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Author Topic: kune kune?  (Read 11162 times)

thenovice

  • Joined Oct 2011
kune kune?
« on: November 30, 2011, 08:45:16 pm »
Hi all, ive been looking at kune kune pigs because of their friendly nature and handy size. Being a smallholder these things are important, especially as i have a couple of little rascals, but at the end of the day its about good, well reared food for my family. So, are they tasty to eat, and straight forward to look after? I know they wont turn my grazing into the somme like my saddleback/gos gilts. (i hope) Thanks people

windymiller

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2011, 08:54:15 pm »
i'm sure i'll get shot down for this but if your after a meat pig, you'd be better off going for a gloucester, oxford, berkshire or other traditional breed, they may be bigger than kunes but generally theyre softies and it all depends on how you treat them, i seen some kunes with attitude to. i wouldn't want to eat kunes.

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2011, 11:08:48 pm »
i wouldn't want to eat kunes.
How can you say that when you haven't ? Don't knock 'em til you've tried them Windymiller  :thumbsup:
Obviously, I have to disagree  ;)
Okay, the stats on my Kune for pork experiences so far,
                             Kune Kune               Berkshire (for comparison) Both were around 10 months at slaughter)
Cost to feed             67.50                     187.50  (you've obviously got to add in fruit & veg & stuff like hay etc)
Deadweight (Kg)         38                          58
Amount of pork(Kg)    33                          42

That's the numbers (which really can't be argued - they're cheaper to keep & rear  ;))
As to the taste & flavour - I have no Kune Kune pork left in my freezer  :o  :yum:
Once folk try it, they come back and ask for it over anything else I have (unless they want bacon cos I do have to admit that they're just not really big enough for that) It is wonderfull pork.
They might dig - some of them can be quite good at it when they are young  ::) But generally it's only if there is very little grass and being short nosed they don't make craters the way Tamworths do  :thumbsup:
Avoid castrated males if you're wanting to eat them - castration can stunt their growth - so gilts or full males for the freezer, but not mixed sex groups as they become sexually active as early as 4 months.
Don't overfeed them (soooo common with KK's) if they have access to grass/hay/hayledge then 1lb of pig nuts (or 2 if it's really cold) per day is ample to rear them - any more than this and they will just get fat. But you can give them as much fruit & veg as you can get your hands on and as much space for grazing as you have available.
All of mine have been great to work with - it's all in how they are treated. Generally most folk breeding Kunes are breeding for temprament as well as conformation so it would be ususual to have a genetic predisposition to aggression, more likely to be as a result of how they've been handled. If you start them off with a daily belly rub they'll not give you any hassle  ;) :thumbsup:
Good luck with them  :wave:

thenovice

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2011, 11:31:08 pm »
That sounds interesting thanks. I was told they dont eat a standard sow nut as feed, they need more green stuff, is this true?

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2011, 09:20:50 am »
Mine eat sow nuts, meal and fruit and veg :) come to think about it they eat pretty much everything.  Mine have turned the land and it's now like a quagmire (i have very wet land) the meat is awesome and when i got them i was told that the meat would be fatty ..... don't think so :) they are lovely natured and very clever. 

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2011, 09:55:08 am »
hh - do u not get boar taint keeping them to 12-15mths for pork?

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2011, 10:36:00 am »
That sounds interesting thanks. I was told they dont eat a standard sow nut as feed, they need more green stuff, is this true?
They'll be fine with standard sow & weaner or sow nuts - as long as you stick to 1 or 2 lbs a day. Higher protien feed (finisher diets or grain based meals) can make them overfat - as long as you can just feel their ribs with a bit of pressure, they're fine.
Incidentally, for anyone still thinking they are a fatty breed - my KK carcass had LESS fat that that of the Berkshire.
hh - do u not get boar taint keeping them to 12-15mths for pork?
You shouldn't if they're kept in same sex groups and away from gilts/sows. For an entire boar you'd probably find they'll be ready to go before a year BUT I've not raised any boars for meat myself yet  :-\
I get all of mine castrated, so they can run with the herd without 'accidents' (in my case, I'm not worried how long they take to get to weight really, I'd rather have them happilly mixing instead of being on their own) and they've ended up going to new homes as grass management devices instead of to slaughter  ::) :D I'm sure Lynne & Rachel have slaughtered entire boars (from mixed groups) for eating and I'm sure they said the meat was fine  :thumbsup:
HTH
Karen  :wave:

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2011, 11:10:58 am »
ok, didnt realise that. thanx

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2011, 11:45:57 am »
All mine are castrated except my stud boar ofc hehe i've found that it does slow the growing down quite a lot tho.  My stud boar and his brother (now a castrate) are like chalk and cheese :) Chopin, the castrate, is half the size of his brother if not smaller.  The weaners and piglets seem to be growing at the same rate so far but saying that my litter of 7 week old KK are nearly the same size as my litter of 5mth old KKxGOS  :pig:

windymiller

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2011, 08:19:52 pm »
actually i have, we made sausages with one, it was terrible, now it was the first pig we'd had plus we were given it to start off so it had a misc. history. it wasn't good
any way as i said i'd get shot down  ;D
i'm sure theres good and bad in all breeds.
the size of kunes suits many small producers, we're on a farm so a bigger scale so have bigger stock.

i wouldn't want to eat kunes.
How can you say that when you haven't ? Don't knock 'em til you've tried them Windymiller  :thumbsup:
Obviously, I have to disagree  ;)
Okay, the stats on my Kune for pork experiences so far,
                             Kune Kune               Berkshire (for comparison) Both were around 10 months at slaughter)
Cost to feed             67.50                     187.50  (you've obviously got to add in fruit & veg & stuff like hay etc)
Deadweight (Kg)         38                          58
Amount of pork(Kg)    33                          42

That's the numbers (which really can't be argued - they're cheaper to keep & rear  ;))
As to the taste & flavour - I have no Kune Kune pork left in my freezer  :o  :yum:
Once folk try it, they come back and ask for it over anything else I have (unless they want bacon cos I do have to admit that they're just not really big enough for that) It is wonderfull pork.
They might dig - some of them can be quite good at it when they are young  ::) But generally it's only if there is very little grass and being short nosed they don't make craters the way Tamworths do  :thumbsup:
Avoid castrated males if you're wanting to eat them - castration can stunt their growth - so gilts or full males for the freezer, but not mixed sex groups as they become sexually active as early as 4 months.
Don't overfeed them (soooo common with KK's) if they have access to grass/hay/hayledge then 1lb of pig nuts (or 2 if it's really cold) per day is ample to rear them - any more than this and they will just get fat. But you can give them as much fruit & veg as you can get your hands on and as much space for grazing as you have available.
All of mine have been great to work with - it's all in how they are treated. Generally most folk breeding Kunes are breeding for temprament as well as conformation so it would be ususual to have a genetic predisposition to aggression, more likely to be as a result of how they've been handled. If you start them off with a daily belly rub they'll not give you any hassle  ;) :thumbsup:
Good luck with them  :wave:

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2011, 09:08:14 pm »
a pig is a pig  irrespective of the breed they are all there for eating
any pig will root the only way to stop them is ringing there nose then they destroy the ground with there trotters
if you want a laid back pig that is good with children get a British lop  they are endangered as well and don't take ages to Finnish 
it all depends on what you value  pork from a decent sized pig or not very much
now we have had kunes  saddelback tamworths wild boar Hampshire's and British lops the Hampshire is the best tasting one  and no Lillian's cooking has not improved to make it better  with buzz the saddlebag i was fed up coming home to bloody pork of some description  kunes were a waste of time and effort  and wild boar had no rear end on them even when crossed with the Tammie's
Karen's figures are interesting that kunes cost a third of the berkshires to feed yet the berkshires yielded a 20 kilo heavier carcass then lost out on the final pork yield 16 kilos lost as opposed to just 5
at the end of the day the final choice is yours what you want because if it goes tits up it is your fault and nobody else :farmer:

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2011, 11:04:53 pm »
actually i have, we made sausages with one, it was terrible, now it was the first pig we'd had plus we were given it to start off so it had a misc. history. it wasn't good
any way as i said i'd get shot down  ;D
i'm sure theres good and bad in all breeds.
the size of kunes suits many small producers, we're on a farm so a bigger scale so have bigger stock.
Not shooting - just disagreeing, giving both sides of the arguement  :thumbsup:

I like the flavour of Kune pork & think the sausages are devine  :yum: BUT everyone likes different things and rightly so, it would be terrible for all the Berkshires and Large Blacks if everyone had Kunes - the breeds' need their individual champions to help them survive.

If I had to choose only one breed to fill my land with it would be a close toss up between Large Blacks and Kunes - thankfully with 120+ acres it's not a choice I'm going to be forced into anytime soon.
But I do think it's wrong to write Kunes off as small scale, crappy pork pigs - that's definately not what I've found.
Karen  :wave:

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2011, 02:18:09 pm »
maybe we should do a blind folded taste test the next time we meet up (sss show?)
i can bring some tammie....

powispigs

  • Joined Jul 2010
  • Shropshire
    • Powis Pigs
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2011, 04:14:25 pm »
i do agree that the British Lop are gentle and great with children, we have a boar, four sows and various growers.  Also have 3 children who have always been actively involved with the pigs with no problems - taste great too!   :wave:

thenovice

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: kune kune?
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2011, 09:40:10 pm »
im hearing this a lot about the British Lop. I would love to try them, but im damned if i can find any breeders near me. Anyone know any? (kent)

 

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