26 Pork Production 



when the boar and sows are the same general size and type, 

 many breeders prefer using it. They claim that a satis- 

 factory service is much more certain with the crate than 

 without it and that it is much less wearing on the boar, 

 which is undoubtedly true. The boar, however, has to 

 be taught to use the crate, and with some individuals 

 considerable patience is necessary before this is accom- 

 plished. Boars that have formed the habit of breeding 

 under natural conditions are especially slow about learning 

 to use it, while some refuse altogether. Farmers, as a 

 rule, do not favor the use of the breeding-crate, largely 

 because of the time and individual attention required 

 by such a method, and also because they have had no 

 experience in using it. Some believe that the sow is more 

 liable to miss conception when bred under such artificial 

 conditions. If she is thoroughly in heat it is difficult to 

 see, however, how this could have anything to do with 

 the successful union of the sperms with the eggs, which 

 probably occurs some time in the next forty-eight hours. 



Number of sows which the boar can breed. 



Under given conditions, the number of sows which the 

 boar can breed safely will depend mainly on the following 

 factors : age, natural vigor or fertility, the length of the 

 breeding season, and the distribution of the services. 

 With a careful distribution of the services, a mature 

 vigorous hog may be expected to take care of thirty sows, 

 under good conditions. For a herd of that size, however, 

 it would be wise to provide a second hog to be employed 

 in emergencies. As a rule, one service a day may be 

 permitted, and occasionally two when following a day 

 or two of idleness. The yearling boar ordinarily should 

 breed from fifteen to twenty sows in a season of six weeks 



