618 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



of boards. The opening thru which the sows entered was left open at 

 all times so they could come and go at will and no litter was banked up 

 against the houses to make them warmer. At farrowing time the sows 

 were removed to farrowing pens in the central barn. The feed cost of 

 wintering these sows was 16 per ct. higher than for sows kept in a 

 central hog barn and allowed to run at will in an exercise paddock during 

 the day. However, this increase in the feed cost was offset by the fact 

 that 88 per ct. of the pigs from the sows in the colony houses were 

 vigorous and only 74 per ct. of those wintered in the central house. This 

 was probably due to the fact that the sows in the colony houses took more 

 exercise. (932, 1024) 



With young pigs warm winter quarters are more important. For 

 example, Grisdale found at the Ottawa, Canada, Station, 29 where the 

 winters are severe, that 70-lb. pigs housed in colony houses required 44 

 per ct. more feed for 100 Ibs. gain than others in a well-built central 

 hog house. Brood sows in the small houses required only 25 per ct. 

 more feed than those in the warmer quarters, showing that large animals 

 can withstand severe cold bettor than small ones. The health of the 

 animals was good under both conditions. Shelton of the Kansas Agri- 

 cultural College 30 found that during a winter in which the temperature 

 at 8 a. m. ranged from 31 F. to -12 F. large hogs in warm quarters 

 required 25 per ct. less feed than those in a yard protected only by a 

 high board fence on the north. 



Where the spring litters come in cold weather it is essential that 

 fairly warm quarters be provided. If there is no central hog barn, a 

 lantern hung in a well-protected colony house will furnish sufficient 

 warmth. 



932. Exercise For breeding stock and growing pigs ample exercise 

 is of the utmost importance. To enforce exercise animals quartered in 

 several cabins can be fed at a point, at some distance from the shelters, 

 where there are troughs and a feeding floor. When snow covers the 

 ground, paths can be broken out with a snow plow. On the feeding floor, 

 which should be kept clean and should be covered, if possible, shelled 

 corn and whole oats may be scattered thinly to force the sows or pigs to 

 pick up a grain at a time. If a permanent hog house is used, abundant 

 exercise should be enforced at all times with breeding and stock animals. 

 (1024) 



933. Types of swine; breed tests. The principal breeds of swine are 

 of two distinct types, the lard type, of which the Poland-China, Berk- 

 shire, Chester-White, and Duroc-Jersey are the leading breeds, and the 

 bacon type, represented by the Tamworth and Large Yorkshire breeds. 

 The Hampshires, tho often classed as bacon hogs, really stand between 

 the extreme bacon type and the lard type. Lard hogs, which are the 

 type commonly raised in the United States, have compact, wide, and 

 deep bodies. Since the hams, back, and shoulders are the most valuable 



"Ottawa Expt. Farms, Rpt. 1904. ^Kan. Agr. Col., Rpt. Prof. Agr., 1883. 



