St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-02-22
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE BROOD SOW.

THE BROOD SOW.
A Few Hlnts - to Her Management fFs0
IN Authoritative Source.
The meat problem Is one in which
every farmer and planter is interested.
We therefore give the following from
Bulletin No. IS Of the Mississippi ex-
pertinent station:
When four months old she should not
be associated with unrestricted males.
She should not be bred until she is at
least one year old. This is important,
for no young sow can suckle litter Of
pigs and grow at the same time. Let
her get her growth before her constitu-
ton is taxed with the sucking of lit
ter of pigs. If, as Is customary. she is
starved and only about half the size
she ought to be at ten months old, and
is then forced to raise . litter Of five or
six pigs, we can not expect her todo the
pigs justice, nor to develop into the
square, even-bodied specimens We SO
much admire. A mature sow in good
condition will raise a litter of pigs,
five or six in number, that will be
worth more to feed or breed than two
large litters from q young. lean, half
starved sow. Therefore do not ask
her to suckle litter until she is 1t
least sixteen months old. When bred
she should be kept growing right upto
narrowing time. During the first two
months she may be fed literally, if
given food of a bone-and-muscle-ma MAX
;nr lr;nI n,,r;rxp <Io uo~< <vr-1 vr0u<ho
she should be kept growing little, but
not pushed. During the whole time,
or, at least, up to within a week of far
rowing, she should be allowed to run
in pasture or large lot. A week be-
fore she is due to farrow, which will
about log days after breeding
for the period Of CESSATION in
SOW is from l13 to 116 days-she
should be placed In a small lot, in
which is the narrowing pen. She
should be alone and disturbed as little
as possible. During the week the food
should be small in quantity, and of
such nature as to keep the bowels
loose. In Mississippi it Is common
practice to allow the bears to run with
the sows, and the breeder, therefore,
does not know when his sows will far
row. He allows them to run with 9TH
or hogs, and furnishes them no special
place to farrow. Then when the pigs
are killed by other hogs, laid upon by
the mother, or smothercd in an improp
er nest, he bewails his hard luck ~ and
the unprofitableness of hog raising.
His bad luck, as usual, is bad manage
ment, the result of laziness or igno-
rance. II it pays to keep sow to raise
pigs, It certainly does not pay to let
those pigs, die, when little attcn-
ton might save them. As before
stated, the sow should be put in .
small lot, in which is narrowing pen,
about a week before narrowing. This
pen should be about ten feet square,
and closed to make it comfortable in
winter and open for the same reason in
summer. Running around the sides Of
the building, about six inches above
the floor and parallel with 1t, . plank
about ten inches wide should be spiked.
This will give the piggies a place Of
safety, where the mother can neither
crush nor smother them. This alone
will save enough pigs to pay for the
whole house, or pen. In winter lit
tie short or fine bedding may be al
lowed, but in summer the bare floor
or ground is preferable. Many a man
out of kindness gives his sow large
bed, thereby furnishing her means
of smothering the young. If the
SOW is worth keeping she is worth
watching at narrowing time. A man
who for any reason is not in actual at
tendance when the sow is narrowing
should not have the care of stock, as
many pig may be saved by a little care
ut this time. If it is very cold the pigs
should be taken from the sow and
placed in q basket filled with rags, or
something similar, to keep them warm.
Shortly after the pigs are all born, they
should be put back with their mother.
am aware that most farmers consider
this too much trouble, and agree that
this time would not be well spent in
the caring for razorbacks, but if one
has hogs worth feeding, he should give
them such attendance, as the loss of .
litter of pigs is the loss of considerable
money. We are, in the south, not suffi-
GENTLY accustomed to looking after the
details to make stock raising sue
cessful, for the successful raising OF
stock, above all other things. requires
close, personal attention to the details
of management and feeding. For the
first three weeks after narrowing the
sow should be confined to the lot.
During the first week she should re-
ceive little more than enough to sus-
tain her, and nothing should be fed
that is calculated to produce large
low of milk. From the end of the first
week to the end of the third week, the
food should be gradually increased, and
from the time the pigs are four months
old until they are weaned the SOW
should get all the milk-producing food
she can cat. If the feed has been grad
ually increased she will not lose her
appetite, as so often happens. 1t re-
Auires more care than skill in feeding
the brood sow. 1t IS important that
the milk supply be increased in proper
ton to the increased capacity of the
pigs to consume it. If the sow be fed
too much when the pigs are young
too much milk is taken by them, and
scours, or diarrh1a, is the result, while
if not enough is given, when the pigs