50 



Sows which Eat their Pigs. — Occasionally a sow will be found which 

 will eat her pigs. It is claimed by some that the tendency to eat their young is 

 sometimes caused by allowing sows to eat their afterbirth. As a precautionary 

 measure, the afterbirth should be promptly removed from the pen. There is little 

 doubt that the trouble is generally caused by a fevered condition in the sow, often 

 induced by injudicious feeding before farrowing, or even after farrowing. A 

 remedy that has been suggested is to feed the sow salt pork, but the danger is that 

 once the sow has eaten her pigs she acquires the habit and is likely to do it again. 

 Unless she is a very valuable sow, it is safer not to give her a second opportunity, 

 but to turn her into the feed lot and fatten her for the butcher. 



The Young Pigs. 



Feeding and Management before Weaning.— When the pigs are 

 born, the attendant should be on hand to see that everything goes well. If the pigs 



Fig. 17. — Group of young Large Yorkshire sows. Note the uniformity of type and 



the excellent quality throughout. 



are strong and the sow lies quiet, it is better not to interfere. Sows that have 

 been properly fed and given sufficient exercise seldom have difficulty in farrowing. 



If the pigs seem somewhat weak, or if the sow is very restless, it is safer to 

 place the pigs in a well-bedded box or basket to keep them out of the way until all 

 are born. If the pen is chilly, a bottle of hot water placed in the bottom of the 

 basket and covered with a blanket, with another blanket over the top of the basket, 

 will help keep up the vitality of the pigs. 



The pigs should be placed to the teat to suck as soon as possible. The weaker 

 the pigs, or the colder the pen, the more important an early drink of the mother's 

 milk becomes. If parturition is not unduly protracted, and if the pigs are strong, 

 lively, and comfortable, they may wait for their first drink until all are born, but 

 in such matters the attendant must use his judgment. 



In cases of difficult parturition, a pig that is apparently lifeless can often be 

 revived by opening its mouth and blowing into it. To be successful, this operation 

 must ])e performed as soon as it is born. A chilled pig can sometimes be revived 

 by immersing up to the neck in water heated to a temperature of about 08 degrees. 



