#3337
Kunekune Gilt - Double Wattle
Tutaki X Jenny
DOB: 4/02/2022
$400 if registered/$200 if not reg.
Kunekune - Domestic Hog Breed
♦ The kunekune /ku-ne-ku-ne/ is a small breed of domestic pig from New Zealand. Kunekune are hairy with a rotund build, and may bear wattles (or piri piri) hanging from their lower jaws. Their colour ranges from black and white, to ginger, cream, gold-tip, black, brown and tricoloured. They have a docile, friendly nature, and are now often kept as pets.
♦ The breed is believed to have descended from an Asian domestic breed introduced to New Zealand in the early 19th century by whalers or traders. They differ markedly from the feral pig of European origin known in New Zealand as a "Captain Cooker". The native Maori people of New Zealand adopted kunekune: the word kunekune means "fat and round" in the Maori language.
♦ By the 1980s, only an estimated 50 purebred kunekune remained. Michael Willis and John Simister, wildlife-park owners, started a breeding recovery program, which in turn encouraged other recovery efforts. As of 2010, the breed no longer faces extinction, with breed societies in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In 1993, two were imported into the United States from the UK.
♦ The kunekune is covered in hair which can be long or short, and straight or curly. Hair colours include black, brown, ginger, gold, cream, and spotted combinations. It has a medium to short snout, that is black and either semilopped or pricked ears. It has a short, round body with short legs and may have two tassels (called piri piri) under its chin. The kunekune stands about 60 cm (24 in) tall. An adult kunekune can weigh between 130 and 400 lbs.
♦ Kunekune are very easy to manage, as they have the ability to live on little more than grass. They are the only true grazing pig, and can be maintained with grass alone without supplementary feeding. An acre of grass can sustain as many as 5 kunekune.
