A Kunekune pig needs its own file, headed by name, ear tag or notch pattern, sex, colour, and whether it is breeding stock, a grower, or a settled pet. Beneath that header, keep vaccinations, vet visits, hoof trims, tusk checks for boars, weights or condition scores, farrowing notes for sows, and pasture moves in one dated sequence. Kunekunes live long, graze calmly, and change slowly, so a tidy timeline is what lets you spot the slow changes at all.
Identification for a slow-growing, long-lived pig
Identification in a Kunekune file should describe the pig in front of you, not just its paperwork name. Record wattles — the tassels many Kunekunes carry under the jaw — coat colour and pattern, ear shape, and any notch or tag, plus a note of temperament and handling quirks such as a sow who dislikes being loaded. Add source, birth details if known, and registration details for breeding animals. Because a pet Kunekune may stay with you well into its teens, that description protects the record if tags are lost and a new vet meets the pig for the first time.
Vaccines, vet visits, and pasture-linked health notes
Vaccine entries for a Kunekune should sit beside pasture and contact notes, because a grazing pig's risks follow its ground and its neighbours. Log what your vet advises for your herd and area, the date, and any reaction in the following days, then add fence-line contact with other pigs, shows attended, new arrivals, and moves onto fresh grazing. Note skin changes, limping on wet ground, and breathing changes in dusty or hot weather on the same timeline. A Kunekune who roots less, leaves the wallow, and eats slowly may be telling you more than a single temperature reading would.
Weight and condition: the Kunekune entry that matters most
Weight control is the health thread that runs through a Kunekune's whole record. Enter a condition score or girth measurement at regular intervals and write down the grazing quality and any extra feed honestly — the handfuls of treats, the fruit windfalls in autumn, the richer paddock after a move. Kunekunes were shaped to thrive on grass, and excess condition strains joints, feet, breathing in heat, and breeding success. Pair each score with hoof state, because heavy pigs on soft ground wear and crack feet unevenly. If scores climb across three entries, the file itself is your prompt to adjust feed and talk to your vet before lameness makes the decision for you.
Breeding, farrowing, and when to involve a vet
Breeding Kunekunes need service dates, boar used, farrowing dates, litter sizes, and piglet outcomes filed with the sow's health timeline, not in a separate breeding book. Call your vet promptly if a Kunekune stops eating, struggles to rise, breathes heavily at rest, develops a hot swollen joint, or a sow strains without progress during farrowing, and bring your dated notes on appetite, condition, and recent pasture moves. Note castrations, treatments, and recovery in the same place. KinsLe's Pet Passport holds a Kunekune pig's identification, vaccinations, and condition history in one packet that a buyer, sitter, or vet can read without piecing together paddock notebooks.