The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-05-20

IN good physical condition through ex
ercisef the product should be a strong.
nealthy litter that will make rapid
and cheap gains.
Fos the first few weeks. when the
pigs viii be nourished entirely by the
SOW. her ration should be sufficient to
furnish an abundant flow of milk.
HowNver. II she is overfed, causing a
heavy flow OF milk. the pigs are likely
TO have scours. II this occurs. the
reed OF the SOW should be reduced i'm
mediately, and she should be fed 15
to 20 grains Of copperas in her slop
morning and night until securing
ceases The ration for a SOW sucking
pigs liz about 4 per cent OF her live
weight wSen not on pasture But for
the best results the SOW and pigs
should he on pasture. When on a
noo-leguminous pasture such as rape,
rye. and Bermuda grass. the sow
should have grain ration equivalent
to per cent of her live weight. On
Alfalfa. red clover. and other legumes.
the grain ration need not be over 2
per cent OF her live weight. The sow's
grain ration should be we'll balanced.
Several balanced rations are given
later in this article.
The young pigs will begin to eat at
3 to 4 weeks Of age. II the litter IN
small and the SOW is on pasture and
has liberal grain ration, the pigs
will need little additional feed. II the
litter is large and the mother a light
m ha nj
slop OF skimmilk and wheat shorts in
a creep not accessible to the mother.
II milk is not available, the shorts
may be made into a thin slop with
water. At Z or weeks OF age. corn
may be substituted for one-half the
shorts.
The age OF weaving depends upon
whether or not two litters are to be
raised per year. In no case should
pigs he weaned under s weeks OF age.
10 or IL weeks is better. At weaving
time the feed Of the SOW is reduced
to slack the milk flow. and the rations
OF the pigs should be increased so
that there will be little interruption in
the growth OF the pigs. The weaving
should be abruptly. and under no cir.
cumstances should the sow be return
ed to the pigs. The most critical
time in pigs life Is past when he
is weaned and is eating well. The
feeding from then on is a matter OF
making the best ration from the avail
able feed
For the cheapest gains pigs should
be on pasture at all times. Home pas
lures for summer grazing are alfalfa.
clover. cowpeas. soy beans, peanuts.
Bermuda grass. rape and velvet
beans. However, pastures should
not DC relied upon TO make pork alone
The most rapid and cheapest gains
are produced by supplementing the
pastures with a grain ration. The
amount OF grain TO feed when hogs
are on pasture is approximately per
cent OF their live weight The follow
ing grain mixtures are recommended:
Corn 10 parts. tankage l part. corn
and middling equal parts: corn
parts. soybean meal part: or corn
parts, velvet bean meal l part With
leCuminous pasture. such as alfalfa.
clover. cowpeas, soy beans. peanuts.
etc, corn alone may compose the
grain ration.
There are other factors affecting the
physical condition ~ the animal that
exert considerable influence upon the
rate and economy OF gains There
should be clean drinking water and
pool where they may wallow The
hog has a very high body temperature
and requires considerable water and
shade to keep cool Hogs cannot make
rapid gains unless free from lice. Lice
may be controlled by the use OF crude
petroleum rubbed on the hogs OF by
dipping with any OF the coal-tar dips
Hogs should have access at all times
to mineral roughage. which is a gen.
eral tonic and appetizer. The follow.
ing mineral roughage is recon-
mended
Charcoal or slack coal ... 2 bu.
"OOu aSHeS Du.
Air Stacked lime. e............. s ms
oaiA IDS
The copperas is dissolved in warm
water and poured over the entire mix.