Management and Feeding in Winter 49 



It would appear from these results that pregnant sows 

 are unable to maintain themselves and provide for the 

 nourishment of their embryo pigs on bulky feeds alone. 

 This is also the conclusion of practical experience. In 

 both lots where no grain was fed, the sows lost in the 

 seventy days an average of twenty-one pounds, and the 

 number of pigs raised to the litter was below that of 

 the sows fed some corn. Regarding the ration contain- 

 ing corn silage, the author of the experiment states that 

 a considerable proportion of the feed in this lot was 

 wasted. The sows picked out the corn in the silage, 

 but ate very little of the fodder. Close observation of 

 the sows during the progress of the experiment thoroughly 

 convinced him that nothing was to be gained by feeding 

 corn silage to pregnant sows. 



Additional testimony of the value of a legume hay to 

 supplement home-grown grains for wintering pregnant sows 

 is supplied by tests made by W. H. Peters at the North 

 Dakota Experiment Station. One group of sows was fed 

 a grain mixture of two parts crushed barley and one part 

 of bran, by weight, fed as a thick mash with warm water. 

 The second group was fed the same mixture, but had in 

 addition free access to alfalfa hay fed in cheaply con- 

 structed racks. The amount of the mash fed in each group 

 was determined by the condition of the sows, the effort 

 being made to secure the proper gains in both lots. 



In Circular No. 13 the author makes the following 

 observations : 



"Close observation of the sows during the winter 

 months and during the month of March, while they were 

 farrowing, leads to the following conclusions: 



1st. "It was possible to replace one-third of the grain 

 ration for brood sows with alfalfa hay. 



