Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-11-08
Winter Care of Brood Sows.

The farm OF E. Z. Dill in Thayer
county, Neb, Is known as one of the
most successful market hog farms in
that section of the state. Mr.. Dill Is
not one of the largest breeders but as
the larger proportion of all hogs ship
ped to the packing centers are pro-
duced in herds Of from Is to 100 /
deemed it wise to look up a herd
within those limits.
Mr.. Dill is wintering 20 sows all of
which are high grade and very uni
form. In November he plans to
breed all Of them to one boar. The
boar is a yearling that had been used
on a few sows and had proved him
self a sure and satisfactory breeder.
Mr.. Dill believes firmly in using a
tried sire. 1t does not pay to use a
young male as such practice too often
results in sows falling to conceive or
results in unsatisfactory filters. The
boar was running in a large open lot
where he. could ecu abundance Of
green feed and exercise. To get the
SOW bred and safely with pig Mr.. Dill
says Is one of the most important
problems at the beginning Of winter.
He uses a breeding crate Of a stand
ard pattern which makes it possible to
use a heavy boar on a small SOW. He
never allows the boar to run with the
Sows but as each SOW comes in heat
she is put with the boar for just one
service. This he says conserves the
vitality CT the boar and makes him as
sure at the end Of the season as at the
beginning. Another very important
feature with him is that he records a
description of the SOW and the date
of service. This enables him to COM
pute with fair accuracy the date on
which the SOW shall farrow.
FEEDS VERY CAREFULLY
Very careful attention to feeding is
given by Mr.. Dill. In the first place
1t Is his desire and aim to so feed the
sows that they will give him the best
results possible at narrowing time.
The second object that he keeps in
mind is to feed as economically as
possible without impafring results.
One of the most noteworthy features
of his freeding is the large mount or
alfalfa hay that is utilized. Ten
years experience with feeding alfalfa
has shown him that when sows eat
all Of it they want their pigs are
larger and stronger. So far as prac-
ticable he selects the fall cuttings
which are finer In stem and have a
larger proportion Of leaves. 1t is sur
prising to one not accustomed toS see
ing hogs eat hay to note the amount
they consume.
Some years ago Mr.. Dill attended
the state school of agriculture for a
couple of winters. He knows a great
deal about balanced rations aad pro-
tein and carbohydrates and ash. Cor
respondingly he knows the needs OF
the sows and of the pigs they nurture.
The alfalfa furnishes proJein and ash
and satisfies a natural craving for
some coarse feed. Corn very naturally
forms the basis Of the grain ration.
He recognizes the we'll known fact
that corn Is deficient in protein.
Alfalfa partly makes up for that but
entirely. He uses tankage in rather
small amounts to make up the de-
ficiency that still exists. ~.
1t is In feeding that Mr.. Dill's
practices differ most widely from
those of his neighbors. Many of them
are feeding all corn which is more
pensive and less effective. They new
er use tankage or any other protein
concentrate. They are the men who
complain about their hogs being fine
boned and OF unsatisfactory Filters.
How closely he figures the cost of his
feed may be shown by his feeding
during the past summer. 1t happened
that corn and wheat became the same
price per bushel on the local market.
AS he figured, wheat as part OF the
ration would add to the variety. He
would get four more pounds Ia each
bushel. He would get q higher per-
centage of protein. Accordingly he
fed ground wheat soaked along with
his corn. ge
The sows always have plenty OF
exercise. They have the run OF the
same fields where they pastured dur
ing the summer or else may roam
over the entire farm which is fenced
with woven wire. They have plenty