The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-04-14
HANNAH INTERVIEWED ON
METHODS OF RAISING HOGS
Notus Farmer Can Put Hogs on the
Market at Close to Three Cents.

Market at Close to Three Cents.
The following statement by Mr.. V.
d. Hannah, the we'll known Notus far
mer, appeared in the Portland Live
Stock Reporter of April 10th:
V. d. Hannah, an Idaho hog man,
believes in Scent hogs; that is, if he
can use pure-breds, he says he can
put hogs in shape for the market at
close to three cents per pound Mr..
Hannah has been at the business for
a long time, is very careful farmer
and should know. Well let him
tell it:
After my sows 'wean their pigs
they get no grain except what they
salvage from the stubble fields and
that is enough to bring them to first
class breeding condition in October.
After pastures fail l feed my brood
sows all the alfalfa hay they will eat.
The hay is prepared specially for hogs
and would not be fit to feed to other
live stock. | cut the hay before there
is sign of bud or blossom and
cure it as any other hay. This is
green and tender and the sows will
eat it readily and lots of it. In addi-
ton to this hay each sow gets pound
of ground wheat or barley per day,
or l2O pounds of grain during winter.
About the first of March, or two
weeks before narrowing time, l in
crease the grain feed to two pounds
a day. After the pigs are week or
III days old the grain ration is increas-
ed gradually, but this is to supply
nourishment for the pigs while they
are nursing heavily.
When the pigs are about two weeks
old they will begin to nose about the
trough and will eat little; then /
give them little wheat soaked in
separated milk if | have the milk, but
soaked about II hours so that it is
soft, but | don't allow it to sour
When feed the evening meal, l put
the morning ration to soak By the
time the pigs are 10 weeks old the
litter of eight will have eaten about
50 pounds of grain. From weaving
time until four months old they will
eat pound of grain per day in addi-
ton to pasturage, or nearly 40 pounds
per head in the six weeks. The pigs
have been on good pasture all this
time and have consumed $1.25 worth
of grain per head. The pigs should
weigh 100 pounds per head at four
mouths.
AT four months my hogs go into
the feed lot (about July 15) and
commence feeding grain in the sheaf,
aiming to feed about three pounds per
day per hog or 90 pounds per hog per
month. | feed grain in the sheaf be-
cause it is cheaper than grain that has
been threshed and handled again. l
also feed all the green sweet corn
they will eat UP clean, and they will
eat stalk and all when the corn is
green. | also feed all the squash and
pumpkins they will eat. | follow this
feeding system for one month.
The sixth month my hogs are Civ
en- all the ground wheat, barley and
rye they will eat in self-feeders, feed
ing little corn in the stock and
pumpkins about once week for
relish. The pig is then six months
or 100 days old and if l can't make
him weigh pound and a quarter for
every day he has lived, I'll quit the
hog business.
Each hog has consumed less than
% worth OF grain. He has had pas
turage, green corn, pumpkins, etc,
that l give very little cash value. We
use about $40 worth of disinfectants
on the place in a year for 200 head of
hogs. Pumpkin seeds eaten by the
hogs expel the worms and we have
never had cholera ON the place. We
don t vaccinate and have no expense
in that line.
But don't forget that if you are
going to grow Scent hogs you must
have Scent hogs to start with; short,
blocky, compact conformation with
easy feeding qualities Breeding
counts more than anything"
Mr.. Hannah thinks that he finds the
best qualities for cheap pork produc-
ton III his favorite breed, the Poland
Chinas, and has been devoting his eff
forts to the production of pork the
last two years while the market was
low and there was very little call for
breeding stock. Last fall when many
farmers were selling hogs at cents
and less. Mr.. Hannah says that he
never sold hog at less than cents.
He favors cross between the Elk
pansion and Tecumseh blood lines of
pure-bred Poland Chinas in the brood
sows and uses medium type boar of
as blocky and compact formation as