The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1917-05-25
BREED SOWS FOR FALL LITTERS

mean increased pTOIlCS 10 tne farmer.
BREED SOWS FOR FALL LITTERs
All gifts and sows should be bred
10Y to bring a fall litter. 1t is i'm
portant that all sows be used to in
crease the food supply. Hogs were
never 20 scarce or high in price. They
will be high even after the war is
owe The market for these fall pigs
weighing so pounds to 100 pounds, is
strong. Even Iowa, the leading hog
raising state in the corn belt, is in
curing now for fall breeding pigs. The
hog cholera serum plants are in need
of carloads of these fall pigs. If good
shelter and plenty of feed are avail
able these pigs could be held over UNI
til next spring when they would bring
a big price.
Fall littlers under common sense
management are profitable. The pigs
should come in early fall-September
and O~ctober--so that they may be
weaned and have attained sufficient
growth to shift for themselves before
cold weather arrives. The earlier the
pigs come in the fall, the cheaper
their growth will be made on available
pastures and the stronger they will be
to withstand the winter. The period
of CESSATION for a sow is approximate
ly Up days, so that a SOW bred on
May 25 would farrow about Septem-
Der Is. This means that sows must
be bred for fall litters during the
months of May and June.
All sows should be bred. Scruples
over breeding immature sows should
be forgotten. While in normal times
most hog ~raisers do not breed the
gifts earlier than eight months of age,
sows will breed as early as five to six
months of age . There are thousands
of young gifts narrowed last fall and
winter which will take the board and
should be bred this spring. By breed
ing them this spring, the feed given
them through the summer will have
been more completely devoted toward
food production. 1t will help to pro-
duce a greater meat supply ready for
market six months earlier than if they
were not bred until fall.
Breeding such young gifts will have
no bad effects on the farm herd. Re-
suits at the Missouri experiment sta
ton show that the young pregnant
sow continues to grow under proper
feeding, and that the size of the litter
is not appreciably reduced. Sucking
the pigs retard the growth of the
young sow, but this permanent re-
tardation of growth is small and of
minor Importance when the sow will
produce a good litter of pigs.
Larger litters are obtained by
Flushing" w before breeding. This
is done by feeding in such a way as to
have the ows putting on weight at
the time of breeding. The sucking
sow should have her pigs weaned
shortly before being bred. Her udder
should be dried up by reduction of
feed. She should then be flushed, and
in a few days can usually be bred.
After breeding, the sow should be
watched to be sure she has caught.
If she has not, p days later she will
again show indications of heat and can
again be bred.
A good pure-bred boar should be
used, preferably Of the same breed as
the sow, or that breed which predomi-
mates in the SOW This will result in
a more uniform lot of pigs and an up
grading of the breeding herd. For
the young gifts and small sows, a
breeding crate may be necessary if
the board be large.
The pregnant sow should be fed a
ration consisting Of bone-making and
muscle-making feeds. She should gain
weight but not be made fat. Pasture
with a small grain ration proves ex-
cellent for carrying the pregnant sow
until she is almost ready to farrow.
r. f. CANNON,
Valley County Apriculturist,