Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-06-06
SANITARY HOGPENS.
RELATIVE MERITS OF LARGE AND
SMALL BUILDINGS.

Large Houses Are Favored by a
Kansas Grower-Points In Which
They ExceI-Care and Feeding.
How to Build Hoghouse.
There has been considerable writing
done of late in regard to Lighthouses,
and the most popular notion at present
seems to be in favor of the small
houses that can be easily moved about
the lot or field, writes J. L. Irwin of
Kansas in National Stockman. One
point brought out is the sanitary condi-
ton of the house, it being claimed that
the smaller house has all In its favor.
Now, there are great many successful
swine raisers who favor the big house,
which, if properly constructed and
cared for, can leave nothing wanting,
and there is no questioning the fact
that it requires less work and is far
more convenient than the smaller
houses can possibly be. But to be a
success they must be made right and
kept right.
The house should be well construct
ed, with n good roof and floor. 1t
should extend north and south, with
windows on the east and west sides.
A four foot alley should extend through
the center of the building. and the
pens, s by 10 feet, should open into this
on each side. The doors for exit and
entrance are at the ends of the aisles.
Doors can be made to close the en-
trance to the pens from the aisle.
There should be some method of ven
tilation provided by means of the win
dows or through roof yentilators, as
this will be an important consideration
in well constructed house.
AS to keeping the house in Il sanitary
condition, this is almost entirely i'll the
management Of the hogs. Hogs will
use the pens for sleeping purposes, but
for no other, unless forced to do so, and
will invariably form clearly habits
where given a chance. Right manage
ment gives them that chance. The
hogs should be fed at regular hours
at the stroke of the clock. This will
tend to form regular habits, which will
keep the house free from all filth and
litter except that from the bedding and
the dust that will naturally accumu-
late. The bedding should not be over
six inches deep, Of hay CT straw. This
should be changed as often as it be-
comes dusty or pulveriZed too fine.
Hogs should never be forced to breathe
dust. There will be no danger of pill
ing up, as only limited number can
get into a pen, and on the coolest day
in winter it will be necessary to keep
the house somewhat open if there is
any number of hogs in it.
With us there seems but little room
for debate ON the relative merits of the
large and the small Eoghouse. Both
may have their place on every farm,
but for the fattening pen or the breed
ing pen we consider the big house best
from every point of view. When it is
necessary to clean out pen, with the
fine litter that is in it, there will be
found but little labor in sweeping out
into the aisle and then forking or
scooping into cart at the door. Clean?
What small house could be cleaned
quicker and easier than this pen? And
when there are dozen to be cleaned,
could you clean q dozen houses as
easily as a dozen pens? And one can
not deny that the sanitary condition
and ventilation and light are superior
to any shanty that can be made.