Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-07-20
Feed For Young Pigs.

From the Western Rural.
Perhaps there are no greater mistakes
| made in feeding animals than is ofteu
the case with pigs. Indeed, We are in
clined to think that the climax of ex-
pensive absurdity is reached in swine
feeding. Often animals do grow and de-
velop in spite of very bad eeding. But
| our swine, we might almost soy as a
rule, do not develop, and somehow we
get the idea that fat is growth five
do not make this mistake almost from
the beginning, we are entirely too apt
to fall into the error before the pig
reaches maturity. It is always a very
great mistake, and the earlier in the life
! of the pig that we begin to make it; the
greater mistake it is. To expect a young
pig. to develop bone and muscle,
without feeding it anything that will
make bone and muscle is a great absurd
lily. Yet that would often seem to be
theory in hog raising. After its birth
the pig is either left tojtake care of itself,
the dam not .even being properly fed
sometimes, or is fed upon that repre-
hensible theory that lat isgrowth. Men
| have been known to feed all the corn
meal that the young man animal would
l Cdl, JtlSt dS SUCi1 ttS II COulu taught lO
eat corn meal. What could naturally be
expected as the result of such a course?
Corn meal contains sixty-six per cent.
of starch, seven per cent. of fat, ten per
cent. of nitrogenous elements, and scarce
| ly any phosphate of lime. Now grow
| ing pig can be literally starved to death
| upon such ration, although it may be
SO fat that it cannot stand upon its feet.
Indeed, its inability to stand upon its
feet would soon manifest itself,an would
! be an evidence that its was
starved. Its legs would not be
strong enough to hold it. Its
bones and muscular system would have
| nothing to feed upon, and must nee
essarily grow weak, at least weak in pro-
| portion to its age and growth Of fat.
There would all The time be a demand
| for an increase of muscular and bony
! strength to support the growing weight,
| and no response whatever to the de-
1 mand
In the artiticisl feeding of yonng pigs
| skim milk stands at the head of food,
and when there is plenty of that there
need be no serious uneaSiness about re-
suits. Cooked corn meal may be advan.
| tageously added in small quantities to
| the milk-provided there is plenty OF
milk as It is the milk that will furnish
4 the albuminoids and mineral elements.
Indeed the proportion ofthose is SO very
large, that to produce the very best re-
suits corn mealin proportion of say about
one pound to a quart Of milk, is very de.
sirable. This ration about equalizes the
albunlinoids and fat producing elements
AS required by the animal system. II
the farmer does not have the milk,
cooked corn meal, and oats in equal
parts and one part of oil n.eal will prove
to be a good ration. Some grind oats
ard peas together, and feed cooked, and
others feed six parts OF peas. and toui
parts of corn and one part OF tlaSseed
If your pIgs do not gain as much as a
pound day in live weight we can con
clude at once that thee is ratlica
defect in our system of feeding The
1 young pig should be fed liquid food, al
that is more easily digested, and should
after weaving be fed five or six times
day for considerable time, after which
the number of times can be reduced.
OF course the feeder viii not under
value grass as a food for pigs. If he does
he will dispense with very cheaF
means of feeding, and injure the anima
besides. 1t will not answer to feed grow
ing animals wholly upon concentrated
food. Concentrated food enters the
stomach in solid mass, and 1t requires
time for the gastric juice to mix with i
ard digest it. But # with the concen
trated food grass is fed, the mass il
!. loosened up and the gastric juice has F;