CHAPTER XI 

 SWINE 



Swine are omnivorous animals. They eat all the different 

 kinds of feeds. They eat animal and vegetable feeds, good 

 feeds and spoiled feeds, concentrates and roughages. They 

 eat everything but are primarily adapted to concentrates and 

 thrive with sound wholesome feed and clean quarters as well 

 as any other animals. Swine occupy a place on the farm that 

 cannot be filled by any other animal. While they can get 

 along sometimes under conditions that would be fatal to other 

 animals, they respond to good treatment as well as any of the 

 other animals of the farm. 



The young animals of this family are called pigs. After 

 they are weaned they go by the name of shotes and after they 

 reach considerable size (about 100 pounds) the}' are called 

 hogs. The words ''pigs" and "hogs" are also sometimes used 

 in a general sense including both old and young. The male 

 of the family is called a boar and the mature female is called 

 sow. A young sow is called a gilt or gelt. A barrow is a 

 male pig after castration provided the operation was performed 

 before it became too large. If a male pig is castrated after it 

 has attained considerable size it is called a stag. 



A stag is sold on the market with 80 pounds off, or is docked 

 80 pounds. This custom started many years ago. The 

 reason is that there is some waste in the shields and sheath. 

 As a matter of fact, there is not much waste and when hogs 

 were selling at 10 cents per pound, stags sold for more per 

 pound than barrows. Even at present, with the price of hogs 

 at 7 cents and 8 cents a pound, stags are bought in the country 

 at the same price as other hogs with 80 pounds off. A sow that 

 shows pigginess is docked 40 pounds. 



The shield of a hog is a thickening and hardening of the 

 skin on the side of the hog over the shoulder. This is for 

 protection in fighting. Hogs fight by striking each other with 



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