Sui Ning Flower Pig

Sui Ning Flower Pig

　　The Sui Ning Flower Pig is a specialty of Sui Ning County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province. It boasts high-quality meat with rich nutritional value (for example, the protein content in the longissimus dorsi muscle of meat pigs reaches 22.37%), strong adaptability to coarse feed, excellent maternal traits, high lean meat ratio, strong reproductive capacity, adaptability, disease resistance, and notable hybrid vigor.

　　Originally named the Qian-Shao Flower Pig, the Sui Ning Flower Pig is one of the five major local high-quality pig breeds in Hunan Province and also one of the subjects of the national survey on local livestock genetic resources. It originated in the southern part of Sui Ning County, particularly along Provincial Highway S221 and the Wu River basin. Major breeding centers include Xinhua, Xupu, and Quanzhou in Guangxi, while its distribution spans the tri-provincial border region of Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, covering areas such as Zhijiang, Qianyang, Huaihua, Tongdao, Jingzhou, Hongjiang, Huitong, Longhui, Dongkou, Shaoyang, Xinhua, Xinning, Chengbu, Wugang, Lingling, Dao County in Hunan, as well as Sanjiang, Longsheng, Xing’an, Guilin in Guangxi, and Yuping, Jinping, Sansui, Tianzhu, Cengong, and Tongren in Guizhou.

　　The Sui Ning Flower Pig is a dual-purpose breed for both meat and lard production. It has a medium body size, sturdy build, and well-proportioned structure. Its coat color consists of white and black, and due to its jade-colored nose and white patches embedded in the forehead, it presents a typical “flower-headed pig” appearance. Based on the amount of white fur on the body, it is mainly divided into “Large White Flower” and “Small White Flower.” The former, except for the head, ears, rump, and tail which are black, features white on the snout, center of the forehead, shoulders, limbs, belly, and tail tip, including types described as “flower head with white body” and “flower head with black rump.” The latter differs in that the black extends from the rump and tail to the loin or chest and back, presenting a typical “flower head capped with snow” look. The “Saddle Flower” type has a saddle-shaped patch of black fur on the middle back, while the “Spotted Flower” type displays black patches of varying shapes and sizes on the back, waist, or rump. Color variations can even appear within the same litter—for example, among 12 piglets aged 20 days in Tiepo Village, Chaoyi Township, there were 3 flower heads with white bodies, 3 flower heads with black rumps, and 6 flower heads capped with snow, with 5 piglets having 1–2 scattered black spots on the waist and back, corresponding to a ratio of 1:2:2. Field surveys in the original breeding areas captured photos of 48 Sui Ning Flower Pigs, including 5 fattened pigs and 43 breeding pigs. Among them, “Large White Flower” and “Small White Flower” each accounted for 50%. Within the “Large White Flower” group, “flower head with black rump” made up 58%, and “flower head with white body” 42%. There are three main head types of the Sui Ning Flower Pig: the Long-Snout Flower, which has a smaller, delicate head, long and straight snout and nasal bridge, a narrower forehead, and fewer wrinkles; the Short-Snout Flower, which has a shorter snout and overall body; and the Large-Head Flower, which has a large, wide head with deep horizontal wrinkles and a relatively tall body. The ears of the Sui Ning Flower Pig are large, thick, and drooping, with a well-balanced head and neck structure. The back and waist are straight or slightly concave, the belly is of moderate size and does not drag on the ground, the rump is sloped and not very full, the tail is long but relatively small and neatly arranged, with usually 12 to 17 teats. The limbs are relatively sturdy. At birth, the pigs have upright pasterns, but around one year of age, some gradually transition to a more down-turned stance. This is related to factors such as being raised in small pens, straw-filling for manure accumulation, lack of exercise yards, prolonged living in soft, damp, and confined environments with insufficient movement, and calcium deficiency. The tail is large but relatively short, generally not exceeding the hock joint. There are 13 to 14 pairs of ribs, and adult boars all grow tusks.