BREEDS OF SWINE 493 



seed meal, the common fattening feed in the South, often prove 

 positively injurious. (F. B. 100.) 



The previous treatment and the condition of the hogs when 

 the fattening process begins, have as much influence on the subse- 

 quent gains as does the kind of feed used. (Ind. B. 137.) The fat 

 hog should be sent to market carrying a deep, uniform covering of 

 flesh all over the body. The flesh should be comparatively firm. 

 Corn makes the best grain for the major part of the ration during 

 the finishing period. There is some danger, however, of producing 

 a carcass with too much flabbiness if corn is too exclusively used. 

 (N. D. B. 83.) 



From 60 to 75 days before the pig is to be marketed he should 

 be confined in limited quarters and fed heavily on grain until he be- 

 comes well finished and fattened. Up to this time he should be 

 kept growing every day, but fed as little grain and as much forage as 

 can be done and maintain a thrifty growth, and he should be given 

 ample exercise. Fattening hogs will make the greatest gains when 

 they have just enough exercise to keep their appetites sharp. A fat- 

 tening hog should be limited to half an acre, and 25 fattening hogs 

 kept on this area will do better than a greater number. The hogs 

 should be sorted to lots of even size and age, and no matter how 

 many are being fattened, not over 25 should be allowed to run to- 

 gether. Brood sows should not be kept with fattening hogs. 



The hogs should be fed at regular hours, either two or three 

 times a day, and at each feed should be given just a trifle less than 

 they will eat up clean. The profits come from inducing the hog to 

 consume a large quantity of grain and maintain a sharp appetite. 

 The feeder will secure the best results by watching the hogs each 

 time until they finish eating. He will then know whether the hogs 

 are slow about cleaning up the feed, showing over feeding, or 

 whether they clean up the feed quickly and need more. The hogs 

 should have all the clean, pure water they will drink at least three 

 times a day. Colorado feeds are rich in protein, and a hog eating 

 them needs much more water than when eating corn. The hog 

 should, before being marketed, be well fattened, smooth and well 

 rounded with a good outer covering of fat, and be firm and solid to 

 the touch. If the feeder will go into a pen of thin hogs and feel 

 them along the loin and back, and then into a pen of well fattened 

 hogs, he can quickly learn the "feel" that indicates a good finish. 

 The hogs should be sorted to an even size and weight before being 

 shipped. (Colo. B. 146.) 



Finishing. The feeding period for finishing should not last 

 over 6 weeks. During this time the hog should eat a ration in 

 weight equal to 4% per cent of his own weight at the beginning 

 of the finishing perioa. This should consist mostly of corn, supple- 

 mented with the proteid feeds, middlings, oilmeal, tankage and 

 bloodmeal, depending on prices. (Mo. Cir. 28.) 



Among the hogs produced by the supplemented rations, the 

 most profitable OUCH to the packer were tho^o which had received con- 

 centrated rations. Bulk in the ration is prejudicial to the packer's 



