THE BREEDING OF PIGS FOR BACON 191 



depend largely on the farmer himself what class 

 of farming he adopts and what class of foods are 

 available. If young sows haveJbeen well bred and 

 raised i.e. fed on suitable food in suitable quantities, 

 and have a good frame, and are not too fat they 

 may be mated to the boar when they are eight 

 months old. It will be found that well bred and fed 

 pigs will show signs of heat at four to five months of 

 age. But they should not be bred at this age, as 

 they are too young and too small, and would remain 

 stunted and would produce weak litters. The 

 period of heat in the sow lasts about three days, 

 and it is sometimes the custom to let the sows run 

 with the boar until they show signs of being " in 

 pig." But from experience it has been found that 

 one mating is quite sufficient to produce a full-sized 

 litter, and when so mated the sows may be removed 

 into a camp, pen, or " put out " on the lands to 

 graze, depending on the system of farming adopted. 

 When the first signs of being "in pig" are 

 noticed, which will usually be about six or seven 

 weeks after mating, we may begin to feed them 

 with more nourishing food if they have been out 

 grazing and foraging for themselves. Separator 

 milk may now be given them, together with plenty 

 of green food, such as lucerne. This is to help 

 build up the young which she is carrying, for a 

 litter of ten to sixteen pigs is a big drain on her 

 system. This feeding should begin some time 



