Breeding pigs at home is a simple and quite profitable business, however, requiring investment of labor and money. No way without it! However, the result with proper care for the pigs will not take long: tasty lard and meat for the household are guaranteed.
Prerequisites for keeping pigs
What is needed in order to do such an interesting thing as raising pigs at home? Naturally, a suitable room, in which quality a good stable is optimal, where pigs will spend their leisure time perfectly, while effectively gaining live weight. 
The stable should be well lit and ventilated, warm, dry, without drafts. Be sure to periodically disinfect the premises, destroying rodents and insects. The pen must be equipped with a feeding trough, a den (a place where the pigs will rest), a territory for walking (this is an important condition) and a place for swimming. On the floor, straw litter is mandatory, and on each machine, wooden flooring (platforms) must be installed; on them, and not on the cement floor, pigs will rest in the cold winters. There should also be gutters in the crib to remove waste products.
Breed selection: which one?
Starting breeding pigs at home is required with the acquisition of young animals. In this case, it is important for you to decide on the breed of piglets that will meet the planned goals.
Very popular among farmers is a Vietnamese loin-bellied pig, the breeding of which is not particularly difficult and even an inexperienced owner can do. Why exactly this breed has gained great popularity? 
The short-legged cutie with a huge belly almost stretching across the floor has a somewhat mischievous appearance thanks to her small squinted eyes and a thin tail. The muzzle is characterized by a characteristic curve of the nasal bones, which gives the pigs a resemblance to pugs. Already for such external data you can love the Vietnamese breed.
Why are the Vietnamese?
In addition, the breeding of Vietnamese pigs is economically profitable, because it is an omnivorous animal, whose favorite food is grass. That is, in the summer, the pig can even be grazed, feeding it additionally in the morning and evening hours with a mixture of compound feed (or grain) and bran. Approximately 0.7 kg of such a composition is required to be fed per head. Also, a Vietnamese pig will be happy to eat young branches of shrubs, duckweed, pumpkin, fruit trees, squash, food waste. In winter, feeding is required 3 times. During this period, 70% of the food is hay, the cross-section of the stalks of corn and root crops, and 30% is waste grain, acorns and chestnuts.
So where to start?
Where to start raising Vietnamese pigs With the acquisition of young animals. This process should be treated with full responsibility, because this is the key to the success of a future enterprise. 
You cannot take heterosexual individuals from one sow, even if they are very well-fed and healthy. Otherwise, breeding of related species may occur, and this is fraught with the lack of offspring in adult pigs and poor weight gain. You should not buy young animals on farms where there are several sows per boar, because in this case, piglets will certainly be of kinship origin. It is also worth paying increased attention to the appearance of young animals: healthy individuals are active, have good appetite, are characterized by an elastic body, smooth smooth hair and strong, widely spaced limbs.
The advantages of the Vietnamese breed
The Vietnamese are very neat and smart, are characterized by a friendly, cheerful disposition, so domestic breeding of pigs is a pleasure. With proper feeding, the Vietnamese will delight their owners with excellent health, because these pigs are highly immune to various diseases. By the way, some features characteristic of this breed should be taken into account in feeding: up to 24-30 kg of piglets grow, so to speak, “in meat”, that is, muscle tissue grows. Then weight gain occurs due to the growth of fat.
The increase in fatty layers is still affected by the diet; if pigs are fed a large amount of barley, corn and wheat, then the growth of sebaceous masses will increase significantly. The same thing happens if pig breeding does not provide a territory for walking, and the animal is forced to lead a passive lifestyle.
Vietnamese pigs - in every yard!
The slaughter yield of a Vietnamese pig is approximately 80%, which is a high rate. For European breeds, an average of 66% is characteristic. Providing the right breeding conditions for pigs and a well-balanced diet, you can get great meat, characterized by good density and a pleasant delicate taste. And lard, softer in comparison with lard of European pigs, acquires a marble shade and a beautiful meat layer. The costal part is small, resembling rabbit ribs.
The Vietnamese bellied pig, the breeding of which is very popular in rural areas, at the age of 9 months, weighs about 90-110 kg; while consuming about 240-270 kg of grain (or feed). Even high feed prices will ultimately give a low cost of pork compared to its selling price in domestic markets.
The breeding of Vietnamese pigs is popular because of their high adaptability: animals tolerate harsh winters, even if they have a thick litter on the floor, they are not afraid of even 30 degrees of frost. What else is this breed of pig good for? They have a high maternal instinct, are clean, do not have a characteristic smell, do not gnaw the floors of the pigsty, do not dig the ground, always defecate in one place.
Benefits of Home Pig Production
Breeding pigs is a profitable business. Young growth can be realized from 6-7 months (the weight of piglets at this age is 50-70 kg), making a profit on meat, fat, skin. A great idea is a home smokehouse, which will always generate income from the sale of own-smoked pork. The money invested in the Vietnamese breed pays off at the first farrow; subsequent farrowing and remaining sows will be net profit. In the first farrow, the uterus can lead 5-10 pigs, in the next - 10-20 piglets for each farrow. The gestation of a Vietnamese sow lasts 114 days. Not distinguished by high rates in weight gain, Vietnamese pigs take in quantity; starting to breed from 4 months of age, sows give several litters per year. Breeding whiskers while organizing a continuous "conveyor of 3-4 sows will fully provide the farmer and his family with a supply of meat and fat, as well as cash profit.
Newborn offspring care
In the first 2 weeks of life, a newborn piglet must be kept in a warm room (at a temperature of +27 degrees); the pen can be heated using an infrared lamp. On the first or second day of birth, piglets need to be given the necessary vaccinations. After farrowing, babies need to put clean water. 
If the sow does not have enough nipples to feed its numerous offspring, then newborns can be left without the participation of an adult mumps. Since the babies suck their mother every 1.5 hours, they should be milked artificially after the same period of time, using warmed goat or cow milk, in which a little sugar is diluted.It is recommended to add vitamin A every day in a drink (drop by drop), every other day - vitamin D (drop) and the Ferroglyukin preparation (3 drops each). On the 20th day, the interval between feedings should be brought up to 3 hours. Despite the fact that piglets may not be full and often ask for supplements, it is important not to overfeed them, because this can be fraught with intestinal upset. Otherwise, you should use rice broth in milk.
You can’t feed piglets from the nipples for a long time, otherwise, as adults, they will not be able to grab food with their mouths, but will suck out the slurry, leaving the thick in the trough. And this will lead to poor growth and developmental delays.
Breeding pigs: feeding young animals
Starting from the 7th day, piglets can be placed with a feeding trough, which is used as red clay, chalk, roasted barley and wheat grains to a coffee color. 
Why do you need to fry the grain? In this form, it acquires a sweet taste, causing appetite in pigs. Also, such a grain relieves babies' gum itching and teaches them to consume concentrates. As soon as piglets are interested in feeding, they should be taught to eat from a normal trough, reducing the number of nipple feedings. During such a period, liquid oatmeal or barley porridge boiled in milk and diluted with it when feeding is the optimal food. After two weeks, young animals can be given the reverse. Lazy individuals sometimes have to be fed from a teaspoon, like little children, while holding them in their arms. Piglets that have learned to eat from troughs begin to grow right in front of their eyes, justifying the expended efforts of the owners. Young sows are weaned from the sow at the age of 1-1.5 months.
