Introduction
Over the past years, there has been observations of the existence and continuous increase in the number of the Mangulica pig breed, which was historically bred in the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia, especially in the eastern continental part (Slavonia), and namely all three types: White, Red and Long-haired Swallowtail. Given that historical records and scientific research indicate the great traditional and genetic importance of the Mangulica breed for Croatian pig farming, it is therefore of great importance to preserve the remaining part of the Mangulica population as a unique genome, in addition to our original breeds of Black Slavonian and Turopolje pigs. Historical data indicate that the cultivation of Mangulica on Croatian soil has been developing for more than one and a half century, and that the same breed, apart from its role as a food source, was of great importance as the basis for the creation of the original Croatian breed, the Black Slavonian pig.
Historical data on breeding of the Mangulica breed indicate its great importance in Croatian pig breeding, and the investment of expert work in the preservation of the remaining part of the population and the inclusion of the breed in the list of original and protected breeds of domestic animals of the Republic of Croatia, not as an original, but as a protected pig breed, is unquestionable.
History of the breed
Mangulica is a typical fatty breed of pig that originated in the Carpathian Basin during the 19th century. In the past, it was the most widespread breed of fatty pigs, and it was often called "Mangalica", "Mongolica" and the like, but the correct name is Mangulica. Mangulica was created on the basis of the Šumadija pig breed, which the Hungarians imported from Serbia during the 19th century. The Mangulica breed was systematically created at the Kis-Jenö estate in Hungary. On the Kis-Jenö estate, which was owned by Archduke Josip, the first head of Šumadija pig came in 1830 as a gift from Prince Miloš Obrenović from Šumadija. On the Kis- Jenö estate, Šumadija pigs were bred in improved feeding and keeping conditions as pure bloods, and the selection was set in the direction of white-gray hair color, good fatness and good forage utilization, and thus the foundation of a new breed called Mangulica was created. Due to its good properties, the Mangulica was in great demand and in land cultivation, it was partly crossed with the local Hungarian breeds (Bakon, Salontai, etc.), however, the dominant curliness of the coat and good fatness remained. From Hungary, Mangulica spread to all the surrounding areas where corn production was developed (i.e., in the Danube region), so it was grown in Hungary, all the republics of the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania. Fatted Mangulica pigs were, before World War II, highly sought after in Vienna, Prague and other surrounding countries. After World War II, the market for all breeds of fat pigs, including Mangulica, was significantly reduced, leaving Mangulica pigs to remain in smaller numbers, kept only by private breeders.
Description of the breed
The Mangulica is a medium-sized pig, relatively short and broad, which is particularly evident in the greater condition of the variety and in fattening of the pig, is very resistant to diseases and has a great ability to adapt to modest conditions of keeping and feeding (Ilančić, 1964). The head has medium length, and the profile line of the nasal part of the skull is slightly concave. The ears are different, most often half-folded, but there are also units with long and folded ears. The neck is medium-long and muscular, the back is in medium-long and slightly rounded lines, the croup is lowered but not too steep. The height to the withers is on average 70 cm in sows, and 80 cm in boars. The breasts are round and deep. The legs are regular, but with a slightly more delicate skeleton, the circumference of the withers is about 16 cm in fully developed units, which indicates good fatness, but, although the skeleton is finer, the bones are very heavy. The muzzle, teats, body openings and hooves are darker pigmented. Sows weigh 120-180 kg, and boars 180-200 kg. However, there are differences in weight depending on the type, with the White and Red type having a slightly larger frame and weight, while the Gray type is the smallest and adult sows weigh 100-150 kg.
According to the color, there are three types: White, Red, and the Spotted (Swallowtail) type of Mangulica (Szabó et al., 2009):
- The White Mangulica has bristle colors ranging from gray to yellow and even to yellow-red, with yellowish and reddish changes that are associated with the conditions of keeping and the type of soil (photo 1).
- The Red Mangulica has bristles of a darker or lighter reddish-brown color (photo 2). The red type is the newest, and was created by crossing the white Mangulica with "Szalontai" and "Ujszalontai" Hungarian pigs (Ujszalonta is a settlement in the Hungarian county of Békés).
- The Spotted (Swallowtail) Mangulica has black bristles, while the lower part of the body is black or silver gray, and a lighter line that extends from the mouth to the middle to the root of the tail, while the tail is white with a black tip (photo 3). This type was created by crossing the Mangulica and the "Srijem" pig in the vicinity of Buđanovci (Banat - Vojvodina).
On the lower part of the ear, they have a lighter mark with a diameter of 3-5 cm, which indicates the gradual transition of pigmented skin, and this mark is called "Welman's point", which is specific to the Mangulica breed. Regardless of the type, the bristles are hard and curly, hard as shavings in winter, and shorter and smoother in summer. Shaving-like bristles, ring-curled bristles and coarse straight bristles on the back and along the back are also specific to the breed, although they are undesirable, just like too fine, woolly bristles. The appearance of black bristles and hair on the ears in White Mangulica is a sign of foreign breeds that participated in the construction of the breed. The eyes are brown, and the eyebrows and eyelashes are black in all types.
Mangulica is a late-maturing breed, it has slower growth and starts breeding only at 12 months of age, but it is often bred earlier, which causes a delay in development. Sows have an average of 10 teats, 5 on each side of the udder. Sows give an average of 5-6 piglets in a litter, while the fertility of the Swallowtail Mangalica is slightly lower (3-6 piglets). After birth, the piglet weighs about 1.4 kg and has longitudinal stripes of darker and lighter hair on the body (liveries) (photo 4).
History of Croatian breeding
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mangulica was the most important breed of pig in the area of Slavonia, Vojvodina, northern Serbia and Bosnian Posavina (Report on the work of the Land Economic Administration of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia 1896 - 1906, 1907; hereinafter: Report 1896 - 1906). Before that time, the place of the most important breed of pigs was occupied by the "Shishka" breed, which was completely supplanted by the Mangulica due to its better production properties. In the area of Slavonia, Mangulica first began to be cultivated in the area from Virovitica to Koprivnica (influence of Hungary), and very quickly cultivation spread to all regions where there were large areas under oak and beech forests and spacious pastures, given that its characteristics of modesty and resistance allowed Mangulica to grow very well under the same conditions. Precisely because of its modesty and resilience, Mangulica could be cultivated in all regions, and its cultivation quickly spread to both noble and small peasant estates.
According to the Report of 1896 - 1906, the highest quality Mangulica farms were those of Count Majlath in Donji Miholjec, Count Janković in Cabuna, Count Pejacsevich in Našice, Lord Leopold pl. Pfeiffer in Orlovnjak (photo 5), Vasa Maučević in Osijek, and Count Eltz in Vukovar. In order to improve the genetics of the mentioned cultivations, breeding heads were delivered directly from Kis-Jenö, Pankota and Mezöhegyes, which were well-known for their breeding quality. However, in order to improve the entire cultivation in the territory of Croatia, in 1901, the Land Government of the Kingdom of Slavonia founded a small Mangulica farm in the Royal Farmhouse in Požega, in a type of a reproduction center, with 2 boars and 6 gilts delivered from Šumadija, and for the purpose of breeding, breeding boars were later delivered from high- quality breeders in Kis-Jenö, Donje Miholjec and Cabuna. In 1906, breeding in Požega numbered 9 boars and 40 sows, but this was too small of a sounder to satisfy the interest in purchasing purebred Mangulica for breeding purposes by private breeders. An obstacle to increasing the sounder numbers in the Royal Farmhouse in Požega was the lack of agricultural land for fodder production. For this reason, the Royal Farmhouse in Požega continued to buy heads from Kis-Jenö, Donji Miholjec and Cabuna in the years to come, and partly introduced them to breeding, and partly sold them to private breeders with the aim of breeding domestic pig populations.
The Association of Selection Cooperatives for Pig Breeding, in its Report on Work and Balance Sheet for the Business Year 1934, provides the information that a total of 208 heads of White Mangulica were selected, evaluated, marked and registered in the registry under selection coverage in cooperative breeding in 1934, and the same year is considered the year of organized selection work on this breed. In the same act (Report for 1934), temporary selection standards for White Mangulica were given.
At the end of the first half of the 20th century, one of the highest quality White Mangulica farms was the Dobra Biskupija Đakovo farm, which was developed to meet the nutritional needs of the clergy, and part of the cultivated Mangulica was sold for the breeding of domestic pigs in the area of Đakovo (photos 6, 7, 8 and 9). Cultivation of the Good Diocese of Đakovo was founded on the basis of local Mangulica population, which, according to the records of Ilančić and Romić from 1940, have had been grown on the manor for 70 years. In 1934, 3 boars from the Lower Economic School in Požega and one boar from the Lederer estate in Čoka (Vojvodina - North Banat) were delivered to the estate of the Good Diocese of Đakovo. Ilančić and Romić (1940) conducted one of the first extensive studies of the body measurements on a 14-month White Mangulica female offspring of these boars. Additionally, the research includes sows from small rural farms in the towns of Vrpolje, Viškovci, Semeljci, Budrovci and others. In the period from 1934 to 1954, Ilančić and Romić (1942) and Romić (1965) conducted research on the slaughter value of White Mangulica, as well as in the area of Đakovo. The aforementioned research is a confirmation of the development of White Mangulica cultivation in the vicinity of Đakovo as a result of the influence of the estate of the Dobra Diocese of Đakovo on pig farming in Đakovo, but also proof of the existence of developed Croatian Mangulica cultivation.
According to the data on the state of livestock production in 1942, at the time of the Independent State of Croatia, national pig production was divided into two main groups, pigs for lard production and pigs for meat production (Pavlinić, 1944). The group of pigs for lard production includes domestic breeds of Mangulica, Turopolje pig and Bagun pig, which made up as much as 43% of the total pig population. In the second group of pigs, of which 20% was for production, the majority of the breed is Yorkshire and a smaller part is Berkshire. The remaining part of the national pig population of 36% is made up of the “Šika” breed and numerous various crossbreeds, while the Black Slavonian pig has a share of only about 1%. At the same time, the planned process of breeding domestic breeds with the Yorkshire, German bred pig, Lincoln and other noble breeds was expressed at the national level, and in that period one could often see various crossings between noble and domestic pig breeds (photo 10). The greatest distribution of the Mangulica breed was in the area of the eastern part of Croatia.
The Mangulica pig breed, apart from being important for the nutrition of the population in the past, played a big role in the history of Croatian pig farming, since it was the basis for the creation of the Black Slavonian pig as the original Croatian breed. The beginning of the creation of the Black Slavonian pig, or as it is also called "the Pfeiffer" or "Pfeiffer's pig", began in 1860, when on his manor Karl Pfeiffer started a program of crossing Berkshire boars with 10 sows of Swallowtail Mangulica in order to improve the quality of Mangulica meat, but while retaining its good fattening properties (Ilančić, 1964).
Dr.sc. Mato Čačić , Željko Mahnet, dipl.ing. , Vedran Klišanić, mag.ing.agr. , Vesna Orehovački, struč.spec.ing.agr., Željko Grigić , Luka Ivanac): REVITALIZACIJA HRVATSKOG UZGOJA MANGULICE -Zbornik predavanja sa trinaestog Savjetovanja uzgajivača svinja u Republici Hrvatskoj godinu. Hrvatska poljoprivredna agencija, Središnji savez udruga uzgajivača svinja Hrvatske. Zagreb 2017. 65 - 77 stranica.
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Zbornik predavanja
