The Columbus journal., 1893-06-21
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
SOAKED CORN THE BEST FEED
For YOUNG PIGS.
shorts and Oil Meal Part Of the Ration
Tho Hay CrOp-DOdble Crops
Poultry and Bees. House,
hold Helps.
feed for Young Pigs.

In the absence of milk, we feed
soaked corn to young pigs between
the ages of two to six weeks. almost
without stint, and / find at this age
the pig will stand more corn in pro-
portion to his size than when a few
weeks Older-that is, if his dam is
being well fed on milk producing
foed. When they are from four to
six weeks old the dam should be milk
ing her very best, and this is why
soaked corn can be fed at this time
without injury to thepigs. They arc
getting sufficient milk from the dam
to neutraiiZe corn that would other
wise be injurious from its lack of
bone and muscle-making material
Wien the dams milk begins to fail,
or perhaps ought to say, when the
assimilative capacity of the pigs has
increased beyond the power of
the dam to supply it, which is
usually at about six weeks of
age, we do not continue increasing
the amount of soaked corn feed in
the SAME ratio, but begin feeding
slops made of good shorts and oil
meal, in the proportion of one part
of oil meal to four parts shorts. We
find by soaking them together be-
tween feeds that the pigs do much
better than if fed On the slop as soon
as it is mixed. No one will claim
that soaking adds anything to the
feed, but soaking six or eight hours
dissolves the shorts and makes them
easier of assimilation. With shorts,
oil meal and soaked corn, good pigs
can he raised without milk other
than that supplied by the dam. ]
have observed that many farmers
lose interest at once as soon as oil
meal is mentioned as good for any
kind of stock; they regard it as
something beyond their reach. when
the facts are that in combination
with other feeds. and when its ben
eficial effect on the system is con-
sidered. it is usually one
of tho cheapest foods within
our reach. AS preventive of harsh
haired, hide-bound pigs, it has no
equal. Last summer We found one
bunch of thirty pigs at ten weeks old
consuming two pals of shorts, one
half pail of oil meal, and pail of
soaked corn at each feed, fed three
times day. The shorts and oil
meal being we'll mixed before water
was added, and while the above may
seem like heavy feeding, observed
the pigs were doing some heavy
growing. About this time the bunch
was divided into two lots of fifteen
each, and quick rise in their de-
mand for increased feed was noticed,
showing that thirty was too large a
number to feed together to obtain
the best results. An adjoining bunch
of thirty of the same age and practic-
ally the same as far as breeding was
concerned were fed and treated exact
ly the same, except that the shorts
and oil meal were fed as soon as
mixed. We found that while they
would eat as much corn as
the other lot, they con-
sumed about Onc-third less
of the oil meal and shorts, and were
not showing nearly as good results
as the first lot. At eleven weeks We
concluded the experiment was grow
ing too costly to continue farther;
but the first lot held what they had
gained, and while individuals OF the
second lot caught up with them, their
comparative general average re-
mained about the same until fall As
good or even better results can be
obtained by soaking corn as can be
had by grinding. All the advantage
of grinding is that it makes the food
more easily penetrated by the juices
OF the stomach, allowing the work of
assimilation to begin at once. Soak
ing the corn gets at the same result
with more effect if the corn meal is
fed without being soaked. Corn
meal soaked may be better than
whole corn soaked, out not enough
better to pay for grinding.-tieorge
Wylie. before Wisconsin Institute.