Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-09-29
FEEDING WHEAT 10 STOCK.
Expert Opinions ON Methods Of Feeding
& Hogs aud Sheen.

REPORTS III the daily papers state that
Ohio farmers IRE feeding wheat and
making 20 pounds of pork from IL bushel
that is. three pounds Of feed make u
pound of gain, live weight. While such
gains may be had for Il week or two tho
feeder must not expect moro than u
pound with lean shoats from about four
pounds of wheat. OF say Is pounds of
pork from Il bushel of wheat when fed
to slloats that have been running on pas
ture and are not too fat nor the futten-
ing period too long continued, for the
last few weeks Of the %fattening period
show u very marked increase in the
amount of feed for Il pound of pork.
Allowing Is pounds of pork for a
bushel of wheat it will be seen that at
present prices farmers can we'll afford to
feed even merchantable wheat. This
true, there is evidently more profit still in
feeding wheat that is rejected because of
some slight fault which Injuries its flour
ing qualities, but not necessarily its feed.
ing value.
But I should not feed the wheat by it.
self. 1t will pay much better to dilute
it with soaked corn or cornmeal and a
little shorts. Wheat flour in itself makes
q pasty mass in the mouth of the ami
NAL, which can be remedied by using
cornmeal and shorts or even a little
bran. Two parts wheat, with two parts
o and one part shorts by weight, will
prove the very best feed for young pigs
and shoats. For fattening hogs, use half
cornmeal and half wheat. The wheat
may be ground into a coarse meal and
will then not be SO sticky. This feed
given to thrifty shoats that have grown
a good frame on pasture, with a large,
healthy, digestive tract, should give
splendid hogs, carrying the best of pork.
Doubtless just at this time there are a
good many farmers who are waiting for
the corn crop to ripen in order to fatten
their hogs. Some of these same farmers
may have wheat in bins which is not of
the best quality, waiting for a rise in
the market. Personally l believe wheat
will go higher, but will it not pay to feed
poor and in some cases even good wheat
to hogs in order to hurry them off, save
time, feed and get ready n which
is quite an object just now with many?
1t may seem a little strange to feed
wheat to hogs, but there has been more
wheat offered the last few years than
the markets of the world would buy.
and why take second thought on that
side SO long as there is more money in
feeding than in selling?
Where a farmer has ii little wheat that
no 1nQS NOT po,.o ~ co11 81
wish to take it to the mill for grinding
it can be boiled in a large kettle. and a
little of this boiled wheat given to shoats
or young pigs will pay double, 1 believe,
what the miller will give for the wheat,
in the way If helping the animals on in
growth or flesh.
A correspondent of the St. Louis Re-
public says of feeding wheat to hogs and
sheep:
Wheat is very low in price now, and
there is no question but that in many
cases it be fed with good results.
This is especially the case when feeding
hogs or sheep to fatten. Under present
conditions a higher price can be realized
by feeding the wheat to vigorous, thrifty
hogs or sheep and then selling in this
way than by selling the grains.
With hogs it can be fed to better ad.
vantage if it is soaked long enough to
soften the grains thoroughly. The OBJ
lection to feeding it without soaking is
that it is naturally a hard grain, and
being small more or less of it will be
swallowed without being properly mas
tlcated, and the consequence is that
more or less of it will not be digested.
and of course this is a waste.
Wheat, before it is fed to hogs, should
be soaked at least 10 or 12 hours, and "a
would not be too much. Use two bar
rels. and as fast as one is fed out fill it
up and put to soak while the other is be-
ing fed.
In putting to soak use plenty of wa
ter. The grain swells very much, and
plenty of water is needed to soften il
thoroughly. It is best to begin feeding
with a light ration and gradually in
crease until they are given all that thew
will eat up clean at each meal. With
all kinds of stock it is comparatively
easy to overfeed at the start, and it will
require some time entirely to recover
from the effect. The better plan is to
bring them to full feed gradually, and
then, once on full r%ations, to crowd as
much as possible. With sheep there is
no special advantage in soaking the
wheat. 1t is better, however, to feed in
shallow troughs.
Another good way of feeding wheat to
hogs is to grind it coarse and then make
it into a slop with milk if it can be had.
or with water if milk cannot be secured.
Fattening hogs can be given all that
they will eat of this, and if thrifty and
given comfortable quarters and plenty
of pure water will fatten very rapidly.
Live Stock Points
There are nearly $4,000 registered
standard stations in the United States.
At the poultry shows white fowls
that have been reared in soft coal dis
tricts make a show indeed. They are 80
gray that they would not at first glance
be taken for white at all, and they seem
to belong to a different breed from other
chickens Of the same kind from anthra-
cite coal burning localities.