The Semirechensk (Russian: Ceмиpeчeнcкaя, Semirechenskaya) is a general-purpose pig breed from Kazakhstan.
The breed was developed especially for raising in the climate of southeast Kazakhstan where summer temperatures may go as high as 480 C; night and day temperatures fluctuate from 480 to 50; winter temperatures drop to almost -500 and the snowfall is minimal.
It was generated as a result of mating crosses (Large White x wild boar) with the Kemerovo breed and subsequent inter breeding of the best specimens having 3/4, 7/8 or 15/16 of Large White blood, and continued interbreeding during 4-5 generations. The breed was developed under the direction of the Institute of Experimental Biology of the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences. It was first called the Kazakh Hybrid.
The Semirechensk was recognized in 1978. It numbered 4000 in 1969, 27 000 in 1974 and 67 000 in 1980 including 43 000 purebreds, of which 1200 were breeding boars, 5900 breeding sows and 4300 sows on the test.
The Semirechensk animals have ahead with a straight face, small erect ears, moderately long body, deep chest, straight and wide back and strong legs. The colour is white; however reddish, dark brown and black-pied offspring may sometimes occur.
The 1983 evaluation produced the following results: live weight of 36-month-old boars – 275 kg, body length – 169 cm, sow live weight – 222 kg, body length – 155 cm, litter size – 10.5, weight of month-old litter – 48 kg, weight of two-month-old litter – 159 kg.
In 1983 the breed’s champion was the sow Gornaya 64 owned by Buruldaiski state breeding farm in Chimkent region of Kazakhstan. It gave the following results: live weight at 28 months – 260 kg, body length – 160 cm, litter size – 12.3, the weight of one-month-old litter – 62 kg. Its offspring gave the following results in the performance test: average daily gain – 681 g, feed/kg gain – 4.0 fodder units, backfat thickness – 33.
The Semirechensk animals combine the high productivity of the improved breed with the strong constitution of the wild boar. They are well adapted to the extreme climatic conditions of southeast Kazakhstan and do not suffer from overheating despite their white colour.
The Semirechensk has better resistance to several diseases than many other breeds. The incidence of respiratory troubles in piglets is 3-5 times less than in the young stock of the Large White and the Kemerovo. The animals are less susceptible to pathogenic protozoa. In industrial complexes, the Semirechensk pigs are as productive as the Large White but exceed it in piglet viability and sow hardiness. Under these conditions, the culling rate for the Semirechensk sows is 26% less than that of the Large White sows.
The breed consists of 9 boar lines and 20 sow families.
The breed is raised in 30 farms of Alma-Ata, Taldy-Kurgan, Jambul, Chimkent and Karaganda regions in Kazakhstan. Its improvement is carried out at 4 breeding state farms – Illiiski and Kaskelenski in Alma-Ata region, Buruldaiski and XXII Party Congress in Chimkent region, and at two breeding farms – Razvilnenski in Taldy-Kurgan region and Rosa Luxemburg in the Jambul region.