306 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



quantity of pork produced from a given acreage, when hogged 

 down, will be greater than when ear corn or snapped corn is fed 

 in pens. 



Feeding the Boar. The feeding of the boar should vary ac- 

 cording to his age and the season of the year. Thin, growing boars 

 need more grain than older ones, but neither should be fed so 

 that they will grow fat, since this will impair their breeding 

 qualities, just as much as having them in a thin body condi- 

 tion. The boar should receive only as much grain as he will 

 clean up readily, and should have a chance to exercise in summer 

 time in a pasture lot, and in the winter in a small yard adjoining 

 the pen. Succulent feed should be provided throughout the year if 

 possible : During the summer by pasturage or cut green feed, 

 giving enough grain to maintain a good condition of flesh ; during 

 the winter months either roots, pumpkins, or culled fruit may be 

 supplied. An allowance not over a pound daily of grain per 100 

 pounds live weight will be sufficient while on the summer pasture, 

 and during the winter, two pounds grain and four to six pounds 

 roots. The grain should contain a considerable proportion of pro- 

 tein, as, e.g., shorts and fine-ground oats (2 to 1 or 3 to 1). Skim 

 milk is especially valuable for young boars as the breeding season 

 approaches, and during this time two or three pounds grain may be 

 fed; a mixture of equal parts of corn, ground oats, and middlings 

 will prove an excellent combination. 



Feeding the Sow and the Pigs. The brood sow must be kept 

 in a good body condition at all times, so far as possible, so as to be 

 able to give birth to thrifty, vigorous pigs, and to furnish an abun- 

 dance of milk 1 for a healthy, rapid growth. Succulent feeds are 

 an essential part of the ration both in summer and winter. A 

 farrow, matured sow will keep in good condition on good clover 

 or alfalfa pasture alone, but a young sow must receive about one 

 to two pounds of grain daily per 100 pounds weight in addition ; 

 e.g., a mixture of oats or barley and shorts, with a little corn so as 

 to keep the nutritive ratio down to about 1 to 6 (p. 294) . But little 

 grain is fed for a few days before farrowing, and the sow is given 

 cooling feeds of a laxative nature, as roots, and a slop made up 

 largely of bran or shorts. For the first twenty-four hours after 

 farrowing no feed is given, but all the lukewarm water she will 

 drink; she is then given limited feed for three or four days, and is 

 slowly brought up to full feed in the course of about ten days. A 

 grain mixture of ground corn, ground oats, and shorts (1:1:2), 

 mixed with three to five pounds skim milk, will give excellent re- 



