Cornerstone Acres Farm 

Often I am asked questions about Kunekunes.   Below the info on our pigs I have added a section to answer some of these questions. Topics I've covered so far:

Rachel (Kereopa) X  Axl (Boris) - Expected July 2022

Clementine (Wilson's Gina) X Chunk (Tuahuru)-  Expected October/November 2022

Raven (Rebecca Gina)  X Chunk (Tuahuru)-  Expected August 2022

We started out in 2011 with a pair of potbellies and a pair of York/Hamp cross pigs. We butchered out the larger pigs by about 7 months and kept the PB for breeding. I didn’t like the pushy larger pigs (I have a fairly irrational fear of pigs from an experience about 40 years ago). Hubby and I both disliked the pork on the York crosses. Not so much that it was bad, but it wasn’t any better than store bought and we had done our best to raise them better. Well about a year or so after that we processed our first PB pig and it was some of the best pork we’ve ever had. We liked the how easy they were to handle as well. But as we got into it a bit more, I did some research into slightly larger pigs that were still known for their wonderful delicious (and redder) meats. We went with Mulefoot and Mangalitsa crosses (not huge pigs, but bigger and faster growing than our PB). We slowly phased out our PB and for a few years had the larger crosses. I loved the meat and we sold a lot, but I hated the pigs themselves. They ate pasture and hay great, but tore it up.  They were GREAT mothers and farrowed without issues, even outside in February in Michigan! Heaven forbid though if I needed to do something with piglets. Our set up just wasn’t great for working with the piglets of super protective mothers! And to be honest, our old butts weren’t really set up well for doing that either! So for a few years I drooled and dreamed of getting Kunekunes. They were bigger than our original PB pigs, but smaller like we really wanted. I was blessed to one day be able to barter for a partially registered trio (one sow was registered). I kept that trio for just about 1 year before loading up every other pig on the farm and taking them to the processor! That was in 2017 and 5 years later I'm still in love!  It’s taking a bit longer to get back to where we were with our breeding, but I don’t for one minute regret our choice.

Please note, other than a few bottle babies, we have never owned or raised a "house pig".  We just have no interest in keeping a pig inside.  It is our belief that even pet pigs are happiest outside and I think many pigs would agree.  All of our experience and advice is geared towards outside raising and primarily towards raising for meat purposes. We do feel that a total house pig is kept solely for the enjoyment of the humans and is not in the best interest of the pigs.  

Here is our personal pro/con list for both the “bigger pigs” and the Kunekunes.  This is based on our experience and somewhat on researched info.

Larger "traditional" pigs:

Pros – 

• Grow much faster
• No problems with farrowing
• We could keep all pigs together during farrowing since sows were protective enough to keep all other pigs away during the first few days
• The cuts were closer to “normal” and what people wanted (or more aptly, what they are familiar with).
• Large litter sizes
• The breeds we ended up breeding had great meat

Cons – 

• Aggressive/protective mothers
• Destructive (I once had one tear all the siding off a barn to make a nest!)
• They root/dig holes you could park a VW bug in 
• They could get too big to process easily at home pretty quickly
• The first breeds we tried had white tasteless meat

Kunekunes:

Pros – 

• Their temperaments allow me to work with them and the offspring and have no issues (even the 4 year old sows we purchased, I could never handle an unknown adult full sized breed of sow that weighed 800#!)
• The pork is amazing
• They don’t root (yes, this may not be true for all KK, but at the time of this writing, our group of 12 doesn’t root)
• We can easily graze them with our other stock (we do avoid feeding together for the most part and we separate birthing mothers and newborns for a little bit)
• They are great at turning hay/pasture into pork (although we do supplement with hog feed all year around).
• Easy to process at home, no matter what age. 
• We like lard!

Cons – NOTE: I found the following issues all things I can work with. While the pro list may look small, those things are HUGE and, for us, far outweigh any of the following cons.

• Smaller litter sizes  (Note: this can be dependent on genetics, I have seen litter sizes of 10-12 from other breeders) *updated info:  We have peeled some weight off of our girls and now are finding larger litter sizes with our girls!*
• After years of allowing pigs to farrow together we found that for our KK this didn’t work as well. It wasn’t that anyone attacked or purposely hurt the babies, but all the other pigs did their usual snuggly pig pile with the sow giving birth and piglets were squished and/or unable to find teats. 
• Our current sows also seem to be poorer nest makers than our previous pigs so we have opted to use heat lamps for a few days with litters born in the super cold months. ETA: Our newer sow, Rachel is a terrific nest maker.  We had to bring her sticks and branches to satisfy her nest making needs at farrowing!
• They grow slower than most traditional breeds. 
• While they are bigger than the PB we used to raise.   Taking them to the processor at lower weights than you would a traditional pig may cost you more per pound if you processor has a flat kill or disposal fee. This can bring up your overall per pound pricing on a smaller pig.  

Disclaimers:  

There are plenty of "traditional" large to medium breeds that may work well for you.  Temperament can be a heritable trait, so if it's important, find stock (no matter the breed) that has what you want. 

Rooting can be a learned behavior.  If one roots, it can teach the rest of your herd to do the same.

Yes AND no.

To say a Kunekune pig won't root at all can be very misleading.  There are plenty of purebred Kunekune owners out there that can confirm that.  

Now if you asked me if MY Kunekunes root, I'd be able to say no.   So far the 12 adult/teen pigs I have here on the farm have never rooted our pastures.  They have worked up their designated wallow however.  

Rooting can be a learned behavior.  If one pig in your herd roots it can and will often teach the others the joy of rooting.  

Due to their shorter nose, Kunekunes usually won't root.  If however they do, it is usually very superficial in nature.  Not the deep, park a bus in it digging you will see with other pigs. 

So if your Kunekune is rooting what can you do about it?

Well there could be certain reasons they are doing it and you will need to address those reasons.  

1) Is pasture forage adequate?  Have they over grazed their area?   If so you may need to rotate them more, replant with better/different types of forage or increase their grazing area. 

2) Is there something enticing just below the surface? Grubs? Plant roots?   This is harder to take care of, but it may be necessary to do so if you don't want them to root.  If it's only a smaller area, maybe allowing that area as a sacrifice area would suffice.

3) Are they bored?  They may have enough forage, but perhaps they are alone or bored.  You can add enrichment activities even for pasture pigs.  

4) Are they getting the nutrition they need?  It is usually recommended that pigs are not left to solely survive on pasture alone.  Some kind of supplementation is often required.   You can increase what they are able to get from your pasture but adding a larger variety of healthy plant species for them to graze on.  Clovers, alfalfa, chicory, sun chokes, comfrey, vetch, kale, radish and more can be used for pigs. 

5) They are enjoying it.  Rooting is a NORMAL rooting behavior.  It is not always something that should be stopped.  However many of us got into the breed because of the "non-rooting" aspect. I have pastures that don't need as much "rejuvenating".  I rotational graze multiple species so I prefer a non-rooted pasture.  I don't believe in ringing noses.   Sometimes you just need to let pigs be pigs.  If you have exhausted all the above ideas and really want non-rooting pigs, my only other suggestions are this:  Get rid of the offender(s) or put together a sacrifice area that will allow them to do what comes naturally.

Coo-knee Coo-knee

**still under construction**

To put it simply, all boars take on their father's "name" (bloodline) and all sows take on their mother's "name" (bloodline).   

The first boar/gilt of each bloodline ever registered to a breeder would be given the NUMBER 1, the second ever boar/gilt of a bloodline registered to a breeder would be NUMBER 2 and so on.  This goes for all lines, both boar and sow.  

Let's assume this is the first Ru and first Jenny litter for this breeder. 

So a first litter of piglets born from a Ru boar and a Jenny sow and bred by a breeder who's farm prefix is CSA would be named like so.

CSA Ru 1 (first boar litter notified)   

CSA Ru 2 (second boar litter notified)

CSA Jenny 1 (first gilt/sow litter notified)

CSA Jenny 2 (second gilt/sow litter notified)

And so on.

All pigs also have an "also known as" (AKA) which is basically their call name or barn name.  (Like Sushi, or Glory, or Axl)

Mostly when you see a boar listed he will be listed with his paternal bloodline and then his maternal bloodline.  Following the example above a boar from that litter would be a Ru X Jenny or a Ru (Jenny) boar.   A sow would be described in the opposite manner, Jenny X Ru or Jenny (Ru) sow.  

Below are a couple of links to the breed registry information on the subject. 

AKKPS Bloodlines info

AKPR Bloodlines and naming info

Here is what they work very well for:

• Grazing behind, with or instead of other livestock
• In pasture or in woodlots 
• Family farms
• Lard production
• Chartuerie  (pronounced:   "shaar·koo·tr·ee"  or “shar - koo - tuh - ree”   Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire.)
• Being able to be part of the breed preservation of a very special breed. 
• Home processing

Here is what they will NOT work well for.

• Quick birth to freezer pork 
• Working up raw ground

***still under construction***

I hope to get more in-depth on this subject soon but here is a quick note. 

As of this time,  we have never given vaccinations, iron shots or cut tusks or needle teeth.  

***still under construction***

Both registered stock and unregistered stock can serve a producer well.  We've raised both.  We however made the choice to switch over to using only registered pigs as our breeding stock.   Of course we still offer unregistered stock for sale because your farm mascot or the meat you breed for your freezer doesn't require paperwork.  

Why do I prefer registered stock for our breeding program?  First let me tell you about what it takes to register a Kunekune.  When a litter of piglets is born you must notify the registry of birth date and all pertinent information about the litter (number of piglets, genders, colors, wattles, number of live/dead).  After you decide which one(s) to register you must send in a DNA sample (plucked hairs) to verify both parents.  Since all registered pigs are DNA verified (all the way down the line), you know you are getting a pure Kunekune and also know for sure who the parents are. 

I want to add a few things that I didn't originally cover in this section. 

There are many breeders who feel that selling ANY intact registered pig is very much a disservice to the breed.  I totally understand what is behind this viewpoint.  Selling unregistered pigs often means that a breeder is selling ones that are less than perfect.  To these breeders this lessens the overall integrity of the breed.  It really does make sense and is a very valid argument.  I really want to be a breeder who has the main goal of preserving the breed's integrity.  I am working hard to be that breeder and I will get better at judging conformation as I see, handle and raise more piglets.  However to be totally transparent, one of my larger goals is self sufficiency and helping others build up their own self sufficient lifestyle.  I personally think that the Kunekune breed is an awesome homestead meat hog.  Only offering high cost registered quality stock doesn't allow nearly as many people the opportunity to experience the breed.   I started with my own little trio of 1 unregistered boar, 1 unregistered sow and 1 registered sow.  If I had not had this option, I may never have gotten to "try" these wonderful pigs and decide to go registered.  

So at this time, I still prefer to offer some unregistered stock. This includes boars, sows and gilts.  Our barrows are always unregistered.  If I see any serious defects that should be totally removed from the gene pool they will be retained here for meat or castrated and sold. 

• Available forages in the area to be grazed?
• Time of year? 
• Location? 
• Weather?
• Size of the pigs?
• Are pigs breeding (are there babies, will there be feeder pigs growing out)?
• What do you expect your pigs to get from pasture?
• Do your Kunekunes root?
• What is your manure management protocol?
• Are you utilizing some type of rotational grazing or multi species grazing program?

• Our 1 acre is heavily planted and includes mainly grasses but also contains a good assortment of plants like dandelion, plantain, chicory, kale, sunchokes and even comfrey.  
• For us here in Michigan the heaviest growing time is usually spring (late April and May) and early summer.   So much depends on temperature and rainfall of course.  Most of our pastures have cooler season grasses so if we have a hot and dry summer we have to be cautious to not allow areas to be over grazed. 
• We expect our pigs to get a large portion of their diet from pasture during the warmer seasons. This isn't our only goal of course, as we want to make sure they are provided with exercise, sunshine and enrichment.  If you are supplementing heavily with garden waste (fruits and veggies) or feeding a regular hog diet, how much they need to eat is reduced, but keep in mind the boredom issue and the fact that pigs are ALWAYS hungry. 
• With the pasture we are able to provide, we haven't had rooting issues, but keep in mind if you have a very small, over grazed area you may find even more "damage" can be done by a bored, hungry pig.  A rooting pig, even on a good pasture may tear things up to make areas unfavorable. 
• The pigs that are normally grazing the main 1 acre have an average adult size of 225#, piglets are not factored in.  Above, I say 4 PLUS adult pigs because it is normally about 2-3 adult sows and their unweaned offspring.   Then there are usually a few grow out piglets around as well.  

COI stands for Coefficient of Inbreeding.  It is, in simple terms, a measure of the inbreeding of an animal, how many ancestors they share.  The Kunekune pig registries carry a hypothetical mating feature in which you can calculate the COI of possible offspring.  Some breeders swear by keeping the COI low (under 5%).  That is certainly not a bad thing, but a higher COI is also NOT a bad thing.  A COI of 12-25% can also be perfectly acceptable.  As long as the animal is a good healthy animal with proper breed conformation there isn't any pressing reasons to not purchase or breed that animal with complimenting animals.  

As of right now we do.  We will always offer unregistered barrows.  Currently we offer very few unregistered animals (and very few registered).  There is often big contention between breeders whether this is good or bad.  I agree that maybe when looking at it solely from a breed preservation perspective it is less than ideal.  Perhaps some day I will look at it like that.  Today I don't.  Today I also look at it from a homesteaders perspective. I look at it from the perspective of someone without a ton of investment capital and not sure if this is where I want to invest that capital or not.  When I started, I had one registered sow, an unregistered sow and an unregistered boar.  If I hadn't had the opportunity to obtain this trio I may never have moved to raising registered and higher quality stock.   Everyone starts somewhere and maybe for every 3 people I sell unregistered stock to only one will move to registered stock.  That is one more than there could have been. So for now I will continue to offer unregistered stock.  Now this doesn't mean that everything and anything goes out for sale.  Anything will a visible defect (like hernias) I won't sell.   What I will sell is a nice piglet without wattles, I'll rarely sell an unwattled boar though.   I will sell a nice gilt who might be "missing" a teat (or has an extra), but she better have at least 10.    

Faults I will try and avoid selling:  (**Still under construction**)

• Poor physical conformation involving poor pasterns  (boars and gilts)- a pig who can't move or carry a heavy pregnancy load is a health risk and may cause the pig to suffer and fail to thrive.
• Poor teat lines (sows and to some extent boars) - a boar can very easily pass along a poor teat line.  However when his primary focus will be siring only pigs destined for the freezer, the conformation of the offspring is less important.   For a sow that will be bred, whether that is to produce top notch stock or freezer fodder, she must have a good teat line to bring those piglets from birth to weaning.  
• Hernias - a boar with a hernia is both a long term health issue and a major conformation flaw.  Any pigs with a hernia will be raised here for processing.  

Growth rates and how they correlate to teat selection by the newborn piglets.

 https://www.facebook.com/CornerstoneAcresFarm/posts/3406368359439000

Video playlist that includes videos chronicling the last 6 weeks of pregnancy and the day of farrowing for our sow, Rachel.   https://www.facebook.com/watch/120014624741073/813117482617152

Feel free to ask us any questions you may have!