The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1916-05-04
INFORMATION SERVICE
N. D. EXPERIMENT STATION.

The feeding of a group of young
pigs up to the time they are three
months old is more a problem in eff
cheney than one of economy. During
this period profit rests upon more how
many Of the pigs can be kept alive,
thrifty, and growing than it does upon
the economy with which they are fed.
From the age Of three months on to
market time or maturity there is less
danger Of loss from disease and the
cost. Of. the gains must be given more
study and greater care must be exer-
cised to select the cheapest feeds and
method Of feeding that will give sat
Eisfactory results.
From birth tosthe. age Of eight weeks
small pigs must BE fed through the
sow. During this period the welfare
of the pigs depends more upon how the
sow is. fed than, does the welfare of
the sow herself The milk flow Of the
average SOW is. subject to a very
prompt response TO a change in the
amount or quality II the feed she re-
ceives. The milk How for the first
three days, however, seems quite in
dependent of the feed given during
this time. It is, however, best to feed
the SOW rather lightly during this
time to avoid causing a feverish con-
dition. By the third day the amount
of feed can be increased according to
the number of pigs she is nursing and
the way the pigs take on flesh. A
three hundred to five hundred pound
sow nursing from eight to twelve pigs
will ordinarily require from eight to
twelve pounds of grain weighed dry
per day. While a sow that is a good
mixer end is nursing only four or five
pigs must not be fed more than four
or I've pounds Of grain per day or they
will get too fat and get thumpy. From
the above facts it can be readily cen
why the most successful hog raisers
prefer to keep each SOW and litter sep
arate until the pigs are weaned.
It is true that where a number Of
sows are kept in one lot together
there is an equalizing tendency upon
the part of the pigs by their nursing
Unfortunately from any or all of the
sows. There are always some pigs,
however, that do not learn the trick of
stealing as readily as others and will
nurse only their own mothers , and
these are the only ones that get starv-
ed and stunted under such method of
handling.
The feeding of the young pigs di-
rectly should begin when they are five.
weeks old. A little whole wheat or
corn sprinkled on a bare floor where
they can pick it up is good feed to
start them on. A thin slop made of
shorts and warm skinned milk, or in.
its absence warm water, should be fed
at the same time, though some feeders
start pigs to eating very successfully
byplacing dry ground grain in a self
feeder or trough where they can get
at it and supplying water in a trough
for them to drink. AS soon as the
pigs begin eating well some ground
barley, ground corn or ground oats or
any mixture Of the three can be fed
either dry in a self feeder or as a thick
mash. In either case clean fresh wa
ter should be supplied in troughs or In
a self regulating watering device.
sows and young pigs should be turn
ed on pasture a. soon as a green
growth Of any Kind IL available. It
has been proven by a number Of ex-
periments that the use Of pasture
should not influence either the amount
or quality Of the grain ration if the
best possible results and greatest pro-
fits are expected.
A very satisfactory grain ration for
young pigs from the eighth to the 18th
week would be ground barley 40 pei
cent, ground oats 80 per cent and
shorts 80 per cent, either fed dry in
self feeders or fed as a thick mash
SKINNED milk fed in addition to this
at the rate Of three pounds Of milk
to each one pound Of grain mixture
consumed makes almost an ideal grow
ing ration for pigs Of that age espec-
tally if it is supplemented with good
pasture. In the absence Of SKINNED
milk the grain ration can be improved
by making it 80 per cent crushed bar.
80 per cent Of crushed oats, 80 per cent
shorts and 10 percent tankage. If the
pigs are fed two or three times a day
rather than a self feeder they should
receive about 4 IL pounds Of grair
mixture per day for each 100 pounds