LECTURE LXIX. 



FEED, CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BROOD SOWS. 



One of the most common mistakes made in connection 

 with brood sows is the use of the immature animals for 

 breeding purposes. In the Central West, and in fact in 

 most sections of the country, from one-half to two-thirds of 

 the sows which are kept for breeding purposes are under 

 one year of age. This simply makes the breeding business 

 more or less complex in its nature. That is, we have no 

 assurance of the value of these young animals for breeding 

 purposes. A sow which has once been bred and reared a 

 good litter of pigs can usually be counted upon to do like- 

 wise afterwards. The evil results which follow the breeding 

 from immature sows are: 1. Reduced size of litters. 2. A 

 weakened constitution. 3. A general refinement in the ani- 

 mal and lack of size. These are all points which each and 

 every breeder of hogs must consider very carefully. As a 

 general rule, the only safe kind of a sow to keep for breed- 

 ing purposes is a mature animal which has already proven 

 her worth as a breeder. Brood sows should be fed differently 

 from those animals intended for fattening purposes. Corn, 

 while an excellent feed for fattening hogs, should be used 

 in very moderate amounts for breeding animals. It should 

 not form more than one-third of the ration. This is due to 

 the fact that corn is a fat and heat producing feed. The 

 ration of the brood sow should be of a nitrogenous nature, 

 so as to have a cooling effect upon the system. Sows which 

 have an abundance of exercise can withstand more corn feed- 

 ing than those that are confined to the pens. A ration of 

 shorts and oats, or some gluten feed, or any other feed stuff 

 which is fairly rich in nitrogen, will give good results. Prob- 

 ably one of the best rations will be a mixture of one part 

 corn, one part shorts, and one part oats. In some instances 

 bran is used, instead of shorts, for feeding of brood sows, 

 especially where mature animals are kept for breeding pur- 



