478^ IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



one on which every man present would be fully posted, so no 

 secrets were revealed. No discussion was given to the subject. 



FEEDING THE BROOD SOW. 



PROF. JOHN M. E^^ARD, AMES, IOWA. 



"The subject for discussion is the brood sow and her feeding. In feed- 

 ing the brood sow we realize, as we do in other methods of feeding in the 

 corn belt, that corn is the premier food and thus the problem is one of 

 finding a suitable supplement to corn because corn furnishes nutrients, 

 the heat formers and some of the ash at a lower price than any other 

 food it is possible to raise. Corn is not complete in itself. It lacks three 

 elements which are essential to the growth and well being of animals. 

 One is protein, which goes to form muscle, brain, nerve tissue, hair, 

 horn, etc. The other two ingredients w^hich are lacking are calcium and 

 sulphur. Calcium comprises about forty per cent of the dry matter of 

 bone. It is impossible to make bone unless we have calcium and corn 

 is very deficient in this bone building element. In phosphorus corn is 

 rich and we do not have to w^orry about this, which is the other principal 

 bone forming element. Most of the substances w^e use with corn contain an 

 abundance of sulphur. 



"In order to determine what rations were best we took up the problem 

 determining the cost of the ration and its efficiency as judged by the off- 

 spring which were produced. It is not alone sufficient that we should 

 have a cheap ration in getting the sow through the winter. The mere 

 price of food stuffs determines whether or not they are efficient in car- 

 rying the sow through the winter but their effect on the offspring de- 

 termines whether they would be used. 



"First we take up feeding of the animals at pregnancy. In 1910 we 

 kept track of the sows, weighing every ten days, and when the offspring 

 came in the spring we found that the fourteen sows which were gaining 

 the heaviest at the time pregnation occurred farrow^ed seven or eight 

 pigs. The others gave birth to more than a pig less. The lightest gave 

 birth to seven and a half pigs exactly. The lesson to be learned is this. 

 Tliat the sow at breeding time should be given a good healthy, vigorous 

 ration. I mean one which will produce vigor. In other words, keep the 

 sow going — have her gaining well at that time. She will be more likely 

 to farrow more live pigs. Sheep men for ages have believed in the prac- 

 tice of flushing at breeding time. They have believed that this would 

 produce more twin lambs at birth and w^e believe that they are right. 

 Corn was the basis of all our experiments along this line." 



The following tables give the results obtained in experiments of feeding 

 brood sows: 



