LECTURE LXX. 



FEED AND CARE OF YOUNG PIGS FROM BIRTH UNTIL 

 READY FOR FATTENING. 



The brood sow should be placed in a comfortable pen a 

 few days before farrowing. If the weather is inclined to be 

 cool, this is especially desirable, while on the other hand if 

 the weather is warm sometimes she may be allowed to 

 run in a pasture lot. For a young brood sow, however, or 

 even for any age of a sow, it is safer to have her in a small 

 pen which has been especially prepared for farrowing pur- 

 poses. She should be accustomed to this pen, so that it 

 will not be strange or different to her. A fender which can 

 be made from a 2x6 or 8-inch scantling should be placed 

 along the wall about seven or eight inches from the floor. 

 This affords a means of protection by preventing the mother 

 from lying on the young, for in such a way she cannot get 

 within six or seven inches of the wall and they will not be 

 crushed but will have an opportunity to escape without any 

 injury. This point will often save the lives of several of the 

 little pigs. If the weather is cold, it is best that the bed 

 should be warmed properly and properly dried. For bed- 

 ding, cut straw or chaff is preferable to long straw. Long 

 straw makes it hard for the little fellows to get around, thus 

 more or less liability of their being crushed by the mother. 

 Cut straw also takes up the moisture much more readily 

 than does the long straw. If any of the little pigs are 

 chilled at farrowing time they should be removed from the 

 pen and taken to a warm place until they have recovered. 

 It is not a good policy, however, to keep the little ones away 

 from the mother too much of the time. By so doing, and 

 especially with a young mother, there is some danger of her 

 not owning her young. Provision should be made so that 

 the little fellows may have an opportunity to secure some 

 feed in addition to that provided by the mother as soon as 

 they are old enough to use the same. A little trough in 

 which some whole milk is supplied will prove very attractive 



