43 



Age of Breeding. — 'Jlio age at which a young sow is first bred will depend 

 upon her development, but it is very seldom that it is advisable to breed her before 

 she is eight months old. Many good breeders prefer not to breed sows before they 

 are ten or even twelve months old, and if they are intended for show purposes it is 

 scarcely advisable to breed them earlier. One of the great objections to breeding 

 sows very early is the fact that the very young sow is seldom able to raise a fair- 

 sized litter of pigs, and if she raises only a few pigs in her first litter her mammary 

 glands do not develop properly, and she rarely makes as good a nurse with sub- 

 sequent litters as the sow which raises a good-sized first litter. Another objection 

 to early breeding is the fact that the very young sow has not the strength to stand 

 the strain of nursing a litter of pigs, and her vitality is sapped to such a degree that 

 she never develops as she should. As a result, she will not retain her usefulness for 

 so long a period, nor is she so likely to give strong, vigorous litters as though she 

 had possessed more maturity before being l)ro(l. 



Fig. 10. — Tamworth sow, winner of championsliip at the English Royal Show. 



Breeding Mature Sows.— Many sows will accept service a few days after 

 farrowing, but it is hardly necessary to say that to breed a sow at this time is bad 

 practice. ISTo sow can do justice to herself and two litters o,f pigs at the same time, 

 and the man who attempts to gain time by following such a practice will surely 

 lose by it in the end. 



Usually the sow may be bred again a few days after her pigs are weaned, if 

 not too much pulled down in condition by nursing. If she has raised a large litter 

 and is very much emaciated, the chances are that she will produce a small litter the 

 next time if she is hred immediately after the pigs are weaned. In such cases she 

 should be given three weeks or a month of liberal feeding to enable her to regain 

 something of her lost strength and vitality before she is bred. 



Though the sow need not be fat, she should be in good heart and thriving at 

 the time she is bred. Many a man has been puzzled to know why his sow, which 

 had raised a large litter, should drop down to four or five pigs the next time. The 



