Lexicon of common truths what a pig is, what it means and how to spell it correctly. The pig is the most precocious and "criminal" animal

This animal, like no other, is perhaps surrounded by numerous and undeserved myths. There are many proverbs and sayings about the pig, usually offensive. They say: "dirty like a pig", "put a pig", "eats like a pig", "act like a pig". If you just call a person a pig, then he will hardly be happy.

So it seems that this animal is disgusting in all manifestations of its character and disposition. But such an attitude towards pigs was far from always. First of all, it is worth mentioning that man domesticated this animal second, after the dog.

In fact, pigs not only feed people, they even save our lives. And prejudices about these mammals most often turn out to be groundless. And scientists even brought out the appearance of miniature pigs (mini-piggs), which turn out to be much cleaner and smarter than other domestic animals.

Pigs are stupid. It seems logical that a smart creature wouldn't mess around in mud and its own feces. But pigs are much smarter than we think. In their intelligence, these animals are second only to humans, dolphins and monkeys. Studies have shown that pigs are much smarter than dogs, and video games with a joystick and snout play even better than some primates. Scientists believe that the intelligence of these animals, like a three-year-old child, they have good intuition and memory. Even piglets already a few weeks after birth can already respond to their own nickname. Pigs are quite emotional and sociable. In their natural environment, they live in groups in which their own hierarchy is maintained with the help of bodily and verbal language. Pigs use different sounds depending on the circumstances. It turns out that they grunt with pleasure, they can bark, warning of danger, squeal in pain, discontent or expectation of food. Pigs can notice if their relative is heading to a food cache and follow him, trying to steal food. But if he sees himself being followed, he will try to lure the sly either into a trap or to a fake cache. Pigs even show the rudiments of reason, being able to understand the desires of other creatures.

Pigs don't sunbathe. It turns out that the only animal that can sunbathe like a person is a pig. These creatures love to wallow in the gentle sun, bathing in light. The skin of pigs as a result forms a tan.

Guinea pigs are relatives of domestic animals. To many, the relationship of these creatures seems obvious - both of them are pigs. In fact, they only have one name in common. Guinea pigs have nothing to do with the family of non-ruminant artiodactyls. By the way, they also do not live in the sea. The first mention of guinea pigs occurs in 1580, it was then that the Spaniards brought such animals to Europe. For the first time, the meat of outlandish animals was tasted by conquistadors in Spain. And the food reminded me of pork. They prepared guinea pigs in much the same way as pigs in Europe. The similarity lay in the sounds made by the animals, it was reminiscent of the grunting of pigs.

Pigs don't smell. Life has shown that these animals have an excellent sense of smell, which is not much inferior to that of a dog. Pigs can dig in the ground for hours, looking for the most tidbits. A man noticed this quality when he taught pigs to look for truffles. Mushrooms growing underground proved to be much easier to find with the help of trained pigs, sometimes they reacted to delicacies growing at a depth of up to six meters. People used the talents of smelling pigs at the beginning of the 19th century, when animals even sometimes replaced hunting dogs. After appropriate training, the pigs could sense game birds at a distance of up to 36 meters. And during the war, pigs helped find mines, today they help customs detect drugs. The pigs also help in search and rescue activities - allowing you to find people under a thick layer of snow.

Pigs are so stubborn that they cannot be trained. In circuses, you can see four-legged actors, which themselves debunk this myth. Although pigs are indeed stubborn, they love to do tricks. Playfulness is in their nature, so training for them is an interesting and exciting game. As a result, pigs perform all tasks with pleasure, quickly assimilating commands thanks to intelligence. For example, the famous trainer VL Durov's pig Chushka-Fintiflyushka knew how to bow, waltz, carry a barrel, jump over obstacles and climb onto a barrel.

Pigs have nothing to do with humans. And although the comparison of a person with a pig is insulting, in fact, in terms of our physiology, we are incredibly close. This applies to the digestive system, genetics, blood composition. Yes, and the tissues of pigs are well compatible with ours. These animals even suffer from the same diseases that we do, so they can be treated with the same drugs and doses as humans. Pig organs are used in transplantation, an example would be at least a heart valve bioprosthesis. And in case of diseases of the kidneys, liver and spleen, cleaning of the croc is practiced by passing it through the corresponding organs of the pig. Extracts from the pancreas make it possible to obtain insulin, which, after simple processing, can be used in the treatment of people.

Pigs have always and everywhere been considered unworthy. The history of many ancient peoples debunks this myth. The pig was respectfully treated by the Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Indians, Scandinavians and Germans. For example, in Egyptian mythology, the queen of heaven, the goddess Nut, was depicted precisely in the guise of a pig. The Scandinavian goddess of motherhood looked similar. And in ancient Greece, in some myths, it was generally said that Zeus was fed by a pig. In Germany, already in modern times, there is a law according to which the owners of such animals must pamper them by buying toys and paying attention. In ancient China, the domestic pig was considered a sacred animal, symbolizing prosperity. Eating pork was allowed only on religious and public holidays. However, this attitude was not observed everywhere. The Qur'an considers the pig to be a dirty animal, forbidding Muslims from eating its meat.

Pigs are very unsociable. Under natural conditions, these animals prefer to live in packs. As already mentioned, it has its own hierarchy and system of signals. In a similar way, pigs are used when communicating with humans. Very social and active are domestic pigs, which alone can get bored and even depressed.

Pigs are lazy creatures. It seems that all the pigs need is to wallow in a puddle and bask in the sun. In fact, these are very playful creatures, which, moreover, also show stubbornness, exactingness and resourcefulness. Even if the pigs do not succeed, they will certainly continue to do it until they achieve the desired result. Leaving a tame piglet alone at home, you should prepare for unexpected results - he will not be bored and will quickly find something to do.

Home mini-pig does not need walks. There are also people who teach their pet to go to the toilet in a tray, but it’s better to take the animal for walks. There, the pig can run around to its fullest, pinch the grass, dig in the ground, and if it finds a reservoir, then swim. If a pet is deprived of such joys, then it will begin to gain excess weight, which will have a bad effect on health.

The mini pig is an exotic animal and difficult to care for. In fact, care is needed about the same as for a dog. The pet should be taken for a walk every day, fed, bathed and rubbed with lotion to avoid dry skin. But there will be no such problems inherent in dogs as a haircut, cropped ears and tail. But you will have to file the hooves of the piglet three times a year and take it to the veterinarian annually.

Pigs are indifferent to their owners. Piglets become attached to their master no worse than a dog. Pigs feel the mood of a person and his emotions well, they are able to rejoice if the owner is kind and positive. And you can teach an animal a lot - give a paw, play ball, and just walk with it for a walk. It is said that mini-pigs can generally recognize their owners by their steps. Only when they hear familiar steps, the piglets will rush to the door to joyfully meet a loved one.

Pigs are calm animals. In the context of animal husbandry, a person would like pigs to be as calm as possible. However, the intelligence of pigs often plays a bad joke on them. Farm-dwelling creatures are extremely intolerant of routine change. Even a simple clap in a pigsty can alert all animals. They refuse to feed and become alert, as if waiting for the development of events and something terrible. Only after 30-40 seconds the pigs return to their previous activities, and most continue to experience anxiety for several more minutes. Even Academician Pavlov, a Nobel Prize winner, noted that among the creatures living around a person, it is the pig that is the most nervous. It is known that these animals are predisposed to mental arousal. So, for example, a pig stuck in a narrow passage will begin to energetically and emotionally try to get out. In case of failure, a real hysteria begins, which can even lead to death. If animals are concentrated in a large group, then mental irritations can lead to mass hysteria. That is why fattening animals are now divided into small groups.

Pigs can't swim. It seems that such a clumsy animal, in principle, cannot be a good swimmer. But pigs do not need to be taught to swim, they take full advantage of this natural gift. There are cases when wild boars swam across bays up to 40 kilometers wide. In the Pacific Ocean, there is Fakaofo Atoll, where wild fishing pigs live. Scientists have found that these creatures are not only excellent swimmers, but also dive for fish to a depth of fifteen meters. And in the Antilles, sailors of small boats today use pigs as a simple navigational device. If a ship goes off course in the Caribbean Sea, then a pig specially prepared for such an occasion is simply thrown into the sea. The animal unerringly begins to swim towards the nearest land.

Genetically, the pig is closer to humans, even than the monkey. This myth occurs frequently. But scientists think differently. The most genetically close to humans are chimpanzees, whose DNA repeats ours by 94-98%. And it is not so important that there is a different number of chromosomes. It is followed by a gorilla and an orangutan. In other words, primates are closest to us, not pigs. And in a person with a pig, some types of protein are simply similar to each other, which is determined by a relatively small number of genes. And since pigs are convenient for transplantation work, they were chosen. In addition, they are devoid of the shortcomings that are present in primates. There are not so many of them, they do not breed well in captivity, there is a high risk of infectious diseases, and it is ethically easier to kill pigs for the sake of experiments than primates close to humans. The fact that more than 700 million pigs live in the world made it possible to conduct extensive experiments on the adaptation of the proteins and organs of these animals to humans. First, insulin of animal origin was obtained, and then the problem of organ rejection was solved.

what the pig will always find

Garbage, sewage, rubbish

Soil softened by water

Self-sufficient but sticky chaos

Can be mixed with it or trampled into it

Some English chemist defined it as "particles of matter out of place", but what do we call it?

Chemists call it an unnecessary substance placed in the wrong place.

A medley that can be healing

Coffee spilled on clothes is no longer coffee but...

What is kneaded with boots

You can put a person in it

Her tanks are not afraid

An unclean environment from which princes emerge

Tanks are not afraid

Soil eroded by water

Unhygienic environment from which princes emerge

Princes emerge from it

Slush

Uncleanliness in the house (colloquial)

The reason for wearing galoshes and boots

What does the earth turn into after rain?

After-rain slush

Hollow under your feet

The village where Galkin's castle

Sometimes it heals, but more often it gets dirty

What does a pig find everywhere?

Soil softened by water

Garbage, sewage, rubbish

Immorality, dishonesty in personal or public relations

G. soaked soil, earth with water; slush or wetness on the ground; impurity adhering to a thing; dust, filth. Novg. weed in bread. Mud is not worth it without dirt. Rye says: even if I’m in the ashes, it’s just right (this one); and oats: trample me in the mud, I will be a prince! that is, this rye is on time, in any weather, and oats in damp earth. Do not hit your face in the dirt, do not disgrace yourself. Probably, we won’t hit the face in the dirt! Knead the mud, walk through the mud. They drove in the mud. Vyvarki, vyvarki, fumes, vytopki, worthless residues; sediment and floating, when cleaning beet sugar; this dirt goes once again into the pomace. Izgarin when melting copper in a cleansing forge, when they stir it with a teaser, a damp pole. Play with mud, dirty your hands. Having played with mud, and for the cheek! No matter how the stink washes, everything is covered with mud. The pig will find dirt. The pig will not find dirt! Pig eyes are not afraid of dirt. Taken from the dirt, but planted in riches. Disperse, mud, manure creeps! Away (wider), dirt, manure rides! Reached the dirt, lived to the bast. Like thrown into the dirt. Dirt is not fat, crushed (rubbed), and she fell behind. Dirt is not fat: dried up lagged behind. You can't stick dry dirt to the wall, about slander. There is dirt on the road, so oats are prince. In spring, a bucket of rain, a spoonful of mud; in autumn a spoonful of water, a bucket of dirt. Dirt pl. muddy road, hard way, slush. Swamps, swamps, swampy lands. There are healing muds: sea, silty, salty, sulfuric, etc. Salty muds, wet solonchaks, astrakhs. khak, khaki, Kalmyk. Dirty, covered in mud; soiled, soiled; filthy, or worn out; prone to the formation of dirt; unclean, cloudy in appearance; untidy, unclean person; vulgar, rude, disgusting in speeches and thoughts. Dirty linen, black, going to the wash. Dirty pen. Odessa is a dusty and dirty city. This color is dirty. Our cook is dirty. He is a smart man, but dirty and dirty writing. Top is clear, bottom is dirty. The village is good, but the street is dirty, glory. Let's go to church! "Look, dirty." Well, in a tavern! "Is it really possible to pass under the tyn somehow." Dirty, dirty, the same, to a lesser extent. Gryaznehonek, completely in the mud, the dirtiest. Dirty, dirty. Dirty app. week of the descent of the Holy Spirit. In sugar beet factories: a room where the juice from the beet mud is oppressed. Dirty, muddy, muddy, muddy, muddy or boggy, swampy, viscous. Mud, made of mud. Piss off with mud clods. Dirty, dirty. the state or quality of the dirty. Dirty expresses a more independent, abstract concept; and dirtiness is the quality of an object. Gryazevik m. dirty, dirty, dirty about. untidy, dirty person, slovenly, unkempt, unwashed; smut is also a Chenolea plant. A goryukha fly flew to a dirty fly, they say. about gossip. Gryaznushka is also a duck, a small teal. Dirty well. Limosella plant. Gryaznik m. tul. eagle month of October. The muddy man doesn't like wheels or skids, he's a mess. Mine and trample the flax from half of the dirt. Tub at sugar beet factories, for sugar mud folds; a worker who strains the foam and dirt of the juice into a dirty strainer after a bowel movement. Gryazeviki pl. mud shoes; galoshes; wooden stilts of Turkish women, Tatar women, feet. Gryaznichiy m. is a comic nickname for a police officer, a bazaar who stands all day in a dirty square. Mud cf. mud swamp, swamp or mud of large volume, mud. Dried swamp, former mud, swamps, dry salt licks and khaki. Mud Wed mud solid a month, a mess for poultry, from bran, chaff, etc. Dirty cf. rowing, dragging, transverse plank with a pole for raking litter, dirt, snow. To dirty something, to dirty with mud, to spoil, to soil. Dirty return and suffer. according to the meaning of speech. Dirt m. -nitsa w. who dirty, dirty, dirty about. muddy. Get dirty, get dirty, get dirty. Dirty, sink, get stuck, sit in the mud, mud, mud, swamp. *He gets dirty in sensuality. to speak dirty, to speak dirty, to carry on a vulgar, immoral conversation

A certain English chemist defined it as "particles of matter out of place", but as we call it

What a pig will find everywhere

bad weather slush

Tanks are not afraid of her (joking)

Among other elements of the body, the hoof of pigs is one of the most problematic and potentially traumatic areas. The health of these artiodactyl animals plays an important role in their economic breeding. After all, they serve not only as a source of meat and fat, but also pancreatin. The latter, as a digestive enzyme, is of great importance in various pharmacological studies. Hence the close attention.

Features of the structure of the hoof

The musculoskeletal system of a pig does not just play a significant role in the life of a pig. Its normal functioning determines its usefulness and efficiency from the point of view of animal husbandry as a branch of agriculture. Separately, it is worth dwelling on the structure of the hoof and its features as a support for the body.

The hooves of the pig are tips of hard leather. They are located on the phalanx of the fingers and perform the function of protecting them from possible injuries. By themselves, they represent a keratinized area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe skin, in which various parts have a different consistency and heterogeneous structure.

Another feature of such a site is its layered arrangement. The hoof consists of four parts:

• border;
• whisk;
• wall;
• sole.

The role of the border is a strip having a small width, passing between the skin from above and the corolla from below.

It is thanks to the border that the hoof differs in brilliance due to the stratum corneum produced by it, which has no color. This epidermal layer also covers the corolla, which is located below.

In height, the rim occupies about half of the hoof; it is located in a wide roller at the bottom of the border. The largest and most massive part of the hoof is its wall.

On the bottom there is a concave plate called the sole. This layer of the epidermis is quite soft and can be cut with a knife, which plays a special role in trimming the hoof.

Conditions under which injury may occur

Diseases of this part of the musculoskeletal system can affect pigs at any age, no matter how old she is. Also, they are not distinguishable in the sexual issue, since both wild boar and young animals can get problems with the hoof, as well as they are affected in sows.

Most of all, the hoof in pigs is at risk in industrial complexes. This is due to the fact that animals are kept in conditions that are not the most suitable for them. For example, there are often large gaps in the floor, and the coatings themselves are often made of poor quality material. It can be concrete floors with a lot of potholes. During operation, concrete can undergo severe destruction. Chips and gouges, as well as exposed gratings, cause injuries to pigs.

Lack of bedding on a wooden floor is also a potential risk of injury to animals.

Splinters may stick out of the floor or there are protruding nails that pigs can run into, receiving injuries of varying severity.

Most common hoof diseases

Lack of padding and uneven floors can lead to injury to the crumbs and sole, as well as to rapid abrasion of the horn on the hoof. Swelling red spots may appear on the crumbs, and after 3-4 days this leads to the formation of phlegmon.

Due to cracks in the floor and hooves getting into them, wounds and bruises on the corolla can be observed. The result in almost all cases is tendon sprain. With the recurrence of injuries, ulcers form on the skin, which over time lead to necrosis and death.

A serious danger is inflammation of the crumb. In this case, cracks appear on the surface of the stratum corneum, in which soft horny tissue is formed. Because of this, the animal acquires a shaky and unsteady gait, the toe part of the hoof begins to play the main supporting function.

Another serious threat is purulent inflammation that affects the hoof joint. In this case, there is swelling of the corolla, which brings the pig quite a lot of pain. An indicator of the presence of problems will be the condition of the fingers. Patients increase much in size, plus fistulas form on the corolla.

Among other diseases, cracks appearing on the hoof horn and deformation of the hooves in the form of an elongation of the horn capsule can be noted.

After the appearance of bright red spots and subsequent phlegmon, you should call a veterinarian for treatment. This procedure involves cutting the phlegmon and treating the area with appropriate antiseptics.

Softening of the stratum corneum and inflammation of the crumb can be eliminated on their own without the intervention of a specialist. To do this, it is necessary to remove the tissue affected by the disease and accompany this by applying a bandage with Vishnevsky ointment. This procedure is repeated until the animal recovers.

Detection of purulent inflammation of the fingers and joint involves only surgical intervention. Only specialists should perform this procedure. Cracks in the skin are treated with unsalted fat or tar, which lubricate problem surfaces. However, it is better to avoid such a nuisance with the help of preventive measures, which consist in moistening the flooring, trimming horny tissues and bathing animals.

The treatment of many diseases in pigs is associated with quite serious complications, so prevention plays a crucial role. Constant supervision by veterinarians is the key to success in the livestock sector and the preservation of the herd in a healthy state.

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A pig is an animal from the mammal class, the artiodactyl order, the non-ruminant suborder, the pig family (lat. Suidae). Most likely, the pig got its name for its exceptional fertility. According to authoritative scientists, the basis of the Latin name goes back to the ancient word sunus - “son”, acquiring the meaning of “birth”, “fruiting”.

Pig - description, characteristics and photos.

The strong, slightly elongated body of a pig can reach a length of more than one and a half meters. The skin of a pig is covered with a sparse, coarse, bristly hairline. The elongated muzzle of a pig with a movable nose-proboscis ends with a cartilaginous disc “patch”, which allows the animal to dig food out of the ground. The pig has 44 teeth, 4 of which are well-developed fangs. The upper fangs are distinguished by a curved shape.

The weight of a pig, depending on the species, ranges from 45 to 400 kg. The legs are shortened, four-fingered, with well-developed lateral toes. The tail is curved in a corkscrew. The pig's ears are big, but the eyes are small. From their wild ancestor, the boar, pigs inherited poor eyesight, but a very keen sense of smell and excellent hearing.

Impressive dimensions and short legs do not prevent the pig from being a fairly agile animal. The speed of a running pig reaches 17 km/h. When necessary, these seemingly clumsy animals are excellent swimmers.

Contrary to popular belief, most often pigs are not pink, but gray in color. Less common are individuals of white, brown, spotted and completely black colors.

Under decent conditions in captivity, the life expectancy of a pig is 10-15 years. Among large breeds, there are long-lived individuals: a healthy animal with quality care can live up to 35 years.

In the wild, a pig lives on average 7-8 years. Females are more vulnerable due to numerous offspring and the need to constantly be near the offspring. Warlike boars often live up to 12-15 years.

Types of pigs. Where do pigs live?

There are more than 20 species of wild pigs in the world, from which more than 100 breeds have been bred by breeders. Moreover, pigs live everywhere except Antarctica.

From the point of view of scientists, the following are considered the most interesting and studied species:

• babirussa ( lat. Babyrousa babynissa) is a rare pig species listed in the Red Book. Single pigs with an atypical appearance for the family: long, thin legs, arched back and almost naked body, only sometimes covered with a sparse pile. A specific difference is powerful growths on the muzzle in the form of numerous fangs. They live in Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi, forming 4 subspecies;

• large forest pig(lat. Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) - the largest species with a body reaching 2 meters in length. Individuals are distinguished by a long dark hairline and large, pronounced warts covering the snout. Habitat - tropical forests of equatorial Africa;

• African warthog(lat. Phacochoerus africanus). A distinctive feature is the huge skin growths on the muzzle. The neck is covered with a mane, the tail ends with a tassel. The warthog population includes 7 subspecies inhabiting the African savannah;

• boar(lat. Sus scrofa), boar, wild pig - common species, forming more than 25 subspecies. The ancestor of the domestic pig, but with rather long legs and developed fangs. They live in the forests of mainland Europe, the Mediterranean, in North and Central America, in the mountains of Central Asia, in the Far East;

• bearded pig(lat. Sus barbatus) - a little smaller than a wild boar, but with fairly long legs. The snout is covered with light, long hair. A feature of the species is a forked brush at the tip of the tail. It has 6 subspecies living in Southeast Asia;

• pygmy pig(lat. Sus salvanius, Porcula salvania Hodgson) is a small, endangered species protected by Greenpeace. The height of an adult is not more than 35 cm, on the muzzle there are distinctive patches of white wool. They live in Nepal, at the foot and on the slopes of the Himalayan massif;

• bush pig(lat. Potamochoerus porcus) - the most colorfully colored species. Black muzzle with white circles around the eyes, reddish-brown body and a white stripe along the spine. This type of pig is distinguished by long whiskers and characteristic black and white hair on the ears.

What to feed the pigs? Pig diet.

The pig is an omnivore, it eats absolutely everything. In the wild, the main food is what can be dug up in the ground: plant roots, worms, insect larvae, as well as tree bark, young shoots of plants, grass. Acorns, nuts and mushrooms are considered a special delicacy. Food of animal origin, in addition to worms and larvae, can be fish, molluscs, birds, rodents, and carrion.

At home, pigs need high quality food:

• a combination of useful herbs, for example, or alfalfa;
• vegetables (sugar beet, pumpkin,);
• cereals and cereals (peas, barley, millet);
• dairy products and meat waste;
• feed concentrates;
• nutritional supplements containing vitamins and minerals.

The first book of The World of Animals (the author wrote six such books) tells about seven orders of the class of mammals: cloacae, marsupials, insectivores, coleoptera, carnivores, equids and artiodactyls. The second is devoted to the remaining twelve orders of mammals: bats, primates, edentulous, pangolins, hares, rodents, cetaceans, pinnipeds, aardvarks, hyraxes, sirens and proboscis. The third book includes stories about birds. The fourth speaks of the fish-like ones; sharks, rays and chimeras; bone fish; amphibians and reptiles. The fifth contains stories about insects. The sixth is about pets.

Book:

Low, identical cabinets stand close to each other. Their doors slide to the side on rollers. In one of the cupboards is a bowl of stew. The experimental animal is brought to a cupboard with a bowl, shown to it, and then the door is closed. The closet is closed.

The pig immediately figures out how to open it: resting its snout against the handle, pushes the door aside and eats stew from a bowl.

The experience is difficult. Bowls of food are placed in all cabinets to make sure that the animal finds the cabinet with stew by smell. It must be said that it is similar in everything to other cabinets, it is distinguished only by a small, barely noticeable chip on the door. He stood on the edge in a row of cabinets, now he is being moved to the middle. Let the guinea pig into the room. Without hesitation, she pushes back with her snout the door of the cabinet in which she had previously found stew.

How did the pig recognize him? On a small chink, to which a person would not pay attention.

The doors of the cabinets were redone: they began to open on themselves.

The pig found the right cabinet without difficulty, but could not open it: she moved, moved the door to the side, but that, of course, did not open. The animal was shown how the door opens. And one lesson was enough for the pig to understand. She no longer pushed the handle sideways, but tried to grab it with her teeth. After several unsuccessful attempts, the smart pig still managed to do it: she took the door handle in her mouth, pulled it towards herself and opened it.

The same experiments, done with a dog, gave different results.

The dog did not distinguish the cupboard with a gap for a long time from the others, and tried to open the doors with its paw. Only when the experimenters, having moved it close to the closet, literally put the door handle into its mouth, the dog, after several lessons, began to do it itself: to grab the door handle with its teeth and jerk it open towards itself. The sliding doors never learned to open.

Do such experiments mean that a pig is smarter than a dog? Of course not. But they undoubtedly speak of the pig's subtle powers of observation and its rare intelligence. To the five most intelligent animals (monkey, elephant, dolphin, dog, bear), some researchers also add a pig as the sixth representative of this galaxy of “wise men”. With a rat, a cat, a horse, there will already be nine of them. So, we don’t get a five, but almost a dozen. It is difficult to say whom to prefer, because in accordance with its biological properties, in some experiments one animal behaves more intelligently, in others - another. It is impossible to select the same tests for all.

And here's what is surprising: in terms of blood biochemistry, in terms of the blood formula (the ratio of its formed elements), in terms of its omnivorous nature, in terms of the composition and digestibility of food, the pig is closer to humans than all laboratory animals, excluding monkeys. It suffers from the same diseases as a person, and it can be treated with the same medicines as people. And this is important for their approbation. Therefore, experiments on rabbits, rats, dogs, and other animals are less convincing than those carried out on pigs.

Special laboratory varieties of pigs have already been bred: an adult uterus weighs no more than 7 kilograms, and her newborn piglets are just like mice!

Pigs are well trained. In circuses, they perform a variety of tricks. By the way, properly trained (pigs have an excellent sense of smell), they even successfully compete with poodles in the search for truffle mushrooms. The one who trains them in this business has a more difficult task than the poodle trainer. It is necessary to achieve not only that the pig finds the truffle and carefully digs it out, but also that it does not eat it, since for it the mushroom is a delicacy, but not for the dog. However, young pigs - they follow the owner who deals with them, run everywhere like dogs - in the hands of a skilled educator they quickly learn not to devour the found underground mushrooms. So, a pig is a smart animal. And very useful. This is the most prolific and precocious farm animal. Plus, it's omnivorous. For one farrowing, pigs give 10–12 or more piglets. At the age of 12-15 months, they already bear offspring. Pregnancy is short (114–116 days), so two farrowings can be obtained during the breeding season, which is up to 20–25 piglets per year. For one kilogram of weight gain, a pig needs one and a half times less feed than a cow, and half as much as a sheep. From one pig you can get up to 2.5 tons of meat annually (in live weight). Of course, this refers to her offspring, and not her own weight gain. Each young pig already at the age of six months weighs 90-100 kilograms (we are talking about highly productive breeds).

In cattle, the yield of slaughter products (meat, fat) is 50-70, in sheep - 45-55, and in pigs - 72-85 percent of the live weight of the slaughtered animal.

Today in the USSR up to 20 per cent of the gross output of animal husbandry and 10 per cent of all agriculture are pig-breeding.

And such a useful acquisition, like a domestic pig, was received by people by taming a wild boar in the fifth or third millennium BC. It happened in different regions of Europe and Asia. Therefore, pigs are divided by origin into Asian and European, and according to the purpose of the product - into meat, meat-fat and bacon. What is meat and fat, everyone knows. What about bacon? This is a semi-finished product for making better than non-bacon pigs, brisket, loin and ham.

One of the best bacon pigs is the Berkshire breed. She is black. Berkshires as breeding material are used in the breeding of many of our breeds. We have few purebred Berkshires: about nine thousand.

A specialized (meat and bacon) large white breed is more than a thousand times more numerous in our country. There are more than 11 million of these pigs in the USSR (80.7 percent of all pedigree pigs). A large white breed (at first it was called Yorkshire) was bred by an English amateur breeder, weaver Joseph Tuley. In 1851, he presented a group of pigs to the Royal Exhibition at Windsor, which were recognized as a special breed. They are obtained by complex crossing of local English long-eared pigs with various European breeds, but mainly with Siamese pigs.

Family idyll in the barn.

Yorkshire, or large white, pigs have had a great influence on the breeding of many breeds in Europe, Asia and America. And, purebred, they are now bred in almost all countries of the world. In Russia, they appeared for the first time in the 80s of the last century. Very few of them remained after the First World War. Under Soviet rule, since 1923, many hundreds of these pigs were purchased in England. Soviet livestock specialists have done a great deal of selection work to improve the Large White breed, and our representatives in many ways surpass their English counterparts.

There is also a large black breed of pigs (or Cornish), also of English origin. It was brought to the breeding state farms of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus.

In the southern zone of the European part of the USSR, the Ukrainian steppe white breed, bred by Academician M.F. Ivanov, is also bred. In terms of productivity and other indicators, it is not inferior to the large white breed.

In total, there are more than a hundred breeds of pigs on Earth. In the USSR 24. The world population of pigs is about 700 million. Of these, more than 230 million are in China, more than 70 million in the USSR, and approximately 70 million in Brazil. In fourth place is the United States - more than 60 million, in fifth place is Germany - 20 million.

If we take a retrospective look at the relationship between man and the pig, we will see interesting things. A few hundred years ago, in medieval times, pigs were not at all the same as they are now. More like a boar. Sinuous, mobile, according to our present concepts, thin: with a clearly marked ridge on the back.

People often with them ... sued. Called to court in the most natural way! After the investigation, the verdict was passed and given into the hands of the executioner.

In France alone, 20 "pork" processes are known. The common crime of pigs is infanticide. Indeed, in medieval cities, even in London until the end of the 17th century, pigs roamed the streets freely. They ate sewage that fell into ditches near the houses. Often they went into the dwellings of the poor and killed the children sleeping in the cradle. The killer was arrested. They were sent to a penitentiary. They were locked in a cell with other prisoners. For the maintenance of an arrested pig, the city authorities released the same funds as for an ordinary criminal.

In 1408, in the city of Nantes, a court sentenced a pig to death. A list of expenses that were required for the execution of the sentence has been preserved. The maintenance of a pig in prison - 6 sous, the reward for the executioner who arrived from Paris - 54 sous, for the cart on which the pig was taken to the place of execution - 6 sous, for the rope with which it was tied - 2 sous 8 deniers. Only 68 sous 8 denier.

In 1457, a case was heard in Paris about accusing a pig of killing a five-year-old boy. The court found the pig guilty and sentenced her to hang. As for the piglets, since their participation in the crime was not established with certainty, they were confiscated in favor of the court.

Executions of pigs were not uncommon. In Paris, even the name of the suburb has been preserved - “The Hanged Pig”, as a memory of a terrible place where superstitious people did their ridiculous “justice”.