Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-05-19
HOG CHOLERA.
What an Iowa Breeder Thinks OF it
and its Prevention.

HOG CHOLERA.
What an Iowa Breeder Thinks OF II
and its Prevention.
From the Peoria Gill; Transcript
BY request of the gentleman to
whom the following letter was ad
dressed we publish it, believing with
him thatasit will prove OF interest to
many farmers throughout the entire
West:
VINToN, Ia, March, Is, '76.
SIR see in the March number of
the National Lice Stock journal
your short letter stating that you had
suffered heavy losses of SWINE by
what is said to be hog cholera.
will give you some of my experience
IN hog raising for twelve years. |
raise Poland-Chinas and some others,
but the principle will apply to all
breeds. began twelve years ago to
breed hogs for sale for breeding pur-
poses, and have bred in that time a
| SIcbI Alany HOSS.
My herd of sows is never smaller
than 100, and, at times, 25O. This,
for the last six years; previous to that
time my herd was from 70 to 80 head.
sell all l can raise, except a few
March pigs that come late; those
make pork of and keep the young
sows of the same litters to breed for
the next year and sell in January and
February, already bred. I have IN
all this term of years never lost a hog
by disease. l have more or less pigs
killed every year by having too many
in bunch. | have been surrounded
with neighbors who have lost heavily
almost every year since l began
They come to my farms Il have two
in operation), and say, how is it that
your hogs do not die with the hog
cholera? They want to know if it
is in the breed, or what is the reason.
I always tell them it is in the "keep,"
"the care" "the attention." and "nev-
err putting rings in the noses"
My keep is" blue grass, clover and
timothy" and Brazilian artichokes,
corn, oats, bran, shorts and barley,
when it is rs cheap as 1t is this year.
Now to particularize somewhat with
young pigs. l have them come in
April, May and June (6oO came in
these months last Year,, and few
came scattering along after these
months. put them on soaked corn
and oats as soon as they can eat, and
and when the pigs are large enough
to follow the sow l put SOW and pigs
on the grasses, where they run until
the 18th OF September to the lst of
October, when l put them in the
fields of artichokes 10y this time the
pigs have learned what the nose was
made for.) After a few days you
can leave off all other feed, and the
hogs aud pigs viii all do finely.
growing and filing out in good shape,
getting ready for corn or any other
feed that may be intended for them
to fatten on. The hogs will do we'll
on the artichokes until it freezes up
(making their own living by roofing
up and harvesting them). This fall
feed will last until about the 10th or
18th of December, putting the stock
IN fine, healthy condition for the
winter, and the sows for BREEDING
Then, again, in the spring, as soon as
it begins to thaw out, l put my hogs
back on the field of artichokes, whore
they are kept until the 18th OF June
or LIST OF July, making first-class
living, and clearing themselves of
all "intestine worms" or stomach
worms, which cause all the appear
ances Of liberated stomach and in
testines. When handled In this way,
you will find, in the spring of the
year, and frequently in the fall, large
quantities of worms lying discharged
after eating artichokcs for eight or
ten days. Sows suck finely and do
well on this kind of keeping. In
winter my hogs go into winter quar-
tiers in small numbers in a DIVISION
say from four to five head in 4 place.
If there is a single hog or pig looks
a "little off" to use the expression of
the tradesmen-that is, if he refuses
his iced, put him IN . hospital,
where, in day Or two, he is in good
shape again tor his appearance at
headquarters. | believe our manner
of caring for and handling, as well as
the general feeding Of our hogs, kills
more than ali other things put to-
gethcr; or, in other words, our neg
lect. A change in the weather will
cause "hog cholera" (sl to make its
appearance SOONER than any other
cause. Those of my neighhors who
have adopted my plan have lost no
hogs,
Make close examination of the
stomach and intestines Of the next
hogs that die with cholera.
Truly