FEEDS FOE SWINE 645 



of skim milk or buttermilk is worth about as much or even more than 

 one-half a bushel of corn, when only enough skim milk is fed to balance 

 the ration. The results of these recent experiments therefore agree 

 roughly with the rule proposed many years ago by Gurler, which was: 

 * ' The value of 100 Ibs. of skim milk when fed along with corn to fatten- 

 ing hogs is half the market price of corn per bushel. " As is shown in 

 the table, however, the actual money value of skim milk varies not only 

 with the price of corn, but also with the price of tankage or other 

 available protein-rich feeds, for skim milk saves both corn and protein- 

 rich supplement. 



960. Proper proportion of skim milk or buttermilk to grain. Skim milk 

 and buttermilk are too watery and also too rich in protein to produce 

 economical gains when fed alone. They should therefore always be fed 

 with the cereals or such carbonaceous concentrates as hominy feed or 

 corn feed meal. The proportion of skim milk or buttermilk to be fed 

 with corn or other grain will depend first on the age of the pigs and next 

 on the relative price of the feeds. After sufficient milk has been supplied 

 to balance the ration, any addition will not increase the rate of gain 

 materially and may even lower it if too much is fed. 



Just after weaning, 4 to 6 Ibs. of skim milk or buttermilk to each 

 pound of corn will be sufficient to make maximum gains with pigs in a 

 dry lot. As they grow older the proportion of skim milk or buttermilk 

 needed to balance the ration decreases as follows: Pigs weighing 50 to 

 100 Ibs., 2.5 to 3 Ibs. milk to 1 Ib. corn ; pigs weighing 100 to 150 Ibs., 2 

 to 2.5 Ibs. milk to 1 Ib. corn ; pigs weighing 150 to 200 Ibs., 1.5 to 2.0 Ibs. 

 per pound of corn; and pigs weighing over 200 Ibs., only 1.0 to 1.5 Ibs. 

 of milk for each pound of corn. Where barley or wheat is fed in place 

 of corn, only about half to two-thirds as much milk is needed for each 

 pound of grain as with corn. 



Pigs fed corn on good pasture will need only about half as much milk 

 for each pound of grain. If the above amounts of milk are available, 

 there is no use of adding any other protein-rich feed. But if sufficient 

 skim milk or buttermilk is not on hand, it will pay to feed a small amount 

 of some other supplement, like tankage, linseed meal, or wheat middlings, 

 to balance the ration properly. 



Pigs on the one hand need a large proportion of skim milk to each 

 pound of corn when they are young, and on the other hand consume more 

 grain per head daily as they grow older. Therefore, the actual number 

 of pounds of skim milk needed per head daily to balance the ration does 

 not vary so widely for pigs full fed on corn. Generally 6 to 10 Ibs. of 

 skim milk per head daily will be enough to balance the ration properly 

 for pigs not on pasture which are self -fed corn or hand-fed all they will 

 eat. On pasture they will need only about half as much skim milk. 

 Due to the high efficiency of the milk proteins as supplements to the 

 cereal grains, pigs fed grain and skim milk or buttermilk do not require 

 quite as much protein as is generally advised in the feeding standards. 



