The National tribune., 1893-05-18

A SOW should never have pigs before she is
year old. 1t is better il she is 10 months old.
If she is allowed to breed before she is year
old, she will have but very few pigs, and but
little milk for them. An old SOW, like an old
cow, will give more milk than young one.
Hence it is that an old sow will have larger
and better pigs than young one, because they
get bounteous supply of that which is most
natural TO them. As soon it is ascertained that
a SOW is in pig, which will be known between
the 10Th and 22d day after taking the boar, she
should be fed lightly and allowed to have
plenty of exercise. She should run to grass, If
in Summer, aud be on the ground. A SOW will
run four months, less nine or 10 days. from the
time she takes the boar to her time of littering.
Old sows will run longer than young ones,
and some breeds will run longer than others,
but they will not in any instance vary a week.
Many farmers are too careless and Indifferent
to the wants of their domestic animals at this
critical period. Want of proper food, of water,
of comfortable shelter and places of rest,
worried by dogs, and other things, it is no
wonder that disease and abortions are among
the resulting consequences.
AS the time of farrowing approaches more
generous feeding is required. The increased
demand upon the vitality of the sow must be
met by full diet, but it should be composed
mostly of green, succulent and light diet, care
fully avoiding all heating and stimulating food.
Little or no dry corn should be given. House
and dairy slop, bran. shorts, and coarse prov
ender
/ would recommend that brood sow should
at all seasons be confined to small yard and
pen by herself for at least one week before she
is expected 20 be delivered, and that her bed
should be fine, short hay or chopped straw, and
the walls or partitions of that portion of the
pen where the bed is should be supplied with
guard to effectually prevent the sow from over
laying the pigs.
/ arranged them as / shall describe and
found my plan effectual in preventing overlay
ing. l attached firmly to the side or partitions
of the pen around the bed, blocks about 3 K 6 x
II inches in length. placing the length yerti-
caly and keeping the lower end of the block
about six inches from the floor. On these blocks
| nailed fender of / inches. keeping the
lower edge of the fender level with the lower
end of the block. This prevented the sow
from lying directly against the walls or parti-
tion of the pens, and left room for the pigs to
escape being crushed by their running back
under the fender, from which they had free
escape in two directions by the blocks being
placed the hight named from the floor. i be-
lieve that this simple arrangement has saved
me hundreds of pigs.
If a sow has plenty of milk when she filters
her pigs will not be likely to get killed, because
they will get all they want and lie down
in pile and sleep; whereas if the sow is scant
of milk the pigs will be hungry and will be
scattered around her, constantly working at
her. and likely to get killed. She should
be kept up until her pigs can run smartly, say
10 days or two weeks, but no longer. If con-
fined too long and fed on strong feed, dry corn.
or raw cornmeaI she will become ravenOus and
eat her pigs. There is SO much of oleagnous
matter grease iii corn that hogs Will get
fevered easily Oh it, and become bilious and
ravenous. They not so likely TO become so
on slop feed. While closely confined they should
be supplied with plenty of fresh dirt daily. To
counterfeit the effect of OleaginOus food, some
thing of an alkaline or vegetable nature must
be given them. A SOW should never be allowed
to have pigs before March in the Spring, nor
after November in the Fall, because cold
weather is very obnoxious to young pigs.
After pigs get few weeks old, / prefer
letting them have range of pasture; it tends
to their health and comfort. But when | wish
to fatten, a clean, dry pen is preferred. 1 also
prefer ground food, cooked or scalded, for pigs
at all times. For young pigs corn and oats
ground together is the best. Though hogs do
very we'll on clover, they will do better and
pay well if they have small allowance of prov
ender mixed with their drink They should
always have it when kept on either grass in |
orchards. 1t is we'll to bear in mind that such
extra feed over what is sufficient to keep them
in good growing order goes to make extra
growth, for certain amount of grain when |
fed i'll addition to enough other feed to make |
a moderate growth must be nearly all stored |
up as extra growth. Hence, moderate al |
lowance of grain fed in the Summer and Fall !
in this way secures more growth and better re-
turns than can he realized by feeding in any |
other way. Besides taking good care of your
hogs, be sure that you have a good breed, if |
you wish to make breeding and feeding hogs
proftabie.-AmerieaR Farmer.