GENERAL PROBLEMS IN SWINE HUSBANDRY 613 



The table shows that the lowest prices occur, on the average, in the 

 months of December and January, due to the fact that the receipts are 

 the heaviest during these months. An exceedingly important point is 

 that the average price per cwt. in December is $1.36 less than for 

 September and $0.75 below that for October. 



Early spring pigs which are full-fed in summer on good pasture will 

 usually be nearly ready for market before the corn crop is ripe in the 

 fall. Therefore they can not utilize much of the new corn, which is nor- 

 mally lower in price than the old corn has been during the summer. 

 However, if they can be marketed at good weights in September or 

 October, the usual higher price will generally more than offset this factor. 



Spring pigs which are to follow fattening steers in the fall and winter 

 or pigs which are to hog down corn in the fall should not receive a full 

 feed of grain in summer or they will be too heavy and too fat for these 

 purposes. (804, 942) Young gilts or boars for the breeding herd should 

 also be fed limited rations, as is pointed out later. (1035) In some 

 cases it may be most economical to feed late spring or early summer 

 pigs only enough concentrates on pasture to keep them growing thriftily, 

 and then fatten them in the fall and early winter, so they will reach the 

 market in February, when the price usually begins to rise again. 



Numerous experiments have shown that if pigs are fed no grain at all 

 on pasture they will, as a rule, little more than maintain their weight, 

 and some will become stunted or even die. To keep spring pigs 

 growing thriftily, even on excellent pasture, they must usually be fed 

 at least 2 Ibs. of concentrates daily per 100 Ibs. live weight. 



926. Self -feeding Largely thru the work of Evvard of the Iowa 

 Station, the practice of self-feeding fattening pigs has become wide- 

 spread during the past few years. Experiments at several stations have 

 shown that this labor-saving method of feeding gives excellent results 

 with growing, fattening pigs, with well-grown shotes, and with old sows 

 which are being fattened. In self -feeding swine, grain and protein-rich 

 supplements may be fed, free choice, in separate compartments of the 

 self-feeder, or the pigs may be self -fed a properly balanced mixture of 

 grain and protein-rich supplements. The merits of these two methods 

 are discussed later. (927) 



The self-feeder should not be used when rapid gains are not wanted, for 

 instance, where it is desired to force pigs to make the maximum use of 

 pasturage by limiting the grain allowance. If pigs are to be carried to 

 weights of 275 Ibs. or more before being marketed (which is not the com- 

 mon practice), it may be inadvisable to self -feed them until they reach 

 the weight of 150 Ibs. or more. Otherwise they may grow too fat at an 

 early age. The self-feeder should not be used for growing pigs for the 

 breeding herd, or for pregnant sows, unless some bulky feed, such as 

 ground alfalfa, is mixed with the grain; else they will become too fat. 

 Even when a bulky feed is included in the mixture, much skill is required 



