Arizona state miner., 1926-11-13
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WATCH POINTS FOR
SUCCESS WITH PIGS

Almost anyone can make money in
the hog business this year, but when
the business is poor and pork prices
are low the fellow whose profits will
come in most regularly and last long
est is the man who follows the swine
sanitation system and watches some
or the other points that are too often
passed up in raising pigs, w. E. Car
roll, chief Of swine husbandry at the
college of agriculture, University of
Illinois, points out.
There are many opportunities for
losses while pork is in the process of
making on the farm. To begin with,
many of the hazards which creep in
early during the pigs life can be
traced directly to a damp, cold bed
during the first two weeks after far
rowing. This will be of Importance
again with late fall litters. Concrete,
brick or tile floors are probably the
worst in this regard, although board
and dirt floors need frequent atten-
ton. The top of the bed may look
dry and fine, at the same time enough
dampness will come up from the bot
tom to be a real menace to the
health and vigor Of the pigs. The
cure for this, of course, Is to replace
the old bed with a fresh supply of
dry, absorbent bedding every three
or four days.
"a point in sanitation that is i'm
portant is the mud-hole wallow. Pigs
will find one If they have the least
chance, because nature, in making
the pig, didn't provide him with a
very good device for getting rid Of
surplus heat in the summer. Any
kind of wet wallow helps to keep
him cool. Mud-hole wallows should
not be tolerated, however, as it is
impossible to keep them clean. Once
pig gets loaded up with infections
and parasites which are frequently
| harbored in these foul places, his time
is all taken up in providing a home
for these pests and he has none left in
which to make pork. This is one way
pork profits disappear.
"a running stream used by hogs is
less apt to become foul, but the dan
ger of infection being carried in from
other farms makes the use of
stream as wallow very inadvisable.
If the farm finances permit, a sani-
tary concrete wallow is a fine thing.
! Otherwise provide shade and trust to
luck, the hose and the sprinl1ling can
in hot weather emergencies.
"Many farms have natural shade,
and this is best. Where this is not
available, however, there is no better
or cheaper shade than this: Plant
some short posts in the ground,
stretch over them some old woven
wire and throw on bunch Of green
weeds, rank growth of sweet clover
or any such material. When put on
green, such material settles as it
dries so the wind will not blow it off.
Such a shade has the added advantage
that the rains go through and settle
the dust where the hogs lie. AS a
further dust settler, an occasional
sprinkling of crude oil or used oil
from the crank case Of the automobile
or tractor is very much worth while.
"Old crank-case oil also can be
used to control lice, which are the
cause of another leak in the pork
profits. In feeding 15 clean hogs
against Is lousy ones, the federal De
partment of Agriculture found that
the clean hogs made almost % per
cent more gain than the lousy ones.
Mango is another pest that farm
ers can't afford to feed along with
their hogs. Mango is caused by
tiny mite burrOWing into the skin,
causing it to thicken and sometimes
to look as if it were covered with
large fiat warts, Because mango is
so irritating, the affected hogs spend
considerable time scratching and rub
| bing NANCY hogs also sell at a low
er price on the market because they
have to be converted into lOwer-priced
products. In fact, the carcass fire.
quently has to be skinned. The treat
ment for this is the same as for lice
frequent applications of old crank
case oil.
Perhaps the biggest problem in
profitable pork production is the men
ace of the round worm to the swine
industry. This parasite annually
takes the lives of thousands of little
pigs and prevents those that do sur
vive from making rapid and ecOnOm-
ical gains. The solution Of this prob
lem lies in following the Mclean cOun-
ty Qll) system of swine sanitation.
This system makes it possible to raise
the number of pigs wanted on a farm
from two-thirdS or three-fOurthS the
number of sOws required with the old
system. The clean pigs gain faster,
make more pork from bushel of
corn, and are ready for market ahead
of the rush, when prices are good.
"The system works wonders with
fall pigs. Anyone who is now wag-
| ing a losing battle with worms will
get brand new thrill if he will fol-
low the sanitation system.