Feeding wild boars fruit
Visiting the 2,000m2 garden of Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat, Lao Dong reporter could not help but be surprised to see that above the canopy of star apple and jackfruit trees were laden with fruit, while on the ground was a herd of about 200 wild boars running around looking for food.
Mr. Dat quickly took a jackfruit (substandard) and cut it into small pieces to feed the pigs. The pigs quickly ran to where the jackfruit had just been thrown.
Mr. Dat shared that wild boars have the nature of living in the wild, and releasing orchids in the garden will help restore their natural habitat, ensuring healthy growth for the pigs. Therefore, after feeding them in the pen, he will release the pigs into the garden to exercise.
According to Mr. Dat, compared to the method of raising pigs with industrial food or keeping them in cages, raising them semi-wild, letting them roam freely in the garden, and having space to move around, helps pigs grow faster, with firmer, tastier meat.
Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat (Nhon My commune, Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province) earns hundreds of millions of dong each year from raising wild boars in his orchard. Photo: Phuong Anh
In addition, he also uses jackfruit, guava, mango, etc. in his garden to feed the pigs.
“Using the above foods for wild boars helps the pork to have less fat, less odor, and increases the resistance of the animals. Thanks to that, wild boars grow faster and have better meat than those raised with industrial feed. This method also saves input costs, each pig only costs a few thousand VND per day,” said Mr. Dat.
Using fruits (including ripe Thai jackfruit) as food for wild boars helps the pork have less fat, less odor, and increases the resistance of livestock. Photo: Phuong Anh
According to Mr. Dat, raising wild boars in fruit orchards not only contributes to increasing income, but also utilizes by-products from crops as feed for pigs.
The waste from pigs after treatment also becomes useful fertilizer to supplement nutrients for plants. In particular, this model helps to save significantly on investment costs for barns and feed.
Income of nearly half a billion dong per year
Talking to reporters, Mr. Dat said that he graduated from a university in Hau Giang province with a major in Literature. However, having a passion for farming, he took the trouble to learn about livestock farming from farms in the West, gradually accumulating knowledge, experience, and techniques.
In 2016, seeing the potential for wild boar farming, and having a large garden at home, he decided to raise wild boars in a semi-wild model, feeding them food available in the garden and easy to find locally such as potatoes, jackfruit, soybean residue, etc.
Initially, he only raised more than 20 pigs. Thanks to the accumulated experience, he applied it to the breeding process, saw that the pigs developed well and reproduced, so he decided to invest in more breeding pigs. Currently, the total herd is over 200 pigs.
According to Mr. Dat, it takes about 6 months from the time a wild boar is raised until it is sold. Pigs raised for 9-12 months will start to reproduce. Pigs reproduce twice a year, each litter has 6-10 piglets.
Currently, each year he supplies both breeding pigs and wild boar meat to the market in the provinces and cities of the West with a quantity of 600 - 800 pigs, priced from 130,000 - 150,000 VND/kg for meat pigs and 180,000 VND/kg for breeding pigs, helping his family earn about 300 million VND, not including income from the orchard.
“In the West, wild boars have been crossbred a lot, so my goal is to produce the best breeds for sale. Therefore, wild boars must weigh at least 20kg before being sold so that buyers can recognize the quality. A fierce appearance and a lot of hair are the right standards,” said Mr. Dat.
Raising wild boars in an orchard, including a Thai jackfruit garden, helps Mr. Dat, a farmer in Nhon My commune (Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province) have a double source of profit. Photo: Phuong Anh
Mr. Dat shared the secret, to have delicious, firm meat, pigs must be raised semi-wild so they can run around. During the rainy season, pigs must be kept in pens to avoid skin parasites.
“To raise wild boars successfully, they must have their own process and a reasonable diet combining soybean residue, vegetables, tubers, and beer dregs to balance nutrition for the pigs to develop evenly. To prevent wild boars from getting sick, they must be vaccinated when they are born until they grow up,” said Mr. Dat.
Source: https://danviet.vn/ngoi-chat-mit-chin-nuoi-heo-rung-dong-vat-pham-an-nong-dan-soc-trang-nhan-luong-500-trieu-nam-20240619193949434.htm
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