690 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



dry, worth about 95 per ct. as much as shelled corn per pound, when fed 

 with a small amount of tankage and ground alfalfa. Dry whole barley 

 or soaked whole barley was worth only about 80 per ct. as much as 

 shelled corn. Ground oats is an excellent feed for brood sows, as it is 

 richer in protein than corn and is bulkier, but it is worth less per pound 

 than corn, and therefore in the corn-belt is not usually as economical 

 as that grain. The grain sorghums are all very satisfactory feeds for 

 sows, when rightly supplemented, just as is necessary with corn. 



1020. Succulent feeds for brood sows. Without any question, roots are 

 a desirable addition to the ration of the brood sow when no legume hay 

 is fed, for they are palatable, bulky, and laxative. However, they are 

 not rich in protein and calcium, as is legume hay. 



To find whether there was any advantage in adding roots to well- 

 balanced rations including alfalfa or clover hay, Morrison, Bohstedt, 

 and Fargo conducted experiments during 4 winters at the Wisconsin 

 Station. 14 Either sugar-mangels or yellow carrots were added to a 

 ration of corn, tankage, and alfalfa hay or a ration consisting of clover 

 hay and a concentrate mixture of barley, oats, wheat middlings, and 

 linseed meal. Gilts, yearlings, and aged sows were used in the various 

 trials. Contrary to what many experienced swine breeders would pre- 

 dict, in no case did the addition of roots to these rations result in larger 

 or more thrifty pigs. Furthermore, roots proved to be decidedly un- 

 economical under corn belt conditions, for in no case was their actual 

 feeding value as high as $4.00 per ton with corn at 56 cts. a bushel and 

 other feeds at corresponding prices. 



In a trial by Joseph at the Montana Station 15 sugar beets were worth 

 slightly less than half as much as alfalfa hay when sows were fed hulless 

 barley and either sugar beets or hay. 



Silage is not a very satisfactory feed for brood sows, for they will 

 usually eat only the corn grain, leaving most of the forage. In most 

 parts of the country, legume hay is far more economical and also more 

 satisfactory than roots or silage. 



1021. Amount of concentrates to feed pregnant sows, It is just as im- 

 portant not to over-feed pregnant sows as it is to feed them a well- 

 balanced ration. If they become too fat, they are apt to have weak pigs, 

 be restless and clumsy at farrowing time and then kill their pigs, and 

 also be poor milkers. On the other hand, a sow which is too thin lacks 

 the reserve energy necessary to nourish her pigs properly before and 

 after birth. A mature sow which is in thin, active condition at the be- 

 ginning of the breeding season in the fall should be fed so as to gain 75 to 

 85 Ibs. by farrowing time in the spring. This will about cover the loss in 

 weight which will occur at farrowing and while she is nursing her pigs. 

 More of this gain should be made during the last 4 to 6 weeks of the 

 gestation period than during the first part, for most of the growth of the 

 litter occurs then. If mature sows are fed plenty of legume hay, about 



"Unpublished data. ^Information to the authors. 



