Feeding and Management of Swine. 605 



under proper regulations as to character of feed and amount 

 of exercise. As farrowing-time approaches let the feed be sloppy 

 and limited in quantity. Any tendency to costiveness should be 

 overcome by feeding bran, oil meal, roots, or other feeds of a cor- 

 rective character. For two or three days after farrowing supply 

 only a limited quantity of feed. A thin, warm slop made of mid- 

 dlings, oatmeal with a very little oil meal, poured a little at a 

 time into the feeding trough, will quench the thirst of the new 

 mother and answer all requirements. Eating her young, an act 

 quite common with brood sows, is unnatural, and reflects upon 

 the management of the feeder, indicating that feed and exercise 

 have not been properly regulated. 



912. Importance of exercise. Sows carrying much flesh, made 

 while confined in small pens, will prove at best unsatisfactory 

 breeders. In summer, exercise is easily secured by the use of 

 pasture, but winter conditions at the North are so adverse to out- 

 door life of the pig that much ingenuity is called for on the 

 part of the herdsman to attain the desired end. Sows will gain 

 exercise in winter, when the weather is not too severe, if turned 

 into sheltered yards where horses and cattle will not annoy them. 

 If litter from the stable is thrown in the yard, exercise will be 

 gained while working this over in search of waste grains. Some 

 exercise can also be forced by scattering grains of corn or oats, 

 preferably the latter, very thinly over the feeding floor. In 

 gathering the grains the sows will be kept upon their feet for some 

 time. If exercise can be secured in no other way, the sows 

 should be driven for some time each day by the herdsman along 

 a lane or roadway or about the yard. 



913. Feeding sow and pigs. If all goes well at farrowing- 

 time, the feed may be gradually increased after two or three 

 days, with the increasing flow of milk and the growing demands 

 of the pigs, until a full ration is supplied. Brood sows should 

 be heavily fed, for the gains of young pigs are made at low cost 

 for feed consumed. (831) Good brood sows with large litters 

 will usually fall off in weight despite the best of care and feed, but 

 such decrease is no reflection upon the skill of the feeder. In 

 feeding a brood sow the herdsman can draw upon all feeds at his 



