The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-06-04
" JAMES E. WITHYCOME and
E.. L. POTTER.
\ FrER farrowing fall seed should b
withheld from the SOW fOr TWEEN


should be exercised regarding this, as
many sows are injured by being fed
too heavily the first day. After TWEEN
ty-four hours give thin slop of MD
dlings and water or milk, and graau-
ally increase the ration until by the
end of ten days or two weeks the sow
is receiving all she will eat. Before
farrowing the ration should be rather
light and bulky, afterwards 1t shoula
be heavier and more concentrated. Inc
best grain at this period is composed
of barley or wheat and middlinSs.
The ideal ration would be entirely Of
middlings at first, with barley added
gradually until at weaving time the IA
ton is half barley. Wheat could take
the place of barley and would be even
better. Middlings are the best pos
sible feed for brood sows with pigs,
but the price is often so high as to be
prohibitive. At price not more than
ten per cent higher than wheat or bar
ley it is about as cheap for any class OF
pig feeding. A liberal amount of feed
should be given at this period, as the
sows' sucking pigs will pay better re-
turns for the feed given than at any
other time. The SOW should &c given
all she will clean up well, which with
a mature animal will amount to as much
as ten or twelve pounds per day. For
best results some supplementary food
should be provided with the grain, the
best being skim milk. A small amount
of tankagc, or the run OF q good pas
ture is also good
Sucking Pigs.
When the pigs are from two to three
weeks olu they should be taught to cat.
A small corner of the pen should be
fenced off in such way that the pigs
can enter but the sows are excluded.
In this pen a slop of middlings or shorts
should be placed SO the pigs can help
themselves. They will eat very little
at first, but will learn rapidly, and BY
the time they are one month old will
be eating enough to make appree!able
improvement in their gains. This is
the time wnen it does not pay to econ
omize in feed, either in the amount fed
directly to the pigs or in the amount
fed to the SOW 1t will require less
feed to make pound Of gain on little
{b,c a ,rl1
after weaving, not deducting the
amount Of feed which the sow uses for
her own maintenance.
An experiment made at Wisconsin
shows that sows and pigs for ten weeks
before weaving made 100 pounds gain
on 316 pounds of meal This includes
the gain made on the sows as well as
that made by the pigs. The sows gained
little, however.
After weaving, the pigs for seven
weekks required 384 pounds of meal to
make 100 pounds gain, while the sows
during the same period required 947
pounds of meal to make 100 pounds
gain. Deductng the amount of feed
which it was estimated was required
by the sows for their maintenance, it
was found that the pigs before wean-
ing made 100 pounds gain on about $50
pounds Of feed (grain or its equival-
snt). Other experiments and practical
experience indicate that the above fig
ures are not far from correct,
Weaning.
Pigs may be weaned at from six to
twelve weeks of age. Where two lit
ters per year are raised it is necessary
to wean at the earlier age, since sows
do not as a rule breed really while
smckling. Pigs, to do we'll when weaned
1t six weeks old, must have been taught
to eat before weaving and must have
q good deal of milk after weaving, 9TH
srwise they will be somewhat stunted.
Some breeders wean by taking away
the whole litter, returning them to the
SOW a few times; other breeders take
away most Of tho litter, but leave .