A herd is a set of animals belonging to the species Sus scrofa domestica, whose specimens are popularly known as pigs, pigs, swine or pigs. It can be said, therefore, that a herd is a specific type of herd.
It is believed that the domestication of the pig began about thirteen thousand years ago. This animal can be found in much of the planet, either living under a domestic environment (on farms, fields, etc.) or in the wild.
Herds are generally associated with wild pigs. In these cases, the pig is herbivorous, since its natural conditions tend to feed based on plants. Domesticated pigs, on the other hand, are usually fed as omnivores.
In herds you can see how the pig establishes links with the other members of its group. Three weeks after its birth, the pig is already an animal that interacts with others, playing games and communicating. It is important to highlight that the link that a pig builds in its herd is maintained throughout life.
It is common to observe that the members of a herd wallow in the mud, a behavior that makes many people consider pigs as dirty animals. This action, however, indicates the opposite: by wallowing in the mud, the pigs manage to kill the parasites that are in their skin.
Despite this, it is usually classified as pork to the person with poor hygiene or bad manners. The group of these subjects, by extension, can receive the nickname of herd: “Here comes the herd: be careful that the children do not break the plants”.
The life cycles of a pig
Life in the herd is not very different from what we are used to seeing in other types of herd, at least when they are in their natural state. The pig is a mammalian animal, the point at which it meets our species: the offspring develop in their mother’s womb and, after birth, feed on her milk. Also, since it is an animal SocialHe enjoys contact with other individuals of his species.
The gestation of the pig lasts four months and the litters are usually of an average of six piglets (the minimum expected is four and the maximum, eight). In domestic herds there are considerably more litters: the largest so far is 27 piglets.
Another significant difference can be seen in the period of lactation, which lasts between three weeks and a month: while in the wild piglets can stay with their mother until the next litter is born, in hatcheries they are usually separated just after three weeks.
In the herd wild, females become able to reproduce several years before males: they generally reach sexual maturity between 9 and 18 months of age, while pigs can take up to five years. When a female is in fertile season, the males (called stallions or boars) face each other in fierce battles for the right to mate with her.
Mating of wild pigs may occur once or twice a year and their mortality rate it is high (deaths are frequent during the first year of life). Their life expectancy in the wild does not usually exceed 10 years, while pigs from hatcheries can reach three decades; Of course, any individual of this species prefers an hour in freedom than an eternity living as a slave.
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