96 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 



The eye of the feeder is one of the great things in the hog busi- 

 ness. The man who feeds the pigs should take interest enough in 

 his work to carefully note the condition of each animal daily, and 

 if there is ever so small a change in the animal, by way of being a 

 little ''off feed," he must at once find out what the trouble is, 

 whether it is an over feed from the day before, or a little indisposi- 

 tion from conditions which, unless promptly attended to, might 

 lead to serious trouble. The old adage that a " Stitch in time 

 saves nine" was never more true than in the care of swine. 



Why Young Pigs Lose Their Tails. One often notices when 

 looking over a number of litters, especially of Spring pigs that were 

 farrowed during the cold months of February and March, that a 

 number of them have lost their tails. This condition is caused 

 wholly by neglecting to provide dry beds for the sow and litter. 

 I do not mean by this that an occasional change of bedding, once 

 every week or two would prevent it, but that the bed of the young 

 nursing litter must be absolutely dry at all times, and to make it 

 such it should be changed at least every other day. Otherwise the 

 bed will become damp and the mother and litter will heat it so that 

 it soon commences to steam, and if you should put your hand on 

 the straw you will find it hot and wet. This will surely cause their 

 little tails to shrivel and in a week or so drop off. 



If you notice a pig among your litter of youngsters that shows 

 a little crease or crack around the tail within an inch or a half inch 

 of the body, while the rest of the tail seems dry and dead, you may 

 make up your mind that it will be a bobbed tail pig in a mighty 

 short time. If the trouble has not gone too far, it may be over- 

 come by cleaning the tail where the crack appears, with peroxide of 

 hydrogen, which disinfects and purifies the sore parts, and if this 

 is applied two or three. times daily, and afterward the place rubbed 

 with carbolated vaseline, if the case is not too bad, the tail may be 

 saved. Of course the matter of bobbed tail pigs "cuts little ice" 

 where the hogs are being raised for the pork market, but the loss of 

 the tail greatly disfigures an otherwise outstanding show animal. 

 While the average judge would not turn down an animal in the 

 show ring for lack of a good tail and nice switch or brush, he 

 would very much prefer that the disfigurement was not there. 



Thumps in Young Pigs. Thumps in very young pigs often 

 occur where litters are farrowed in the colder months of the Spring 

 or Winter. While there is no trouble in saving the litter if proper- 

 ly handled, there is danger of the young litter becoming too fat, 

 particularly through the shoulders and front half of the body. 

 This is caused by their not taking proper exercise, and receiving 

 too great a flow of rich milk from the mother. In this case they 

 always become extremely fat, especially about the heart and vital 

 organs of the body, and so thicken up that it is almost impossible 

 for the little fellows to breathe even while lying quietly in the 

 nest, and when this stage becomes apparent it means almost sure 

 death to the pigs if they are forced to take exercise ; hence it is ex- 



