Kunekune

The Kunekune is a domestic pig breed that traces back to New Zealand. Its name comes from Maori and translates loosely as fat and round, a fair description of the breed's short, barrel-shaped build. Adult Kunekune reach a medium size for a pig, well short of the commercial breeds farmed for pork and bacon, and their placid nature has made them popular with smallholders and pet keepers across South Africa and beyond.

One of the breed's calling cards is the pair of tassels, known as piri piri, that dangle from the lower jaw of many individuals. Not every Kunekune grows them, and they serve no real purpose, but they remain one of the easiest ways to spot the breed. The body sits low and compact on short legs, the snout is dished or slightly upturned, and the coat can run from smooth and straight to properly curly.

Grazing is what the Kunekune does best. The upturned snout and grazing habit mean it takes most of its food off the veld rather than rooting up the ground, which makes it far kinder on pasture than most pig breeds. Kunekune pigs are sociable by nature, bonding readily with their owners and with each other, and they tend to stay calm and easy around the people who handle them.

Who it suits

The Kunekune suits a keeper who has grazing space, whether a large garden, smallholding or farm camp, and wants a calm, easy-going pig rather than a high-output meat breed. A lifespan of 15 to 20 years is a serious undertaking, closer to owning a dog than raising livestock for a season or two. Anyone who can put up secure fencing, provide shelter, commit to daily care, and keep at least one companion pig will get a great deal out of the breed. It suits an outdoor life on the highveld, lowveld or coastal regions alike, but it is not the breed for someone expecting an indoor pet or a low-maintenance animal, since pigs need space, routine and regular veterinary attention over a long life.

The Kunekune's story belongs to New Zealand, where the breed has been present for generations. Maori communities kept it as a small, easily managed pig that could live close to settlements, feeding mostly on pasture and household scraps. Exactly which pig populations contributed to its early ancestry is not fully documented, and the theories still get debated among breeders and historians today.

By the second half of the twentieth century, the Kunekune had become scarce. Numbers dropped to a low point during the 1970s, and the breed came close to disappearing altogether as a distinct type.

In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, a small group of conservation-minded breeders in New Zealand gathered the animals that remained and set out on a deliberate recovery programme. Working from a very narrow founding population, they bred carefully to hold on to the breed's defining traits, including the tassels and the placid temperament. That effort is the only reason the Kunekune exists today.

From the 1990s the breed began travelling beyond New Zealand, reaching the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and, in time, South Africa and other countries. Breed societies were set up in several of these countries to record pedigrees and safeguard the bloodlines that grew out of that original small founding group.

The Kunekune has a compact, barrel-shaped body set on short legs, giving it a low, rounded outline that is hard to mistake for any other breed. The head is fairly short, with a snout that is often dished or slightly upturned, a shape tied to its grazing habit. Many individuals carry tassels, the pair of fleshy wattles hanging from the lower jaw, though tasselled and tassel-free pigs both turn up within the breed.

Coat and colours

The Kunekune shows a wide spread of coat colours and patterns. Solid black, ginger, cream, brown and gold all turn up, along with spotted, patched and multi-coloured animals. Coat texture varies too, from short and flat to long and curly, and the longer-coated pigs grow a noticeably shaggy coat over a highveld winter. Skin colour generally follows the coat. Because the breed came through such a small founding population, colour and pattern are recorded by breed societies alongside pedigree rather than being pinned to one accepted look.

The Kunekune has a name as one of the gentlest pig breeds going. It tends to be calm, friendly and happy in the company of people, and plenty of individuals actively seek out a scratch and enjoy the attention. This easy nature is a large part of why the breed is kept as a companion animal as much as a smallholding one.

With family and familiar handlers, the Kunekune is usually relaxed and simple to manage. It is not a heavy rooter compared with most pigs, so it does far less damage to a camp, though it will still graze and nose around the pasture. Around strangers, most Kunekune pigs are curious rather than nervous or aggressive, and they settle quickly once they know a person.

They are social animals and do best with at least one other pig for company. Left on their own they can grow bored or lonely. Around other pets they are generally placid, but introductions should be supervised, and any animal a pig does not know should be treated with caution. Even a calm pig can turn pushy around food, so handlers should keep to a set feeding routine to stop the pig from crowding.

Grooming

• Check the skin regularly for dryness, sunburn and parasites; pale or thin-coated pigs sunburn easily and need shade
• Trim hooves as needed, since overgrown feet lead to lameness
• Brush longer-coated pigs to remove loose hair, especially when the winter coat sheds
• Provide a wallow or mud patch in warm weather so the pig can cool off and protect its skin

Exercise

• Give access to a grazing camp for daily movement and grazing
• Allow room to walk, graze and forage rather than shutting the pig in a small pen
• Avoid overfeeding paired with too little movement, which leads to obesity in this breed

Environment

Kunekune pigs live outdoors on pasture, behind secure, low fencing that a determined pig cannot push through or root under. They need a dry, draught-free shelter with bedding to sleep in and to escape rain, sun and cold, whether that is a highveld frost or a coastal downpour. Because they are highly social, keep at least one other pig alongside them. Provide constant access to clean water and a shaded wallow for hot days.

The Kunekune is built to live mostly off the veld. Good grazing supplies much of an adult's diet through the growing season, topped up with a measured ration of a suitable pig feed to cover what grass alone cannot. How much supplementary feed is needed depends on grazing quality, the season, the pig's age and its body condition. Because the breed puts on weight so readily, portions should be measured out rather than left to free feeding.

Treats and supplements

Vegetables and fruit make good treats in small amounts, kept well within the daily intake so they do not tip the pig into weight gain. On poorer grazing or through winter, a vet or an experienced breeder can advise on whether extra minerals are needed. Introduce any change of feed gradually to avoid digestive upset.

The Kunekune is generally a hardy breed and one of the longer-lived pigs, commonly reaching 15 to 20 years under good care. Most health problems trace back to management rather than the breed itself, and obesity is the most common issue that could have been avoided. Because today's population descends from such a small founding group, breeders keep a close eye on bloodlines to hold genetic diversity as wide as possible.

Preventive care

• Keep to a worming and vaccination schedule agreed with a vet
• Trim hooves before they overgrow
• Maintain a healthy weight through measured feeding and grazing
• Provide shade, shelter and a wallow to protect the skin
• Check the pig daily for changes in appetite, movement and behaviour

Kunekune pigs reach breeding maturity well before they reach full size. Sows can become fertile from around six to twelve months old, though most breeders wait until a sow is properly grown before mating her. Gestation runs close to the standard pig length of about 115 days, often remembered as three months, three weeks and three days. Litters are modest next to commercial breeds, and Kunekune sows are generally good mothers who stay calm around their piglets and tolerate handling well.

Piglets are weaned after several weeks and grow steadily on milk, grazing and a starter ration. Because the breed came through such a small founding population, responsible breeders work from registry pedigrees to avoid close inbreeding and to keep separate bloodlines going. Breeding stock should be healthy, good-natured, and registered wherever possible so the line can be traced.