FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IX. 



619 



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MitlilE^I. 



173 183 193 203 213 223 

 AGE IN DAYS 



The way pigs balance their ration when self-fed corn, meat meal, oats, oil meal and wheat 

 middlings. All self-fed separately. 



On Chart 3 we show how still another group was fed; they received 

 five standard feeds in conjunction with charcoal, wood ashes and salt; 

 or corn, meat meal, oats, oil meal and wheat middlings. This group 

 differed from the first group shown (see Chart 1), in that oil meal and 

 middlings were added, and from the second group (see Chart 2), in that 

 wheat middlings was supplied in addition. 



It is quite interesting to note that up until about the 210th day of 

 feeding, that this group was in the lead as far as gains are concerned. 

 The middlings, however, seemed to have a specific effect, in that they 

 caused these pigs to become a little overfat in the early part of the feed- 

 ing period, this tending to inhibit gains after the pigs reached the weight 

 of 250 pounds or thereabouts. One disadvantage in making the pigs over- 

 fat early in the game is that they do not gain well when they get bigger 

 and heavier. However, this would seem to indicate the time honored 

 practice of farmers who allow middlings to their young pigs only, is of 

 merit, in that it gives the pigs a good early start. Perhaps the middlings 

 should have been removed early to avoid this specific effect on fattening. 



The records of the different groups show very clearly that the pig's 

 appetite is variable; early in the feeding game, when he is young and 

 growing at a rapid rate, he eats as much as 20 pounds out of every 100 

 in the form of protein supplement, such as tankage and oil meal, although 

 the proportion of corn naturally increases until, when at the age of about 



