Moura Pigs

Facts about Moura Pigs. The Moura Pig can be noted easily as it is a blue roan in color. You will occasionally find other moura pig in red roan color. What will strike you most about the Moura Pig rare breed is its snout. The snout is somehow curved. It’s slightly thicker than a landrace’s snout. Scientists opine that the long periods spent in the bush before human beings embraced its domestication is what led it into developing the thick snout. It is not new that the Moura Pig uses its snout to dig around and turn things when searching for food. The pigs snout is used for their excellent sense of smell and they have poor eyesight.
The moura pig originated from Canastra, Duroc and Canastrao parts of southern Brazil. You may be asking yourself what makes it important as compared to commercial breeds.

Characteristics of Moura Pigs.

The Moura Pig breed is tough and strong as compared to other breeds. It is noticeable for being stubborn in some ways. Amazingly, these characteristics get a wide liking from scientists who choose to study and use it for breeding purposes. The Moura Pig adapts easily to changes in the environment thus can survive in most parts of the country. Though stubborn, the Moura Pig breed is manageable and survives on little food. This explains why the moura pig is still being raised by small households in the south. For people who are looking to rear disease resistant pigs, then opting for this one is a viable idea. Moura Pigs have a unique genetic make-up as compared to other breeds and makes it viable for study.

Moura Pigs are very intelligent, not like people think, that pigs are dumb animals. A Moura Pig can drink between 10 to 14 gallons (37.8 to 53 liters)of water in a day. Moura Pigs are omnivores like humans, an omnivores, (definition-they eat both other animals and plants).

Moura Pigs unlike is said, happen to be very clean animals. 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. A Moura Pig averages 6 to 10 baby piglets in a litter and will have two to three litters per year. The Moura Pig sows nurse their piglets for about three to five 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.

Reproduction of Moura Pigs

Moura pigs reproduce normally as any other pigs. A female gives birth after 3 months and about 3 weeks. Then why are they not as many as other breeds? It should be understood that Moura Pigs, as any naturalized breed, is highly targeted for its meat. It is a victim of itself in some way. However, their hardy nature is said to be the main reason as seasons with little food see their reproduction rate reduce.

Production of Moura Pig

Moura Pigs are largely reared for their lean meat. If you are a great pork lover, then hooking up with Moura Pigs won’t be regretted. Due to its hardy features, the Moura Pig offers good quality pork. Furthermore, the Moura Pig breed has a thick dermis made of fat. When extracted, such fat gets its way not manufacturing companies to be processed.

The Moura Pig is evident that this is not only a rare breed, but also one under a great threat of extinction. There should be management strategies aimed at saving this breed. Mostly found in Brazil, other countries should join in and rear this important breed for its nice meat.

The saliva of Moura 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 Moura Pigs discharge this steroid and female pigs will go to vast lengths to acquire a smell of the sent.
Moura 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.

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.

Moura Pigs 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 Moura 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 Moura 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.

Moura 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 Moura Pig has an enamel coating that makes the pigs teeth stronger and helps it curb disease. Moura 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 female adult Moura Pig is called a (sow) and the male adult wild pig is called a (boar). The lifespan of a Moura Pig is between 9 and 15 years

Moura 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. Moura Pigs have small lungs compared to their body size.
"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".