The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-06-27
Late Spring and Summer Pigs.

Late Spring and Summer Pigs.
Scarcely any wine breeders are now
unaware of the great advantage in Sc
curing early litters OF pigs. especially
if these are to be fattened and killed at
eight or ten months of age. A pig
farrowed in March will with good
management average a pound day
gain until he is ready to kill in Novem-
ber or December. There is not much
advantage, if any, in farrowing before
March. What is gained one way is
lost another. 1t is hard to keep the
very early pigs warm. If they become
staunted with cold they will not by
midsummer be as thr. fly or large as
those dropped two months latter.
There are every season. however.
many late spring and even summer
pigs that are puzzle to their owners
what to profitably do with them. If
dropped very late in summer they had
better be sent to the butcher before
cold weather. They must eat consider
able corn in severe weather to keep
warm. and pig needs to have some
age and properly cultivated digestive
apparatus to make profitable use of
corn or any other very hearty food.
This also is true of late spring pigs.
Putting them ON corn rat:ons as soon
as corn is ready in the fall is one of
the principal reasons why they do not
fatten rs we'll or make as heavy weights
as those farrowed earlier. In fatten-
ing hog properly sheltered there is liz
tie likelihood of his being injured by
cold. except as the weather may give
excuse for increased rations of corn. it
is the digestion rather than the weather
that is at fault for many cases of un-
thrittiness.
Many of these late spring pigs make
excellent breeders; but for his use
even greater care must be given to
feed. SO that they will grow lon 2, rangy
and thrifty without fatteuing. A corn
fed sow is apt to be short, roun and
pudgy. with u tendency to fatten early
rather than to grow. She cannot be a
good mixer or mother, and very likely
her first litter will be weaklings, or her
unnatural craving for a different diet
will induce her to turn upon and eat
her ffspring.
The feed of these late pigs should be
generous in quaint ty but varied in
quality, and containing ample amour IS
of bone-making material. Bran and
milk are excellent So are oats and
peas ground together. Wherever fruit
abounds the refuse apples should be
given freely, and if these are not at
hand, a crop of bee Is should be grown
expressly for use in helping fill ont the
stomachs of pigs with light easily-df-
gested food. The advantage of hav ing
a hay pasture con sists very largely in
the fact that it insures TO the pig due
proportion of bulky food to distend the
stomach. The exercise for hogs is NOS
nearly so important as some have
thought Their business is 10 eat l;e
down and grow. If fed all they will
eat in pasture. much of their time will
be spent in sleep.
If pigs are properly fed aud warmly
housed they will take the boar when
seven to eight m onths old, and drop u
litter when year old. Here again the
} early pig has the advantage. but we
never knew time when II SOW with
a pig due to farrow any time in the
spring would not sell for much more
than her value for killing and putting
into the pork barrel 1t is profitable
business setting sows to breeding, pro-
,, vided the owner is not too greedy, and
takes care to sell off so fast that he
cannot easily become over-stocked. -
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