Investigations with Swine. 



541 



when 119 days old, they were gaining more than seven pounds 

 each, weekly, or over a pound per day. , 



831. feeding pigs through the dam. The question whether a 

 pound of food goes further when fed directly to young pigs or when 

 first fed to the dam is an interesting one to the stockman. The 

 writer has conducted trials with eight litters of pigs, noting feed 

 and gains, for information on this subject. l In all cases the darns 

 and pigs were weighed separately each week, and record kept of 

 the food eaten by each sow and her litter before weaning, and of 

 the pigs after weaning. The pigs were taught to eat at an early 

 date, and encouraged to do so by placing food in a trough where it 

 was accessible to them but not to the dam. The feed consisted of 

 corn meal, middlings, oats, barley and skim milk. At ten weeks 

 the pigs were weaned, the feeding continuing for seven weeks. 

 We were thus enabled to measure the feed required for gain by 

 the sow and pigs before weaning, and by the same pigs after 

 weaning. In all cases the loss in weight by the sow while suck- 

 ling her young is taken into account, the results reported being 

 the net gains after deducting such loss. 



Feed required for 100 pounds of gain with sow and pigs before wean- 

 ing, and by the same pigs after weaning Wisconsin Station. 



It will be seen that the sow and pigs together before weaning, 

 and the pigs alone after weaning, required almost identical quan- 



1 Loc. cit. 



