The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1910-12-09
LESSONS in
PIG FEEDIN G

weigh 300 pounds at eight months OF
age. For the pig two to six months
old protein is the most, important
feed. Without protein it cannot build
up the lean meat or grow to any size.
Protein is found in skim-milk, clover
and alfalfa. Corn is nine-tenths car
bOhydrates, oats have little more
protein than corn. but not sufficient
for the pig. Rye contains little
more protein than corn. Barley is
one of the best feeds on the farm;
it contains more protein rnan noes
rye. Even if you have corn and
clover it is still necessary for the
young pig to have some protein food
Cow peas, soy beans or Canada field
peas. There is nothing better grown
on the farm to balance up the ra-
ton.
Rape is bulky feed for fattening
Ind it is necessary to use some nitro
genous feed with it, If you feed
clover hay in racks the pigs will not
eat as much of it as if it were chop
ped up as finely as possible, scalded
with steam and mixed with the slop.
You can buy middlings, low-grade
flour; it has protein, but not enough.
Tankage, meatmeal and bloodmeal
are very much richer than shorts.
Perhaps the most concentrated nitro
genous feed We have is tankage. 1t
was found by test that 60 per cent
tankage contained about IS per cent
Of digestible protein. There is dan
ger of feeding too much protein it is
worse than feeding too little.
During the last two months of the
feeding period carbohydrates or fat
tenlng feeds are of greater import
ance. We must use feeds that are
dlgeshbie, like corn, wheat, flour or
middlings, but bran is practically in
digestible for the pig. Oil cake con-
talns as much protein as middlings
and ranks with meatmeal bloodmeal
or oilmeal the last is perhaps the
better because it contains much eth
er extract.
1t is much better to mix feeds than
to feed corn to pigs at one time and
something else at another time. 9th
erwise the pigs are liable to get too
much of the protein feed. lose their
appetite for corn and become stunted
for their lives.
Nine lots of pigs were fed in an
Illinois experiment station by Pro-
lessor Dietrich. He gradually reduc-
ed the feed of two lots of young pigs
until he had taken away just half of
the ration, and then they were max
ing twice the gain they did before
Lots and 6, which were fed ac-
cording to the old scientific feeding
standard, weighed 27O pounds at nine
months of age, while the two lots fed
by Professor Dietrich's method av-
eraged 29S and sos pounds. respec-
lively. How was this done? By hold
ing the pigs down at the beginning,
by feeding less protein. The gains
were not only. larger, but the gain
at the close was made off of corn
meal, which is a cheaper feed. If al
lowed to. do so pigs will eat TOO much
protein at first and that will keep
their weight down forever afterward
This is a valuable result, but one
must be careful not to misinterpret
it.. The more common error is to
iced too much. Professor Dietrich's
experience gives no sanction what
ever to the attempts % raise hogs On
corn and water.
Thes pigs in lot 1 were started in
the experiment when they were three
months old, weighing so pounds, and
were fed until they were nine months
old, making gain Of 20 pounds: they
had carbohydrates. The pigs in lot
2 We're fed the same as in lot | on
carbohydrates in the form of corn,
and had mineral matter in the form
of air-slacked lime, charcoal. ashes
and few loads of dirt They gained
20 pounds. The pigs in the remain
ing lots had protein in addition to the
mineral matter. The pigs in lot
weighed $40 pounds. This bunch were
fed straight corn on clover pasture
and they made a gain of 2h times
that Of lot 2.
Pigs can be Oyerfed on skim-milk.
In recent Illinois experiment pigs
which were fed three times a dav
| made larger and more economical
gains than pigs that were fed twice,
but the former were not given all
they would eat each time.
The experiment shows that a two
months-old pig will not weight much
over so pounds; at three months, so
to 60 pounds. At five months of age
the pig has gained 80 pounds in about
three weeks; at sesen months he
weights about $50 pounds and has put
on $50 pounds of pork in three
months. 1t takes two months to put
on the next so pounds and the pig
gains only 80 pounds from nine to
twelve months Of age.