Belt Valley times., 1925-05-07
Sow Rations in
Nursing Period
For Few Days After Litter
Is Born Animal Requires
Good Attention.

4 ny - W 0AAf-a 0tts Lecturer -
Animal Rasbandry. Macdonald Col
lege. Quebec.l
For some ten days after the litter
ls born the sow requires good deal
OF detailed attention II Is during this
period that the pigs ger their starr tn
life and the care and feed given their
mother determines TO q large extent
whether this start IL good or bad. 0nce
past the ten-day mark. however. the
problem Is pretty much one Of feed
ing the sow for maximum milk now.
After the s.ter reaches this age there
Is little as.s.ger OF their getting more
milk from their lnother than Is good
for them.
The Nursins Period
This marks the beginning Of the
real nursing period and the ration OF
the sow viii stand n change NJ this
time. The rather light. cooling mix
lure used to start on Is not strong
enough 10 stimulate nor maintain the
maximum milk fiow which now be-
comes an Important consideration. The
feeding practice can also be altered to
Include third feeding. Il has been
found that three feeds day 70 heav.
lily milking SOW gives somewhat bet
ter results than where the feeding la
done only morning and night. The
lnstigatiOn Of the third feeding at this
time may also simplify the question
Of the ration change.
AS already suggested. the sow now
needs more heavy. producing
stufFs. and nothing tiIls this bin bet
ter than ear corn When the time
comes 10 make the change In the ra-
tlon II can be done very simply BY
giving the sow ear corn at noon. In
other words, the regular slop feed Civ
en- morning and night Is not changed
either In kind or amount. the increase
and change being affected by using a
noon feeding Of ear corn Six average
ears OF corn viii add about two pounds
Of grain to the daily allowance and |
one has but to watch the s0w when |
this Is fed to be convinced that she |
relishes Il. Furthermore. corn is an
excellent milk producer. carrying |
pound for pound more energy pr0duc-
ing products than any other common
hog feed
1t Is not to he Inferred that six ears
OF corr at noon in addition TO the six
pounds OF meal fed In the regular slop
feeds will auffiea throughout the nursr
Ing period. This Is simply the frst al
lowance which In Itself does increase
the feed some two pounds per day. A
big SOW nursing q dozen husky pigs
win need further increases as time
goes on. These needs will be indicated
and governed by her appetite though
ordinarily total daily allowance of
u pounds OF meal or It's equivalent
will be found sufficient for most In
dividuals. These subsequent increases
should be proportional tn all three
meals and the corn should not be al
lowed at any time to constitute more
than one-third Of the daily feed.
When Corn ls Not Available.
For the man who has no ear corn
the problem Is q little different In prac-
tice though the same In principle. Such
leeds as hominy (yellow pFeferred),
barley or rye will answer the same
purpose Rs eeFH though not gHlte- as
sfncIenfly. When these feeds are TO
be used they should be ground where
necessary and added TO the regular
neal mixture in amounts up TO one
.hird Of the total mixture The noon
'eeding under this plan wifi be a slOp
'eed, the total days allowance being
livided into three equal feeds /
In addition to the meal. don't forget {
o keep fresh water before the SOW at I
IA tlmea This Is quite important for
ows In milk u Ia well to make the 4
iOp rather thick and then provide the
linking water separately. A s0w,s
hirst Is variahle from day 10 day. and 4
/ Is next to impossible TO gauge how
1uch she will want II her water is 3
n Included ln the siop. there is Il
hance for TOO much or too little drink 4
eing supplied on q given day. 4
Lastly. feed each SOW separately. A b
ow should be fed 60 maintain as near A
: as is possible her condition through n
ut her nursing period. No two sows 4
lili require the same amounts OF feed
D do this. Then again, when they are q
ID in groups. there are bound to be
ome sows that win be kept away from
1e trough snd will not get their prop
! shsre. A little time spent In feed -
lg and caring for che SOW during this
ef1od will be well repaid later when %
le litter starts Tor market