FEEDING YOUNG ANIMALS 14! 



The Feeding of Pigs. The sow while nursing re- 

 quires liberal feeding, as the rearing of a large litter 

 is a severe drain on her system. Skim milk, butter 

 milk, bran, shorts, ground oats, wheat and barley, 

 with a run on pasture grass, will meet the situation. 

 No care or attention will be needed to get the little 

 pigs to drink when two or three weeks old. A good 

 method is to provide a shallow, flat-bottom trough 

 in a small inclosure in one corner of the lot where 

 the sow is fed, allowing the young pigs access to this 

 at will, but where the sow cannot reach it. For the 

 first day or two a little fresh milk can be used ; after- 

 wards give sweet skim milk, properly warmed. If 

 skim milk is not available, then middlings or shorts 

 mixed in a thin slop are a good substitute. This can 

 be fed twice daily. 



The pigs should not be weaned abruptly, because 

 of the injury that would result to the sow. There is 

 a large flow of milk, which should be dried up grad- 

 ually. It is not a good plan, either, to remove some 

 of the pigs, allowing the remaining ones to stay 

 with the mother a few days or a week or so. This 

 is admissible, however, if part of the litter has 

 profited at the expense of other members. In case 

 this is so, the larger ones can be removed after they 

 have become satisfied with their slop ration, and the 

 less thrifty ones kept back to dry ofr* the sow. 

 Weaning should be done gradually; then there will 

 be no sudden check either to the pigs or the mother. 

 If the sow is fed a spare diet consisting of a little 

 dry grain or given the run of an old pasture, the 



