PEED AND CARE OF SWINE 701 



that the feeders and waterers are working properly and should clean 

 them out when necessary in short, he should be sure that all is going 

 well with the animals. 



As has been pointed out before, salt should always be supplied to 

 swine, including growing and fattening pigs. (916) If the pigs are 

 on first-class protein-rich pasture, there is probably little or no advantage 

 in feeding a mineral supplement in addition to the type of well-balanced 

 rations recommended in the preceding chapter. However, for pigs not 

 on good pasture, feeding a simple mineral mixture, such as has been 

 recommended before, is undoubtedly advantageous. Also it is possible 

 that better bone will be produced in breeding stock if a mineral supple- 

 ment is added to the ration. (916) 



1035. Raising breeding stack. Pigs selected for the breeding herd, 

 both sows and boars, should be fed so they will develop good size and 

 strong bone, but should not be allowed to become nearly so fat as pigs 

 that are being finished for market. If the spring pigs are being fed a 

 limited allowance of concentrates on good pasture and are receiving a 

 well-balanced ration, it may not be necessary to separate the gilts to be 

 retained for breeding from the other pigs until full feeding is started 

 in the fall. On the other hand, if the pigs intended for the market are 

 being fattened as they grow by self -feeding or by hand-feeding a full 

 fattening ration, the breeding stock should be separated soon after 

 weaning, so they may be fed a ration suited to their needs. This should 

 include a larger proportion of protein-rich feeds than for the fattening 

 pigs, and they should be fed just enough concentrates in addition to good 

 pasture to keep them growing vigorously. For young sows and boars 

 most breeders prefer concentrate mixtures containing a reasonable pro- 

 portion of rather bulky feeds, such as ground oats, wheat bran, or 

 standard middlings. If possible, some protein-rich feed of animal origin 

 should be included in the ration, such as dairy by-products, tankage, or 

 fish meal. This is especially important if the pigs are not on first-class 

 pasture. 



Tho simple mixtures may be entirely satisfactory, such a mixture as 

 the following may be considered ideal for such stock: Corn, barley, or 

 grain sorghum, 40 Ibs. ; ground oats, 30 Ibs. ; standard middlings, 20 Ibs. ; 

 linseed meal, 5 Ibs. ; tankage, 5 Ibs. If plenty of skim milk or buttermilk 

 is available, a mixture of half corn, barley, or grain sorghum and half 

 oats or standard middlings should be entirely satisfactory. 



Sows and boars of the larger breeds should reach a weight of 300 Ibs. 

 or over at one year of age, if properly fed and managed. 



1036. Age to breed gilts Commonly spring gilts not intended for 

 showing are bred in the fall and farrow when they are about a year old. 

 Those intended for a show herd are usually not bred until they are a year 

 old, in order that they may mature earlier and reach a larger size. Thus 

 under general farm conditions gilts are commonly bred when less mature 

 than any other class of farm animals. There is a widespread opinion 



