Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Kune kune Piglets.

Darcy, Kune kune Sow.

Bridget the Kune kune Mother.

One of our choices. Black and White Piglet.

Another. This is a Tricolour. You cant see the brown as it is so dirty.

As our Holiday Guests, not only the Children but the Adults have all enjoyed the close contact with our Animals, we decided that we would get a couple of Kune kune Pigs. We purchased a couple over the phone this afternoon. If we get the time we will collect them over the weekend. One is Darcy the Ginger Sow in the Photograph, the other will be one of the Piglets in the first photograph.

The reason for purchasing Darcy, as she is now called, is that she is about 2 1/2 years old and is ready to go to the Boar. She is also very friendly. When she arrives at the Farm we will send her a few miles away to be mated.

The Piglet we are purchasing will be a castrated Male, as we are told that two Females can quarrel, and we don’t wont the bother of a Boar. We are being sent a few photographs of the Male Piglets so that we can make a choice. We will either get a black and white one or the tricolour.

I have taken the item below about the Pigs from the Internet, to give you a bit of info about them. As you can see they are very kind and easy to handle. They are also able to be free range and graze on grass. We are told that Kune kune means fat and barreled shape. I am sure our Holiday Guests will enjoy them.

The Kune kune pig comes from New Zealand. How they got there is a mystery as they are not indigenous to that country. They were kept by the Maoris for meat, living not in enclosures, but free to scavenge around the houses. This probably explains their love of humans and excellent temperament. In 1976 things were looking desperate for the Kunes, and very few were left, but thanks to Michael Willis and John Simister buying every Kune they could find, 18 in all, the New Zealand Kune kune pig association was formed. They have done an excellent job and there are now over 1000 pigs in New Zealand.

Kune kune pigs vary from 24″ to 30″ high and weigh between 140-220 lbs. They are covered in long hair, which can be straight, wavy or curly. There is a wide range of colours, from cream through gold, tan and brown to black. They also come in a variety of spotty colours. An interesting feature is they have a pair of tassels under their chin called Piri Piri. They have a medium to short head with either prick or semi lop ears. Their body is best described as non-extreme, not long and lean like a commercial pig, or short and pot bellied like the Vietnamese variety.

Kunes have a steady temperament, and are extremely easy to handle. They are very gentle, and ideally suit the new pig keeper who may be intimidated by larger more boisterous pigs. Because of their small size they do not cut the land up as much as larger pigs.