The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1919-05-21
THE SPRING LITTER
Careful Feeding and Manage
ment Spell Success.

/
at an unprecedented level. a shortage
of hogs in the European countries,
and prospects for a large export trade
with the Central powers upon the dec
l"ratlon OF peace. the production of
| hogs should be one Of the most i'm
portant enterprises Of the farm in
| 1919, especially in the South with it's
natural advantages for growing for
| age. which Is one Of the most impor
tant factors for economic pork pro-
duction
The first period in the feeding and
management OF a litter Of pigs begins
"hen the SOW becomes pregnant and
chdS when she farrows. The second
period begins with the birth of the
pigs and continues until the pigs
reach maturity or are marketed. By
this time most of the spring pigs have
been farrowed. and the problem now
is to push them rapidly and econom.
lcaiiy Tor the market. II the pregnant
So"s ration has supplied sufficient
protein for bone and muscle building
IN the pigs and she has been kept
in good physical condition through ex.
ercise, the product should be strong.
healthy litter that will make rapid
and cheap gains.
For the first few weeks, when the
pigs Will be nOurished entirely by the
SOW, her ration should be sufficient to
furnish an abundant flow of milk.
However, IL she is overfed, causing a
heavy flow Of milk, the pigs are likely
to nave scOurs. IF this occurs. the
feed of the sow should be reduced i'm
mediately. and she should be fed Is
to 90 grains Of copperas in her sion
, morning and night until securing
ceases. The ration for a SOW sucking
, pigs is about per cent OF her live
weight. when not on pasture But for
the best results the SOW and Digs
! shouid be on pasture. When on
non-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, ard 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 weeks Of age. II the litter 10
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
mixer, the pigs should be given a
slop OF skimmilk and wheat shorts in
a creep not accessible to the mother.
III milk is not available, the shorts
may be made into a thin slop with
water. At 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 be weaned under weeks Of age:
{ 10 or l2 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 he increased so
that there will be little interruption in
the growth Of the pigs. The weaning
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 Il 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 be relied upon to make pork alone
The most rapid and cheapest gains
are produced by supplementing the
pastures with grain ration. The
amount OF grain to feed when hogs
arc on pasture is approximately per
cent OF their live weight. The follow
ing grain mixtures are recommended:
Corn 10 parts. tankage ! part; corn
and middling equal parts; corn
parts. SOybean meal I part; or corn 9
parts. velvet bean meal part. With
| loGuminous 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 OF the animal that
exert considerable influence upon the !
rate and economy Of gains. There
, should bo clean drinking water and
pool where they may wallow. The
hog has very high body tempnrature
, and requires considerable water and
shade to keep cool Hogs cannot make