Mong Cai Pig

Facts about Mong Cai pigs. The Mong Cai pigs are domestic pigs found in Vietnam especially in the North part. The Mong Cai Pig are mostly found on the North Mountain provinces. The Mong Cai Pigs are considered to be the local breed in Vietnam.
The Mong Cai Pigs are small to medium in size. Their head is black; the ears are small and upright. The Mong Cai Pig have black patches and white band runs from the shoulder through the abdomen.

Mong Cai pigs adapt well to several conditions. The Mong Cai Pig are poor quality feeders meaning that they can feed on roughages and farm produce. This is why most farmers prefer them over others.

Farmers who have reared them observed that when exposed to ponds, they tend consume a very large amount of duckweed. The plant is known for its high level of protein. The duck wheat plant has been known to be a major contributing factor for their high rate of growth.

Mong Cai Pig are disease resistant thus have high rates of survival. The "gilts" (meaning to sell) are known to reach puberty between 2 to 3 months. At the age of 12 months, they average 130 pounds (60kg) in weight and back fat thickness is around 53 to 59 mm. At this stage, the pigs are ready for killing.

The size of the litter is not very big. It ranges from 10 -12. The mother is responsible for taking care of its piglets until they are weaned. Weaning is natural for the pigs that are free ranging. For the ones that are kept in pigs houses, they are weaned from six to eight weeks. When Piglets are weaned off of their mother’s milk, they are not called piglets but are known as shoats. Piglets at birth weigh about 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms), and on average, will double their weight in one week.

The Mong Cai Pigs are believed to add a pound every day if fed well. This lies with the feed they are fed. For the ones that are specifically fed with fruits, vegetables, acorns and such things, Mong Cai pigs put on weight fast and ready for killing in few months.

Mong cai pigs just like other breeds of pigs do not need much in terms of housing. Their houses should be well maintained to avoid contaminating them with disease. For closed houses, ensure that it is well aired and dusted.

Mong Cai Pigs are very intelligent, not like people think, that pigs are dumb animals. A Mong Cai Pig can drink between 10 to 14 gallons (37.8 to 53 liters)of water in a day. Mong Cai Pigs are omnivores like humans, an omnivores, (definition-they eat both other animals and plants). The Mong Cai Pig snout is its most important tool for finding food. The Mong Cai Pigs snout is used for their excellent sense of smell and they have poor eyesight.

Unnecessary dirt build ups threatens the live of the Mong Cai Pigs because they can easily catch lung diseases. It is necessary to roof the houses though the Mong Cai Pigs love spending most of their time in open places. This prevents them from direct sun and winter which again may not be very good for them.

Mong cai pigs beddings should be kept dry. In places that experience heavy rains, ensure that the rain water is directed through a secure pipe that does not pass near their houses. This will give them comfort as they rest.

Their meat is popular and consumed all over the world. People claims that Mong Cai pigs have sweet meat though does not produce much because they are medium sized. But there are other farmers who are cross breeding them to get much larger pigs.

According to some researchers crossed breeds though slightly larger cannot be compared with the natives. They tend to attract diseases and their meat is not as sweet as for the natives.

Mong Cai Pigs do not sweat a lot, that's why they cover themselves in the mud to keep their bodies cool. The expression "sweating like a pig" comes from a reference to pig iron, which comes form iron smelting.

The saliva of Mong Cai Pigs contains pheromones-( A chemical substance used to attract a mate) similar to that of other pig breeds that communicate their sexual wants. The male Mong Cai Pigs discharge this steroid and female pigs will go to vast lengths to acquire a smell of the sent.
Mong Cai Pigs are raised for there meat such as ham, sausage, bacon and pork chops. Pigs can make great pets. "A wild male pig is called a boar"- meaning uncastrated male pig, that lives in the wild and can be hunted. "Feral pig or hog is defined as a wild boar" can be a very big danger where humans habitat.

Mong Cai Pigs have small lungs compared to their body size.

The term Swine: is any variety of omnivorous, even-toed ungulates of the family Suidae, this includes hogs, boars and pigs having a short neck, thick skin a movable snout and a stout body.

Mong Cai Pigs unlike is said, happen to be very clean animals. Mong Cai Pigs make sure their bathroom area is far away from where they eat, lie down and rest, even piglets (baby pigs) will find a place to go to the bathroom, far away from their nest.

Mong Cai pigss Feet

The four feet and four toes of the pig are called "trotters" that humans eat as a delicacy called pigs feet or pigs knuckles. A Mong Cai Pigs foot has four toes that are pointed downwards when the pig walks, it walks on the tips of its toes, rather than its whole foot and only uses two of the toes in the middle and the outside toes for balance. The Mong Cai Pig has tougher feet at the ends that are hooves. The two toes in the middle of the foot are slightly webbed, this helps the pigs balance for walking.

Mong Cai Pigs have 44 teeth when full grown, when they are baby pigs (piglets) the have 28 teeth which will fall out when they are 12 months old. Just like human teeth, the Mong Cai Pig has an enamel coating that makes the pigs teeth stronger and helps it curb disease. Mong Cai Pigs chew their food because pigs have a digestive system similar to a human digestive system and cannot digest food that is not chewed.

A pig is the last of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The pig represents, happiness, honesty, fortune and virility in China. A female adult Mong Cai Pig is called a (sow) and the male adult wild pig is called a (boar). The lifespan of a Mong Cai Pig is between 9 and 15 years.
"Scientific name for Pig Sus scrofa", the wild swine (Boar) from the old world with a narrow body and prominent tusks is from where most domestic swine come from. The "fear of pigs Swinophobia".