610 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



proven conclusively that, instead of a gain from cooking, there is in nearly 

 every case a loss. In 26 trials 18 in which pigs were fed either cooked or 

 uncooked grain (corn, barley, rye, peas, or wheat shorts, fed separately or 

 in combination), 89.4 Ibs. of uncooked grain was as valuable, on the 

 average, as 100 Ibs. of the same grain when cooked, a loss of over 10 per 

 ct. by cooking. Some few feeds, such as potatoes, field beans, and velvet 

 beans are improved by cooking. In winter, slop should be warmed, but 

 not cooked, for pigs in cold quarters. 



923. Wetting or soaking feed. There is generally not enough advan- 

 tage in wetting feeds for pigs or in feeding concentrates in the form of 

 a slop to justify the trouble, unless they will not otherwise drink enough 

 water. When wheat meal is fed dry, it forms a pasty, gummy mass in 

 the mouth, difficult to chew and swallow ; feeding it as a thin slop largely 

 prevents this trouble. To get the pigs to drink more water it may be 

 desirable to feed concentrates in the form of a warm slop during winter 

 in the North, if an automatic waterer with a heating device is not pro- 

 vided. 



We have seen previously (921) that it may be advisable to soak shelled 

 corn for large pigs, while this does not noticeably increase its value for 

 young animals. Any grain so hard as to injure the mouths of the pigs 

 during mastication should always be soaked if it can not be ground or 

 rolled. This is especially necessary with such small hard grains as wheat 

 and rye. In a trial at the Kansas Station 19 Kinzer and Wheeler found 

 no advantage from soaking alfalfa meal and ground corn for fattening 

 pigs. 



924. Limited-feeding vs. full-feeding. One of the most important ques- 

 tions that every hog raiser has to decide is how much grain he will feed 

 his growing, fattening pigs. He knows that the larger the amount of 

 grain or other concentrates he feeds them, the faster they will gain, no 

 matter whether in dry lot or on pasture, but he wonders whether or not 

 he will make more profit if he restricts the amount of concentrates. 



In dry lot feeding, it is practically always most economical to full- 

 feed growing and fattening pigs, unless it is desired to carry them along 

 slowly for a later market. When pigs are fed about all they will eat, 

 either by means of a self-feeder or by hand-feeding, they will consume 

 less feed for each 100 Ibs. gain up to market weights, and therefore the 

 gains will be cheaper than if they had been fed less grain. This is be- 

 cause more time will be required to get the pigs to a given market weight, 

 if the grain allowance is restricted. Every additional day requires just 

 so much more feed merely to maintain the pig, for the feed used up in 

 maintaining the body is lost so far as the actual production of pork is con- 



M Me. State Col. Agr. Rpt. Trustees, 1876; Ontario School of Agr., Rpt. 1876; 

 Kan, Agr. Col., Rpt 1885; Iowa Agr. Col. Rpt. 1891; Wis. Rpt. 1886; Coburn, 

 Swine in America. 



M Kan. Bui. 192. 



