## Cricket (Feb 3, 2013)

They are adorable--LOVE that long hair!  I got Tam/Berk crosses last fall and they did really well with grazing until the ground partially froze, then they found the joy of throwing clods up.  Seems as though pasture pigs are more relaxed and fun.

Don't worry about the ADD/Dyslexia here!  I work on a family farm where everyone but me has it--I'm getting to the point where it really doesn't matter where the letters are in a word.  (And they assure me I'm ADD, just too old to have been diagnosed.  All these years I thought I was multi-tasking and doing poorly at it--who knew!)

Can't wait to see pictures when you have piglets--they must be tiny!

Bonbean--look on CL sometime if you want some confusion on pig terms!  "Healthy pink guilts and bores".


----------



## bonbean01 (Feb 3, 2013)

Yup Cricket...you are so right...gotta love on CL when they are selling a goat and you look at the photo and it is a wool breed sheep


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 3, 2013)

Cricket said:
			
		

> They are adorable--LOVE that long hair!  I got Tam/Berk crosses last fall and they did really well with grazing until the ground partially froze, then they found the joy of throwing clods up.  Seems as though pasture pigs are more relaxed and fun.
> 
> Don't worry about the ADD/Dyslexia here!  I work on a family farm where everyone but me has it--I'm getting to the point where it really doesn't matter where the letters are in a word.  (And they assure me I'm ADD, just too old to have been diagnosed.  All these years I thought I was multi-tasking and doing poorly at it--who knew!)
> 
> ...


I love their long hair too! I think I'll buy a brush for them, they love getting belly rubs so I'm sure they will enjoy a good brushing every now and then. I'm keeping an eye out for any rooting and really they don't seem to unless they are rooting in their straw bedding. Their noses are so short I can't really see them doing much. They are very easy going and very brave they don't seem to be shy around anything. 

I'm pretty fortunate when comes to my ADD and Dyslexia, I have very understanding friends lol I no longer have to take medication for my ADD and as long as I have spell check my Dyslexia isn't  that bad


----------



## stitchcounting (Feb 3, 2013)

Fuzzies !!


----------



## Queen Mum (Feb 3, 2013)

Beautiful pigs.  Just beautiful.


----------



## bonbean01 (Feb 3, 2013)

Cat, one of my sisters has the same thing...spell check is her friend for sure at work!  Before computers and spell check, my other sister and I edited her stuff when going to University and that worked out just fine.

As for the rest of us...her family...we are so used to it that we can read her writing now easily and hardly notice it...so...no worries 

Glad to have you on Backyard Herds!


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 5, 2013)

More pics of my girls Gala and Fuji


----------



## cuteincamo (Feb 7, 2013)

Oh My goodness they are so cute! I may just have to find me a couple!!! SHH don't tell my husband! lol!


----------



## Royd Wood (Feb 7, 2013)

Cat - they are fantastic - thanks for the pics and I couldn't care less about spelling / punc - great to have you here


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Feb 11, 2013)

Those are cool looking pigs! Look forward to hearing how they turn out & what you think of the meat later on down the road. 

Liz


----------



## ksalvagno (Feb 11, 2013)

they really are cute!


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 14, 2013)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Those are cool looking pigs! Look forward to hearing how they turn out & what you think of the meat later on down the road.
> 
> Liz


Yep yep we got some Kune Kune pig bacon from the guy we bought these from and it wasn't as fatty as my dad thought it would be so he was pleased with that I'm just pumped that we have plenty of grass for them so we can cut cost on feed


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Feb 14, 2013)

Good to know you were pleased with the bacon


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 18, 2013)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Good to know you were pleased with the bacon


Yeah Im glad the bacon is good cuz my uncle and dad are all about eating tne piglets so it would be bad if it was no good lol


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Feb 18, 2013)

Yesterday I was reading the latest issue of Countryside (Mar/April 2013) & in there is an article on the KuneKune pigs. (Pronounced Coo-nee, Coo-nee for those of you who don't know. I had no idea!) I discovered to my amazement that these pigs originated in New Zealand which of course is where we are headed once we have finished up everything here in the USA. These pigs have really sparked my curiosity now & we will certainly be looking into them once we get over to NZ. 

How are you finding them for rooting? The article in Countryside said they do not need much grain supplementation but of course compared to a commercial pig nor do many of the heritage breeds so I would be interested to know how much you are feeding yours each day. 

How are they taming down? Nice temperaments?

Liz


----------



## cat1994 (Feb 23, 2013)

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Yesterday I was reading the latest issue of Countryside (Mar/April 2013) & in there is an article on the KuneKune pigs. (Pronounced Coo-nee, Coo-nee for those of you who don't know. I had no idea!) I discovered to my amazement that these pigs originated in New Zealand which of course is where we are headed once we have finished up everything here in the USA. These pigs have really sparked my curiosity now & we will certainly be looking into them once we get over to NZ.
> 
> How are you finding them for rooting? The article in Countryside said they do not need much grain supplementation but of course compared to a commercial pig nor do many of the heritage breeds so I would be interested to know how much you are feeding yours each day.
> 
> ...


Wow hahaha thats so cool that you get the same magazine as I do! lol I was so pumped to see that they had an article all about them. In fact one of the pigs in the pic for the article looks just like my Gala teehee! Yes they are form New Zealand but no one is sure exactly how they got there some believe traders brought them over on their ships. Thats great that you are looking into them when you get to where your going. New Zealand has some great original blood lines and if I understand correctly they are much easier to obtain as they arent as rare as they are in the USA. 

They do root in soft places but nothing like a normal pig. Dad says he had sows that would plow everything under without a care in world, even the driveway! My girls noses are so soft, short, and squishy they dont really push anything about except their straw in their pig house. Having so much ground for them really helps as well. They dont root when they have grass to graze. I dont feed my girls any grain. Grass, hay, and produce I get for free from my local grocery store (they throw away a lot of good veggies!) thats it.

I couldnt help but smile a little when I saw your question about their temperament 
These pigs want to be every bodies buddy. I mean they love you especially if you have some goodies. When you dont have anything for them they are so content to just have a good patting. A scratch on the belly does wonders! I have sat down in the fresh straw of their pig house and they have settled down almost on my lap and napped many times. My dad says for me not to let them jump up on me, cuz they will! Not meaning any harm just jumping up like a disobedient dog would to see if you have anything, its so cute

Thats what really convinced me to get this type of pig. They are so easy going even though I have grown up around pigs all my life I still find the normal intimidating. With these girls its a totally different story. They are just so laid back it rubs off on anyone thats around (except the chickens they still find them terrifying) lol


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Feb 23, 2013)

> They are just so laid back it rubs off on anyone thats around (except the chickens they still find them terrifying) lol


Oh that's funny. Our chickens are quite happy around the Large Blacks - they help to keep all the bugs under control. Sounds like the KuneKunes have a similar temperament to the LB's just smaller. Looking forward to hearing updates from time to time. 

Liz


----------



## cat1994 (Mar 14, 2013)

My girls are growing well! My neighbor has a Pot Bellied Pig boar and wants me to bring one of my gilts over so we can see what the cross piglets will look like. Idk yet weather I will or not, my dad wants me to. He says the neighbor and I would split the piglets and we would just eat them if we can't get rid of them. I moved them from their temporary holding area to some nice pasture. They are sharing it with my two steers and my mini donkey Gus and they all get along surprisingly well lol


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Mar 16, 2013)

Oh my! They are SO stinkin' cute  Thanks for the update. Can you find a KuneKune boar to breed with OR do AI?

Liz


----------



## cat1994 (Mar 16, 2013)

I know right they are growing so well but still just as cute as always and ho so tame and friendly! The man we bought these from in Advance has two pure Kune Kune boars. We are swapping feed (we grow our own grains) for his boars services.


----------

