The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-03-14
FARMER AND PLANTER.
CARE OF YOUNG PIGS.

A . Preliminary Thefeto the Sow Must
be Well Housed and Properly Fed--Pprs
Air and Water and Plenty Of Sunshine
and Exercise Necessary.
The following Ii from a paper pre-.
pared by Chas. E. Barker and read al
the meeting of the Kentucky Swine
Breeders association At Louisville,
The care of young gigs is the most
Important part of swine breeding, and
Unless the pig is properly managed the
hog will never attain it best rcsrass
The first important etsp iii this matter
Is gentle sow; second, a clean, warm
bed, entirely free of dust (the pigs
worst enemy, in place where the
sow can be quiet and not annoyed by
other hogs; third, feed for sow That
will make The iesifed Quantity mo
fret6, 81 wholesome milk for the pigs,
and fourth, plenty Of well-prepared
food for pigs. and WITH lot where
the sarsiiiiie and pure air and plenty
of exercise will keep them in good
health. l will say nothing about the
breeding and previous treatment Of
the SOW, though this is ihsepafably
united with Successful pig raising, for
Unless the sow is carefully Bred add
well provided ffes. fsssieus to farrow-
ing tho fesuit will be disappointing.
She must be gentle for reasons too OBJ
vious to mention here, ONE being s1f-
ficient Should she need any help, you
could render it. She should be put
in her lot and become accustomed
to her quarters ten days Or two
weeks Before narrowing. Her bed
should be plenty large, or
roomy. dry, clean and warm. She
should be as much by herself as posi-
Bile SO as not to be excited by any other
stock at this time. Watch for the far
rowing; but do not offer any assist.
ance unless positively dstnandet-she
will he BEST alone 90 out of 100 times
Only once in Is years have had occa-
sion TO render help, and now doubt
that that was needed. When the pigs
are born see that they all get to the
teats, and let the whole business alone
for rs hours, only to see that the after
birth Is not In the way of the pigs
and to remove it with a pitchfork if
the dam does not cat it in an hour
or so. The lot should have plenty
of gt,od drinking wafer, as the fever
ish dam will be thirsty. The SOW will
indicate at the end of "a or 80 hours
that she needs something to eat; and
should be given a thin slop Of warm
bran or chopped wheat. Never give
her all she wants. Don't encourage
her to eat; overlooking the sow at
this time is sure to produce a crop of
culls. Never let her have as much as
she wants until the pigs commence to
eat slop, and then never leave any in
her lot. Try at all times to
keep the SOW just as quiet as
possible; be on speaking terms
with her, scratch her and the
pigs and make them gentle, and
You viii find it great pleasure, as
well as profit, to look after them every
day. l am sure we can not do better
for two or three days after the birth of
the pigs than to secure the greatest
quiet and comfort for the sow and try
and give only such attention as is pos
itively required. I have known the
squealing of pig to arouse hogs in
adjoining lot, and they would excite
the SOW, who would tramp on her pigs
and do much damage. Keep her quiet
by all means. When she comes
out and wants exercise, have the
warm slop (of ground wheat and
bran made very thin ready and
let her have little of it. Don't
feed her in the bed nor too near it.
Remember SOW .over-fed will surely
overlap her Pigs, as she is too dull and
sluggish to properly notice them.
Gradually make the sIop thick as pigs
can stand it. / am aware am saying
a good deal about the care of the sow,
but this is the only way to care for
young pigs. just so long as the SOW
is properly cared for, just so long and
no longer will the pigs be cared for.
If the sow is overfed the pigs will
suffer the consequence-just here
is the critical point. If you
will manage the sow properly
for two weeks after the birth
of the pigs, the fight is half won, and
the only way can do 1t is by close
personal attention to the SOW. My
friends, If you don't intend to do this,
you had better stop and try some
shing else, for you have missed your
calling and your plan will not go.
Feed the SOW three times per day, or
whenever she is up; don't arouse her
to feed. Feed on not too rich food.
Watch closely the pigs, for If the feed
scours the pigs you have a bad job on
hand and some culls. Change feed at
once. Feed dry bran or wheat; a
little SKINNED sweet milk to sow
Is good, also little charcoal
and copperas put in the feed once
per week all the year round is
fine preventive of disease-worth all
the cholera cures in America. After
the pigs commence to eat slop, have a
pen where the SOW can't get to the
slop and feed the pigs little slop or
SKINNED sweet milk warm. Gradually
it with shorts or ground wheat,
keeping the pigs a little hungry all the
time, and remembering that hungry
pig is much more desirable than one
overfed. only use corn or cornmeal
for pigs after they are two or three
old, and then only in cold
Corn makes fat and heat but
e too constipating, while wheat, bran
Ind shorts make bone and muscle,
Ind are more laxative. ] have almost
~rr,o N tho coy,c1,e;<v, that oorv, nox.