FEEDING AND CARE OF SWINE 357 



pen. About 1 lb. of concentrates daily per 100 lbs. live weight is 

 sufficient in summer for fairly mature boars on good pasture. Young 

 boars need enough concentrates to keep them growing thriftily. In 

 winter 2 lbs. of concentrates daily per 100 lbs. live weight with roots 

 and alfalfa or clover hay should suffice. During service the boar 

 requires more feed than at other seasons. 



At farrowing time. — From one to three weeks before farrowing 

 the sow should be separated from the other hogs and placed in a sunny 

 farrowing pen to become accustomed to her surroundings. Her ration 

 should now be reduced and consist of cooling, laxative feeds, such as 

 roots, legume hay, and a slop made largely of wheat bran or shorts, 

 with perhaps linseed meal and ground oats. By enforcing exercise 

 for brood sows, preventing constipation, and keeping them thrifty 

 thru feeding a well-balanced ration, little trouble will be experienced 

 from sows eating their new-born pigs. 



The farrowing place should be comfortable, dry, well-ventilated, and 

 so sheltered that a deep nest is not necessary to prevent the new-born 

 pigs being chilled, for they may be crushed in a deep, bird-like nest. 

 Cut straw or hay, chaff, and leaves are the best for bedding provided 

 they are reasonably free from dust. Long hay or straw may entangle 

 the pigs. A plank fastened with the edge against the wall, placed 

 about 8 inches from the floor and standing out 8 inches from the sides 

 of the farrowing pen lessens the danger of the mother crushing her 

 young. In the case of heavy, clumsy sows, separate the pigs from the 

 dam by placing them in a chaff -lined box or barrel for a couple of 

 days. Sows properly handled before farrowing will not usually re- 

 sent such separation. The pigs will then be safe, and the attendant 

 can pass them to the dam for nourishment at short intervals. A 

 chilled pig may be revived by immersion in water as warm as the 

 hand will bear. 



The weights of the pigs at birth range from less than 1.5 lbs. to 

 over 8 lbs., about 2.5 lbs. being the average with our common breeds. 



Care of sow and litter. — For the first 24 hours after farrowing only 

 lukewarm water should be given the sow unless she shows a decided 

 desire for feed, when a little thin, warm slop may be offered. The 

 ration for the following 4 or 5 days should be light, after which she 

 should gradually be brought to full feed, as her milk flow increases. 

 The coarse feeds, so useful at other times, must now largely give way 

 to rich concentrates, such as skim milk, tankage, heavy flour middlings, 

 ground oats, soybeans, cowpeas, and linseed meal, to furnish nitroge- 

 nous matter, and corn, barley, kafir, or milo meal in large proportion 

 to furnish the carbohydrates. Water should be liberally added to 

 form a thin slop. Sows with litters should be liberally fed, for at no 



