The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-08-03
Young Pig Feeding.

Few persons really know how to feed
young pigs Alright They generally
oVerdo the matter and give them too
much at time. They muss and wall
low in the feed left in the trough, so
that it is unfit for them, and when hum
ger forces them to eat it. it makes them
sick. The owner, seeing feed in the
/ trough, either adds more to it, or waits
till it is eaten. In either case he does
wrong. Before feeding the second time
| the trough should dL1CGgS be washed or
swept out clean Pigs should never be
made to eat food in which they have
tramped with their dirty feet. This
leads TO the remark that their feet should
not be dirty. The pen should be so
constructed that the feeding plaee-the
! trough-should be sufficiently elevated
50 that the juices In the pen viii not
nasty up this part, and there should
/ be bedding enough in the pen to enable
| the pigs to keep their feet and their en-
/ tire bodies clean, when this is done the
! trough viii not be so dirty and the pigs
1 will do better We have often cautioned
against giving young pigs too hearty
food, as it is Injurious to them; SO is
| dirty food. The former produces de-
rangement of the stomach and bowels,
leading to djarThea, and if Continued to
Inflammation of the bowels, and the lat
ter to nausea, loss of appetite and per-
haps the same results. In either case
the pigs do not thrive. Another mis-
take which must be guarded against is
feeding swill or milk too sour.
/ When wheat or rye bran is mixed
with the swill, fermentation is very
rapid, especially in hot weather, and
the swill win reach a condition unit
I l. 4
unless he mixes only sufficient quanti-
ty at time for one or two feelings
ahead Fermentation in 4 swilI barrel
where sour milk is mixed with the CON
tents is activel y going on all the time.
| As fermentation changes the character
of feed. the farmer often feeds his
young pigs Just exactly that which is
| almost if not Absolutely poisonous,
while he is supposing all OF the time he
is giving them the most healthful and
nutritious kinds of food. For instance,
he puts skim milk into his swill barrel,
So much of it that it is not fed out as
it is simply sour and lopperd. and it re
mains there until It. undergoes the
other forms OF fermentation, and be-
comes either acetous or putrefactive,
either condition rendering it unfit for
food A swill barrel, to put it In plain
AesA4 81 oNAA eAAfSO AA0 OCAcCA0C otlC
either vinegar or alcohol, or SO sinking
that putrefaction is evident, is not the
proper medium fQr healthy pigs The
deleterious effects of bad food may
be counteracted somewhat by feeding
charcoal freely, which pigs, with a
knowing instinct, will always devour
greedily "a little and often,n is the
rule of all successful pig raisers; g a lit
tie (" means Just what the pig will eat
without leaving the trough, and when it
is first taken from the sow, it could be
measured in gill cup; as it grows older
and larger, the ration should grow with
increased size and appetite. !" Often -
means. when the pig is young, not less
than six times day and when older not
less than four, until the growing age is
over and the fattening season begins,
when pig will eat three times in day
all the food it can digest.
To do just right the milk skinned in
the morning should all be fed by night
time the same day, that is, skinned or
sour milk should all be fed within twelve
hours after skimming, and bran mixed
in it should also be fed within twelve
hours. In hot weather six hours would
be better. To manage this business
properly there should be two swill bar
rels, and mixtures be made accordingly.
one being fed as the other is emptied.-
+. ID. Curtis, IN Rural NelO Yorker.