Care and Feeding of Sow and Litter 75 



Rather thin slops of meal, containing little or no corn, 

 will give the best results. A supply of shorts, bran, and 

 ground oats or barley is excellent to have on hand during 

 this time. A safe procedure to follow in feeding is the 

 following : the first day give her plenty of water, but no 

 feed ; the second day, give her one double-handful of 

 meal to the feed (a double-handful of meal containing 

 a desirable proportion of bran and shorts will weigh 

 about one-half pound) ; the third day, two double- 

 handfuls to the feed; the fourth day, three; and each 

 of the three succeeding days, four double-handfuls to 

 the feed. This is equivalent to 1 pound the second 

 day, 2 pounds the third, 3 pounds the fourth, and 4 

 pounds for each of the remaining days of the first week. 

 The practice of giving the sow a mild physic the day after 

 farrowing in the form of 1-^- to 2 tablespoonfuls of Epsom 

 salts is a good one. If the sow is normal, she should be 

 brought up to full feed during the second week by having 

 her feed increased at the rate of -J- to 1 pound each day. 



Pig-eaters. 



\ 



It is probably true that a normal well-nourished sow 

 rarely eats her pigs. At least, sufficient protein and 

 mineral matter in the winter ration, plenty of exercise, 

 and light laxative feeds during the farrowing season 

 will reduce to a minimum the loss from this vice. A sow 

 fed in restricted quarters during the pregnancy period 

 on a diet of straight corn is certain to have a natural 

 craving at this time for bone and muscle foods, and the 

 usual result is that the pig is the victim. This, after 

 all, is simply the working out of the law of compensation, 

 for the growth of the embryo litter on such a diet was 

 only possible through the extensive sacrifice by the sow 



