Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1922-12-16
FEEDING PIGS AFTER WEAVING
Material Furnished by Department Of
Animal Husbandry. Utah Agri-
cultural College

The critical time in the life of thu
pig is just after weaving, especial,
IL 1t has been weaned early in order
to breed the sow for a second litter
II, however, they have learned to cal
while still with their mother the job
Is much easier.
AS the stomach of young pigs is ex.
ceptionally small for the size of the
animal. they must have rotation
which is not too bulky. SSm milk
may be fed abundantly, but should be
supplemented with other feeds. II
skim milk is cheap, possibly one pound
ten pounds OF skim milk. II skim
milk is scarce, the proportion may be
cut down to three or four pounds of
milk to one pound OK grain.
Whether to feed the skim milk
warm or cold, sweet or sour, is a mat
ter OF convenience. Caro- should be
taken, however. to follow consistently
whichever of these systems is adopt
ed. as all animals are creatures of
regular habits and resent sudden
changes In their feed. II change
must be made 1t should be done grad
ually thus eliminating most OF the
danger. A change from warm sweet
milk to cold sour milk can safely be
made by feeding the milk little
cooler each day and substituting a lit
tie sour milk for some OF the sweet
until the pigs are on Q full ration of
cold sour milk.
Buttermilk can replace skim milk
In pig ration and can be considered
OF equal feeding value.
Whey from cheese factories Is not
a very desirable feed for young pigs
as nearly all OF the muscle building
material has been removed In the
cheese making process.
Neither of these feeds SHOULD. be
fed unless they are thoroughly storil-
lied. as feeding infected milk from
tubercular cows soon spreads this
disease through the pigs. Where
cream has been well pasteurized be-
fore being churned, the resulting but.
termilk can be fed without danger.
| Semi-solid Buttermilk, n CONNER.
cial product now on the market can
be fed as 1t comes from the barrels
in which 1t is shipped. though better
results might be expected II mixed
with water and grain. The chief OBJ
lection to this feed Is Its high price.
but even at rather high price 1t
may be used successfully in growing
purebred pigs or pigs that are being
rushed.
With neither skim milk or butter
milk available. pretty satisfactory
ration for young pigs can be made
by mixing one part of tankage, by
product Of the slaughter house which
contains about go per cent Of protein.
to seven to ten parts Of shorts or
finely ground harley. This should be
soaked in water enough to make Q
medium slop.
If an alfalfa patch Is available in
to which the old sow and her litter
can be turned many troubles are
avoided. Alfalfa can hardly be con-
sidered as more than enough to main
tain the weight of pigs. so that for
growth some additional grain must he
allowed. Afternoon or evening Is pro
baby the best time to feed the grain
rs the pigs will he hungry enough in
the morning to spend the day to gooe
advantage eating the alfalfa.
AS the old sow's milk flow decreas.
es 1t may be desirable to shut Off her
grain supply This may be done by
building in the corner of the pasture
q pig creep which will permit the lit.
tie pigs getting to the grain but will
keep out the sow. The young pigs
will need m allowance OF from one to
three pounds of grain for eaol, 100
pounds live weight while on pasture
for most economical gains.