Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-10-22

and Berkshire sows. The ages of
/ the sows ranged from one to five
! years and the weights from 206 lbs.
for the yearling Razorback to 532 for
four year old Berkshire, the average
weight for the IL sows being 34S fbs.
"A critical study of the data in the
! table will disclose the interesting
fact that the number and weight OF
/ the pigs in the various litters bear
fairly constant relation to the weight
of the sows. Similarly, though not
, so uniformly, the filters seemed to be
influenced by the age of the sows. 1t
is very evident that the older and
larger sows are much better mothers
than the younger and smaller ones,
and that the common practice of many
farmers in disposing of their old
brood sows each year and reserving
young and immature animals for
breeding purposes is not to be COM
mended. Sows from 3 to 5 and even
6 years of age are much more profit
able and satisfactory as breeders than
sows one and two years cid.
I'm these data it will be seen that
some sows yield almost double the
quantity of milk given by others,
hence it seems evident that there is as
much variation n the amount of milk
given by different sows as there is
among dairy cows. A marked falling
off is also apparent in the quantity
of milk given by all the sows from the
fourth to the eighth week, the aver
, age daily yield for each SOW at the
first weighing being 623 TBS. and at
the second, 1856 lbs, a difference of
2.3S TBS. daily, or falling of 3S per
cent. in four weeks. The weights
ascertained in the second weighing
period are not as accurate as those
of the first, owing to the fact that the
active. The explanation offered is
that the amount of milk given was
very small and that the active ex-
ercise entailed on the pigs while nurs-
ing during the hot season resulted in
a decrease in weight similar to that of
a steer or fat hog in driving or ship
ping it to market"
The bulletin exhaustively treats of
experiments in the matter of feed of
the different kinds and it's effect upon
| the several breeds during different
stages of their growth, showing tabu-
lated results.
Amount and Composition of Feed.
I'm all of the published results of
experiments, so far as the writer
could determine, there has been no
effort made to show the total amount
of feed required by individual pigs
from the time of their birth to their
maturity. 1t is to be regretted that
lack of proper facilities prevented
the feeding of the entire lot of eighty
six pigs on this experiment to full
maturity, which would have given an
amount of data sufficiently large and
complete from which to draw con-
illusions that would have stood the
test of time. In the data at hand,
however, we have sufficient amount
from the twenty-four pigs that were
fed and weighed individually from
weaving time to maturity, to give
results, which, when averaged for the
entire lot, may be considered very
conclusive. The total amount of
/ feed eaten and the total gains made
by each pig has been determined and
the data given in the tables. In the
! table presented is shown the total di-
gestible nutrients consumed by each
pig and by groups for the entire
period, a proportionate amount of the
sow's feed over the feed required for
maintenance for the twelve weeks
/ before weaving being included in the
amounts given for each pig.
=. Results of Slaughter Test.
AS before stated the pigs in this
after the experiment proper closed,
the feed being continued the same
with each pig until it was slaughtered.
1t was planned to carry four pigs
from each group through the slaugh-
ter test, but one of the pigs in group
c died before the date set for slaugh-
tering. and another was so badly out
of condition that the data for it are
not included in the last table. show
ing the results in detail of the test.
The features of particular interest in
the table, as having a bearing on the
feeding, are the breaking strength of
the thigh bones and the percentage OF
dressed carcass to live weight, also
J to the peculiar relation that appears
to exist in the proportionate length of
the alrge and small intestines as
shown by the average lengths for the
different groups. From these data it
would seem that the beef meal in the
rations had a marked influence on
the strength of the bones in the diff
ferert pigs, while the rations contain
ing large proportion of corn seemed
to have the effect of greatly weaken
ing the bones of the pigs to which
they were fed"