The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-01-16
%PoRTABLR Hoe PEN.

PORTABLE HOG PEN.
without protection they soon become
chilled through and may leave their
food to again seek warmth in the
nest Hogs that are subjected to such
conditions SOC begin to cough and
suffer from lung trouble. They be-
come gaunt, with arched backs, and
have every evidence of a 'fhumped up
and unthrifty condition. Many farm
ers allow their hogs to work in straw.
stacks for shelter from the cold. Icon
side such a place a regular death trap
for swine in large numbers. Another
bedroom that is bad is the hog house
with a floor two or three feet from the
ground. Many such buildings are
open on one or more sides, so. that a
cold draft can get under the floor. And
again, I would not allow hogs to lie
against a stone wall. The earth itself,
with a little straw, makes the best bed
in the world for a hog If it is dry. In
that one word, dry, is the great secret
of successfully wintering swine. Di-
vide the herd into small lots of not
o than ten each; and in the case of
matured brood sows five or six together
IRE better than more. Keep them as
warm as possible, and have them dry.
would much prefer to have my
hogs to sleep in cold and dry than
in warm and wet. / am not go-
ing to advise anyone who has a
nice permanent hog house to ADAM
don its use, but / certainly do advise
any farmer who contemplates building
one not to do so. 1 have a hog house
and make but little use of it, and will
eventually tear it down.
1t is difficult to get sunlight and
warmth into large houses, and, more
than that, they are likely to become
a hotbed of disease germs, and much
fertility is wasted about them. Hogs
should be changed about from lot to
lot. We want a rotation of hog pens,
so to speak, turning up each lot in
turn to the sun and air, cropping it a
season or two and putting it back to
Agrass. In this way the fertility is scat
had where it will be of use and the
are much healthier. The man
Nways confines his hogs to one
yard and building can never att
reat success in swine husbandry.
hugh drawing herewith submitted
Jnvey an idea of a portable sleep
id breeding pen that / have used
number of years. They not only
bne= splendid satisfaction, but
y please every man who tries
Swine are, of course, never fed
Sc pens. / feed outdoors the year
/, either on dry earth or on port
feeding floors. These pens are
lht feet square. To make them,
construct a platform eight feet square,
using 2x4 scantlings for sills and inch
stuff-for floors. Next take eight boards
10 feet long, one inch thick and IL
inches wide; saw them in the center
and use them for the roof, as shown in
the drawing. Use half-inch battens
to cover cracks. A yentilator should
he placed in the roof, and a small kim
man can stand upright in the pen
nicely. They stand right on the ground,
so that no cold air can get under them.
"A door is not necessary, as they are
very warm without. They make a
splendid breeding pen for one SOW,
by placing a 2x4 or 2x6 across the end
Opposite the door and six to eight
ihches from the floor. The pen is COM
pieteiy rendered, as the sow cannot lie
close to the caves, and the pigs can
get out of the way. This style of pen
costs about five dollars to build; it is
very durable. Two men will easily
raise up one end of it, when a stone
boat may be placed under for the pur-
pose Of changing its location. | have
several Of these pens. In the stm-
mer they are moved to the pasture for
shelter against storms, and in the fall
they are moved to the yards. / attrib-
ute much of my success with fall pigs
TO the use Of these pens, and warm
food: The bedding is changed twice a
week, and the pigs r always warm
-pnd dry.-C II. Everett, in Prairie
Earmer.