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July 25, 2010
Imported New Zealand Bloodlines Available Soon!

USA KuneKunes, home to KUNEKUNE PRESERVATION PROJECT, is happy to announce that we will soon be receiving our consignment of purebred Kunekune Pigs directly from New Zealand. We have Sean and Shail Armstrong of Tule Fog Farm to thank for allowing us to partner with them on the project. The process was an involved one and without the determination and tenacity of Sean, this import would never have gotten off of the ground. Sean and Shail are people whose ethics are a high priority and we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them. Through our experience with kunekune imports and the determination and entrepreneurship of Sean and Shail, new bloodlines will soon benefit the Kunekune herd in this country.

Sean and Shail have asked that we make clear their purpose for importing the new Kunekune Pig bloodlines and so we provide the following quote: "We (Sean & Shail) are importing these pigs for farming and will not be selling breeding stock under any circumstances until 2015. Please do not contact us with questions."

USA Kunekunes is in contract with Sean and Shail Armstrong of Tule Fog Farm and, via this contract, we will be obtaining all bloodlines involved in the import. As is our goal at USA Kunekunes, we will be breeding the newly imported pigs and freely selling breeding stock to others for the purposes of preserving and improving the Kunekune Pig herd in North America and beyond (exclusive of Northern California).

Obviously, we are very excited about getting these new pigs into this country and our hope is to obtain even more breeding lines from other parts of the world. Our upcoming trip to the UK should prove to be a productive one as we focus our efforts on obtaining some rare and valuable lines from various breeders in England, Wales, and, possibly, the Netherlands, France, or Germany. While we are visiting England, we hope to learn much from Wendy Scudamore of Barton Hill Kunekunes as she hosts the first ever all Kunekune Pig show in the UK. This is a very special event being that there are no other pigs shows currently representing the Kunekune Pig to such a specified degree in all the world.

If you are interested in the soon to be imported bloodlines to improve the genetic diversity in your breeding program, please don't hesitate to contact us. We will be taking deposits to get onto the waiting list for future litters whose production should begin as soon as early 2011.

Thank you to all who have supported USA Kunekunes and to those who will be working with us to preserve and improve this very unique breed of swine in North America and beyond.

July 23, 2010

Today, my new granddaughter is one month old....she is so precious! Thank you to all who have been so kind to send us "congrats" and for well wishes to our daughter and her husband, Courtney & Giovanni, and to little Aria Giana.

With regard to our Loretta litter, we have some good news and some not-so-good news to report. The good news is that Loretta was NOT bred by her sire, but the bad news is that the sire is not Vardaman as we had hoped. In any event, the breeding was done by our great working boar, NOBLE, who is a brown and white Te Whangi. The presence of color in Kunes can be a difficult one to predict and so we are thrilled with the combination that Noble and Loretta produced for us. We have three solid ginger (red with white underbelly/legs), two ginger/black spotted, and one great looking black and white with semi-lop ears.

Next week this litter will accompany a large group of our pigs to be placed on display for educational purposes at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, California. If you happen to go to the fair, please stop by and say "hi". Have a look at our "News & Events" page for more information. We'd love to see you there!

JUNE 8, 2010
LORETTA'S LITTER/DETERMINING PREGNANCY IN GILTS AND SOWS

Loretta's litter has made it to our place safe and sound. The piglets are super friendly and extremely laid back. I can't believe the color on these guys! After having them home and being able to really study them, I am anxious to get the DNA results from UC Davis to see who the sire turns out to be. As you know, Loretta is almost 3 years old and had never gotten in pig despite repeated successful breeding. For that reason, she was allowed to roam with all of our different boars at different times and so when we had the surprise litter, we had no idea who the sire would be. I am on pins and needles as I have expected that the sire would be our Tonganui boar, Vardaman. Looking at these guys without consideration of color, however, I can see a lot of characteristics that mirror our original imported boar, Thatcher. I should know better than to guess because any time our registered breeders have taken an "educated guess" at a who a sire might be, they have been wrong! Well, once I hear, I will post it here. Of course, we hope the sire is Vardaman as it will be his first litter and our first Tonganui boar piglets, but we'll have to wait and see.

I wanted to mention that we have had our mobile vet, Dr. Ann Ikelman, out to confirm pregnancy in our sows. Many of our buyers and registered breeders contact us regarding the methods that we use to determine if our gilts or sows are bred/in pig. One of the least expensive items that can be purchased for your own breeding program is the Preg-Tone device. There are a couple of different styles, but basically they operate by sound waves bouncing against liquid as in amniotic fluid. The Preg-Tone can be used as early as eighteen days after breeding. Even though your gilt/sow will be cycling again in approximately 21 days, this tool can be used to help you to see the "faint" signs that some of our females exhibit. For those of you who don't know, not all of our gilts/sows are super demonstrative when it comes to indicating that they are in season. Be careful to follow the instructions as we have had a couple of reports of false positives. This can happen if the wand is pointed toward the bladder. It will take some practice, but we have found the Preg-Tone to be very accurate. Once you do the initial test and do not see signs of estrus, check again in a few days/weeks and you will most likely get a very strong positive for better confirmation.

The most reliable method of checking for pregnancy is the Ultra-Sound. While these machines are expensive, they can be a worthwhile investment for the serious breeder. We are fortunate in that our vets have very modern machines and our mobile vet has recently purchased a new machine and taken a users' course given by the manufacturer. I will attach some pictures of our sow, Fancy, with Dr. Ikelman confirming pregnancy by ultrasound. To better assist our vet, we use a "pig clipping stand" purchased through Show Stopper Equipment in Keota, Iowa. You will notice that I have done some "after market" rework on the stand (ha!)...our smaller gilts can go right through the front. The pig clipping stand is made for commercial type pigs and so is sometimes too roomy for holding our small pigs. Even so, this piece of equipment is super helpful whenever we need to restrain a pig for examination, injections, worming, and the like. Sometimes we can just put chow in front of a pig to do some quick work, but once the chow is gone, so is the pig!

May 20, 2010
DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR GILTS.....continued

I just returned from seeing our newest litter up in Paso Robles, California. Talk about a beautiful place!

We have had a look at all of the piglets and now know that there are five boars and one gilt (for sure!) and that they all look fabulous! I am very pleased with the short snouts on them. There are even some extremely short ones. Gorgeous color on all of them and our very first solid reds (gingers).

One thing that really stands out to me with regard to our Loretta and her mothering skills is that she had at least six piglets and was able to do this and keep them safe and thriving while living in an extra large dog kennel. This really speaks to her ability to mother. Because we did not think that Loretta could conceive, we did not provide the proper advice to Sylvia and her staff on housing suitable for farrowing, etc. I had only given her the signs to look for and so little Loretta surprised us all!

My mom and I drove the four plus hours up to the winery to make sure that the housing was now adequate and all the piglets were doing well along with mama, Loretta, of course. We couldn't have been more pleased to see the wonderful pig house that the farm manager and his staff had erected in one day! Heat lamp in place and safety zone complete, we headed home with joy in our hearts for such a gorgeous place, beautiful and healthy piglets, and a sweet and good, good sow. Thank you especially to Sylvia, Sharon, and all of the staff at Sylvester Winery.

May 17, 2010
DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR GILTS

Well, the craziest thing happened today.....About two years ago, Sylvia Filipinni came to our place to look at piglets for her daughter, Ciara. Sylvia and her husband own a winery in a beautiful area of Central California called Paso Robles meaning "pass of the oaks". I'm sure many of you have heard of it. The location is known for it's hills of grapes and many wine tasting rooms along with an abundance of beautiful farms and ranches. While Sylvia and Ciara were here looking at our pigs and bonding with a little black and white gilt that was available, Sylvia kept going back over and "talking" with our darling, little Loretta who was only about 7 months old at the time. Loretta is one of the most outgoing of our pigs and very small and extremely vocal and friendly. Evidently, Sylvia had taken a picture of Loretta which I came to find out later she had kept on her phone's screen saver for the past two years. Sylvia asked me several times if Loretta was for sale and I had to keep reminding her that Loretta was staying put. Finally, Sylvia relented and stated that she would want one of Loretta piglets one day.

Well, a few months ago, after much disappointment, we decided that we'd let Loretta go to Sylvia and her family since Loretta was over two years old and never got "in pig". I had seen Loretta standing for different boars on many occasions seeing successful breeding repeated many times. Sadly, I decided that she was never going to have any beautiful little piglets that resembled her no matter how much we wanted them and so I sent an email to Sylvia asking her if she still had Loretta on her wish list. She was thrilled and soon made the trek from her Los Angles home and on to the winery in Paso with Loretta in an extra large dog crate in the back of an SUV. Loretta is small, but I was very surprised when Slyvia, my sister, and I just lifted her up into the car with no trouble whatsoever. Off they went.

At Easter, Sylvia sent me a beautiful card with pictures of her gilt, Za Za, as she does at every holiday, and also one of Loretta. I have to say that I was a bit worried when I saw how fat Loretta had gotten in such a short time. I know folks love to feed pigs and pigs love to eat, but we try to keep them at a healthy weight and not allow them to get obese. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Sylvia calls and says that Loretta looks "different". I asked her how she looks different and Sylvia asked me if she could be pregnant. I told her "yes, but it's not likely". Sylvia then says she has a "sense about these things" and asked me what to look for...just in case.

This morning I received the call....six gorgeous Loretta babies! We are thrilled beyond measure! I've only seen one picture of them and I am willing to bet my life that at least three of them are sired by our new boar, Vardaman. He is a Tonganui boar and this is our first litter produced by him. Five boars and one gilt would not be the best result under normal circumstances, but since the boar piglets will all be "Tonganui" boars, this is quite a blessing. We are so excited about this new litter and very grateful to Sylvia and her staff.

April 23, 2010

It has been a while since I have written anything for the blog, so I wanted to do something really quickly so folks know we're still here and progressing with our Kunekune Pig operation and with AKBA (American KuneKune Breeders' Association).

American Livestock Magazine is now the official publication of the American KuneKune Breeders' Association giving us special permission to publish a quarterly newsletter with information on the registry/association and to provide a means of affordable advertising for our associates. We plan to provide current info on the Kunekune Pig breed, valuable information on heritage breed swine, the latest info and resources on swine genetics and veterinary care, as well as what's happening at AKBA. Check out the website for American Livestock Magazine and get your subscription now. We will be giving away a free subscription of the magazine at the Earth Day event in Bakersfield, CA at Bakersfield College on Saturday, April 24, 2010 which has been generously offered by ALM.

Recently, we were needing to find a flight for a piglet purchased by our buyer, Laura, who lives near Tucson, AZ. As incredible as it seems, there were no flights that would carry an animal into Tucson or Phoenix from the connecting cities. It seems crazy being that we are located right next door in Southern CA, but I promise you, it's true. After an exhausting search, I recalled that another of our buyers once sent a private plane to pick up their piglet. My husband called his co-worker, Jim Engen, who owns a plane with his brother, John. We were so pleased when his response was "this will be fun!" and agreed to fly our piglet to a smaller airport nearer to Laura's home than Tucson! Well, we want to thank Jim and John from the bottom of our hearts for being so kind and generous with their time and efforts to help us out. The piglet arrived safely and Laura was ecstatic! Jim and John want to be our "official airline" being that the little piglet was so well behaved. We think that they need to have logo on their plane saying "WHEN PIG FLY", ha! Thank you Jim and John.

BTW We want to warn our buyers and AKBA associates that DELTA CARGO should not be trusted with the shipping of your piglets. Yesterday, we had the second incident where Delta "lost" our piglet. We were shipping a piglet from ONT to BWI via ATL. Our poor little barrow ended up in Detroit, Michigan! While losing our shipment was bad enough, the personnel at Delta were completely unsympathetic and felt no urgency to assist us even giving us bad information. After spending the night at DET, the piglet made the trip to BWI unaffected (that's a kune for you!), but this is no way to treat a customer!!!!! Thank you John for your purchase of a USA Kunekune and for your calm during this incredibly unnecessary trauma to our nerves!

January 24, 2010

Well, I'm sure you have all heard by now that Southern California was hit by unusual weather this past week. We have had reports of way above average rainfall, snow in the local hills and mountains, cold wind, flooding, mudslides and even tornadoes. Yes, tornadoes in California! I'm sure that a good deal of you are yawning right now, but consider what I've said in the past about our boring weather of constant sunshine....we are not used to weather!

The good news is that I've gotten to wear a sweater (and not been too hot) and I have had the joy of building a fire in the fireplace, baking a tomato pie and making homemade soup, and have been enjoying evenings watching "All Creatures Great and Small" with a hot cup of cocoa and a peppermint swizzle stick. Now, that is what I call enjoying a So Cal winter! Seriously, we need the water and so we have to look at the bright side. I've been praying for rain and I would say that my prayers have been answered, eh?

Thank you to all of you who thought of us when your own news programs were telling of the crazy flooding near us and for sending your well wishes and prayers for us and our pigs. The pigs were a bit put off by the rain and flooded pens and having to stay in their houses for so many days in a row. It was cold (for us) and we did have to make sure to get some of the houses and huts up off the ground. Jim was my "lifesaver" by building some pallets (in the rain) to make sure everyone was going to "weather the storm" and "be high and dry". Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Yesterday was a new day. After days of dark skies and rain, it was so beautiful to wake up to puffy white clouds and cool, crisp morning air. While driving to the property we call "the farm", I was admiring the snow on the mountains and all of the green fields and pastures when I noticed that a flock of Canadian Geese had decided to take some nourishment in one of the fields. I had my camera so I took a couple of pictures. You will have to try hard to see them in the photo, but they really are there. The hills and clouds in the background looked so pretty with the green field below. Once I got to the farm, I was excited to realize that the rain had produced a green pasture for our pigs to graze....something I had been looking forward to since attending the "Pigs on Pasture" seminar at the University of North Carolina a few summers ago. In Southern California where rain is usually scarce, a pasture can only be maintained with irrigation. We always hope for enough rain to make the pastures green and this year was that year! The pigs looked pretty happy, though muddy, to see the sunshine. While walking the fence line between the pasture and Thatcher's pen, I noticed he was following me and "asking" to be turned out. I couldn't help but take a few pics of him, too, and share them below. Thatcher is one of the original boars that we imported from England in 2005. He is our largest boar weighing in at 230 pounds, is a "brown and white" with both wattles, and has legs like fire hydrants. He is an aggressive breeder, sweet as can be, and very masculine. He is from the "Andrew" boar line which is "Mako Mahia" in New Zealand.

Our hearts go out to Haiti and all of those who are touched by the tragedy there. We pray that the Lord will use this time to bring recovery, restoration, and a blessed future to the people of Haiti. We pray that Haiti will become a country who will love and serves the one and only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ our God.

Thanks, as always, for checking in. Take care and God bless you and yours, Lori

January 8, 2010

Happy New Year and I hope everyone is keeping to their 2010 resolutions. I am 'cause I haven't really made any, ha!

Yesterday, our Fancy girl was very accommodating and starting to show signs of farrowing at about 9 am in the morning (instead of in the middle of the night). As mentioned in the previous blog, when gilts/sows begin to scrape the ground with their front feet, piglets are on their way. She didn't have the first piglet until about 1 pm, but two followed immediately with barely enough time to clean the first one off. I believe that Fancy does not have a very high tolerance for pain and seems to become frightened of her piglets at first. She is one of our sows that farrows (delivers her young) while standing. It appears that she is too uncomfortable when she tries to lay down and so gets right back up and walks around.

Fancy has acted aggressively toward her piglets soon after they are born. There have been times when I have not been present when she farrowed and she has had all of her piglets survive and appear to be thriving. She is the only sow that we have that has ever acted in an aggressive way toward her piglets and it can be extremely stressful to watch. Once I believe that she has delivered all of her piglets and the afterbirth is coming, I wait for her to lay down to nurse the piglets. As she's delivered them, I allowed her to talk to them and then I cleaned them off and removed them from her for safety's sake. Then, I usually place them under the heat lamp and even put them in a laundry basket if they are too interested in finding mom and don't stay put under the lamp. When she seems to settle, I place them near her where she talks to them and they explore her and find a teat or teats. This can be an hour after the first one is born and sometimes longer. With most sows, they are eager to have the piglets nurse and they "tell" them where to go and "yes" you are going the right way or "no" that's not it. With Fancy, if they get near her rear, she will jump up and chase them and bite at them. This all looks very scary. If they get into her face and "complain", she will jump up and do the same thing. I've tried to keep them away from her, but at some point they need to eat. I've discovered, that it is best with her to allow her to be the mom realizing that she is not really hurting them...no one is bleeding or injured. I've discovered that she is a very strong disciplinarian and she has the quietest piglets of all. No one tells this mom what to do!

In the end, Fancy has some of the most gorgeous piglets we've produced at USA KuneKunes. The stress that her farrowing causes in us, however, is reason for consideration. I wonder if we're too involved in the farrowing of our piglets, but then we all know that some of our babies would not have survived had we not be present at the time. It is something to really think about and work through all of the pros and cons and evaluate the individual sows and what is best for them and their offspring. Fancy is a super mom, but it is not very comforting before she "teaches" her piglets what she is expecting of them. Oh, and she is NEVER aggressive toward us in any way which is very typical of the KuneKune Pig breed.

Another thing I meant to mention is that Fancy seems to do much better once ALL of afterbirth is delivered and labor pains seem to subside. She has even delivered some of the afterbirth and two hours later, had another piglet! She is not a happy camper when she is in labor and you can see the look of anticipation when a piglet is going to emerge. I've attached some pix of her while in labor. Notice her ears are facing backward as she knows what's about to happen. She is laying or sitting in the pix, but stands up when the piglet is born. Unfortunately, my camera battery needed charging and that's all the pictures that I got until this morning.

Some of our buyers are now having their first litters. We are so happy for them and for us. Would love to see pictures!

Until next time, Lori

December 17, 2009 New Litters, Hints about Farrowing

I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving as we did. The weather was just right for the "holiday feel" being cold and even rainy. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am really tired of living in So Cal with all of the "great weather", 365 days a year. It's not that I don't appreciate the sunshine....it's just that there is no changing of the season in our area. It is nice to be able to wear a sweater every now and then!

Anyway, we are happy to report that Carrington has farrowed six beautiful piglets sired by Winston on Sunday, December 13, exactly as anticipated. Kunekunes are very predictable when it comes to farrowing dates, but unusual in that their gestation is 116 days rather than 114 as with other breeds of swine. I want to mention here a couple of things that have come up since some of our buyers are now getting piglets on the ground.

One thing to note is that not all sows lay down to farrow piglets. Our sows Carrington and Fancy stand to deliver piglets. They will lay down intermittently and then stand when the piglet is actually emerging. Once the piglet drops to the ground, the sow will spin around and "talk" to the piglet. It is a good idea to remove the piglet from the area after cleaning it off and place it under the heat lamp for safety as there will usually be another piglet following in the next few minutes. The sow will "paw" or scrape the ground, nesting materials, etc. when farrowing is imminent. She does this in between piglets, but it is also the sure sign that she is going to be giving birth soon. Look for pawing or scraping behavior, (not moving nesting materials by mouth) to determine if your gilt/sow is ready to farrow in the next few hours or even sooner. Also, check her underline for evidence of milk and a softening of the vulva. When you see these things, make sure you're ready 'cause those babies are on their way!

Once piglets are born, they will start to try and nurse. This can be unnerving in that they sometimes take their time finding a teat. The urge is to help them, but do not put them to a teat. This time searching imprints them with the mother and they are learning their environment with regard to her body and which end is which. With most breeds of swine, the piglets will "choose" a teat and stick with it for the entire time they are nursing. This is not true with the Kunekune Pig breed. Kune piglets will often "share" teats and also use two or even three teats with one being the primary teat that they have claimed. Sometimes, they will use two teats that are not close together and spend their time running from one to the other. This is normal for Kunes so do not be alarmed or let folks tell you otherwise. By the way, it is a good idea to tear the umbilical cords at this time, too as they can get all tangled up when the piglets are weaving up and down and back and forth getting their bearings. Tear it with your fingernails which is fairly easy to do at this stage (I use latex gloves). Once the cord is dry, it can be very tough and will need to be cut. DO NOT cut the umbilical cord prior to it drying out completely. Be sure to tear is so that it is not cleanly severed (as with cutting) leaving the opportunity for bleeding or infection. Leave a length of the cord that almost touches the ground when the piglet is standing on all fours, about two inches.

The last thing to mention here is to always provide a safety zone for your piglets. Mother pigs are very careful not to step or lay on their piglets, but if there is too much bedding creating a berm, the piglets can roll underneath her. Some of the more energetic or adventurous piglets can be rather impatient and move from side to side or underneath mom and get stepped on or laid upon. The safety zone can be created by placing a rail around the walls of her farrowing area about six or eight inches from the floor and eight to twelve inches out. This will create a "pocket" for the piglets to get into should they be behind her when she goes to lay down up against the wall. We sometimes use a panel that we've fashioned for the purpose placed so that it cuts off a corner in our sow stall. The piglets can get underneath a rail that mom cannot get under. Make sure it is not placed too high because we just had a small sow get into and become trapped in the safety zone with the piglets and heat lamp. Not good. We place a heat lamp in the safety zone which the piglets soon learn is a good place to sleep and will always retreat to should mom become agitated or should any other trouble arise becoming a true safety zone in the minds of the new born babies. It works wonderfully.

Our new little sow, Silhouette, surprised us with a litter of two. I was wondering why she didn't seem to cycle and wasn't at all interested in the boys and then realized on December 15 that she was about to farrow. Hence, the tips above! She had two very beautiful solid brown/black piglets, a color new to us. It has been said to me (and I agree) that the solid piglets are very appealing being without spots so you can "see" them. While I love color, I also love the solid cream, black and brown! Oh, and Silhouette is one of our fabulous pigs that came from Cyndi Berry of Kunekune Preserve USA whose pigs are out of the foundation stock imported directly from New Zealand. We have her pedigree, but are still researching bloodlines as the records are kept by common name and not boar/sow line over there.

Well, looking forward to the Christmas holiday. Hope you are, too. The Lord has certainly blessed us and you through this wonderful, little pig breed. Don't you think so, too?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Lori

November 20, 2009

We have been producing purebred KuneKune Pigs since our first litter in June of 2006 and we love to hear from our buyers about how they have discovered the superior temperament of the breed as well as the other beautiful characteristics of their own kunekunes. Recently, we received an update from Melody in PA on her little barrow, Tiki. She reports that he weighs in at 148 pounds at almost three years of age. He is kept in great condition as is apparent in the photos attached. Thank you, Melody, for sharing with all of us!

In addition, new KuneKune enthusiasts, Brian and Alana Schoffstall also of PA, have shared photos of their new piglets and intent to become committed breeders registering their prefix with the American KuneKune Breeders' Association. They purchased a gorgeous cream colored boar from our buyers in Spring, Texas at TGR Exotics and a sweet, brown and white gilt from breeders, Gary and Shelly Farris of Rocky Mountain Kunekunes. We have really enjoyed getting to know this wonderful couple. Photos below.

One of our very first buyers (another family from PA!) has a breeding pair and are on pins and needles awaiting their first litter of purebred piglets. Dave and Jodi Cronauer have their hands full with three boys, being owners of their own chiropractic offices, raising Buffalo, and now Kunekune Pigs. Wow, and I think I'm busy!

We plan to be out of the office beginning tomorrow, November 21 through Thanksgiving weekend. The best news we could ever hear is that we are going to have a grandchild. Our daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first child to arrive in late June of 2010. We will be spending the holiday with them up in Central California. We praise the Lord for His blessing on us and our children. We do not deserve such love!

Happy Thanksgiving to all and Give Thanks to God for His Son, Jesus Christ!
Sincerely, Lori Enright

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