148 



HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 



with rye as with corn, wheat or barley. Rye is worth about 90 to 

 100 percent as much as corn, depending on relative methods of 

 feeding. The 100 percent figure is high, but figured as a partial 

 feed in the ration it does have a replacement value, pound for 

 pound, with corn. Eye products have not received the endorse- 

 ment in swine feeding that wheat products have ; rye middlings, for 

 instance, being much less popular than wheat middlings, and appar- 

 ently this is the right distinction to draw between the two. 



Sorghums. These grains are especially good for swine pro- 

 duction, although not the equals of corn, barley, or wheat. In the 

 drier sections, as in western Kansas and Nebraska, some portions 

 of California and other locations not favored with abundant rain- 

 fall, these dry-land crops are of special economic value, in that they 

 furnish more feed per acre than corn or other grains, which, in 

 turn, means that a larger pork production per acre can be carried 

 on in those sections with these grains than without them. Hogmen 

 living in these localities can tie to these crops, knowing full well 

 that they have a value approximating that of corn. In truth, these 

 dry-land sorghum grains are similar to corn and are used in prac- 

 tically the same way. Alfalfa is especially a great balancer for 

 them in Kansas and Nebraska. Milk and tankage and similar feeds 

 that balance corn grain are used to great advantage in these sec- 

 tions. The dry-land feeds are not so palatable as corn, but on the 

 other hand they produce a good quality of pork. Preparation is 

 necessary. They should be ground and probably w r et or, better still, 

 soaked, in addition, in order to make them more palatable, and in 

 order to make every pound of feed more efficient. The returns from 

 grinding are sufficient to justify the statement that it should prac- 

 tically always be done, excepting in rare situations. 



Prof. W. A. Cochel.and his co-workers at the Kansas station 

 have done considerable work on the dry-land and sorghum grains, 

 and recently there has been reported by Cunningham and Kenny 

 some of the work that Cochel and his co-workers have done. A 

 Kansas station test, which comprised five lots of ten pigs each, the 

 pigs being fed basal feeds as mentioned, shows up favorably for 

 corn, of course. In all cases the grains fed were supplemented with 

 2.3 pounds of wheat middlings and .4 of a pound of meatmeal tank- 

 age per pig daily. The basal feed, daily feed per pig, average daily 

 gain per pig and feed required for a 100 pounds of gain are given 

 in the subjoined table : 



