CARE OF YOUNG PIGS. 277 



to the pigs. The whole milk may be gradually changed, how- 

 ever, to a skim-milk ration, but the skim-milk must be sweet 

 to prevent scours or bowel trouble. As soon as they take to 

 the skim-milk a little shorts may be added to the same. 

 In this way the young pigs may get a great deal of their 

 ration required for maintenance by the time they are four 

 or five weeks of age, thus making the weaning period an 

 easy one. This is especially beneficial where two litters per 

 year are to be reared. It is then very desirable to have the 

 young pigs weaned at an early age, say four or five weeks. 

 After weaning, the same ration as that which was fed before 

 weaning may be fed to advantage. Nothing seems to give 

 better results for the young pigs at first than a ration of milk 

 and shorts mixed in the proportion of one part of shorts to 

 three or four parts of skim-milk. Feed them at least three 

 times a day. Better results may be obtained if they are fed 

 four times a day for the first month. During the spring and 

 summer season they should be allowed the run of a good blue 

 grass, red clover, or alfalfa pasture. Nothing seems to give 

 better results than blue grass or alfalfa in the growth and 

 development of young pigs. If blue grass, red clover or 

 alfalfa cannot be supplied, some forage crop such as that 

 mentioned in the previous lecture should be provided. As 

 they get older a ration of shorts may be fed with some corn 

 added to the ration. Corn is not so conducive to growth 

 but is an excellent feed for fattening purposes. Some oil 

 meal added to the corn ration will also prove good in that 

 it will have a favorable influence on the digestive system of 

 the animal. Sweet corn may be fed in conjunction with 

 grain ration during the fall months. It seems to answer an 

 excellent purpose. Squashes, mangels or some other kinds 

 of root crops may also be used to advantage. Where these 

 are fed it is better to have them cooked or steamed and 

 mixed with the grain ration. 



One thing which must always be kept in mind is the 

 importance of having clean dry quarters for young pigs. 

 Filthy quarters are very injurious to the health of these 

 little fellows and prevent their proper growth and develop- 

 ment. The pens should be so arranged that there will be 

 an abundance of sunshine. 



Where two litters per year are to be reared, the fall 

 litter should come early enough in the season so as to have 

 made considerable growth before the cold weather arrives. 



