1893.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 145 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH PIGS (TWO). 



1891-92. 



Introduction. — The results of fifteen different feeding ex- 

 periments with young pigs, grades and thoroughbreds, for 

 the meat market, have ah*eady been published in our pre- 

 ceding annual reports. The results of two new experiments 

 are reported on the present occasion. 



We usually keep, the whole year around, one young pig 

 for every cow in the dairy, to dispose of our skim-milk. 

 On the average, five lots of young pigs are prepared for the 

 meat market every two years. The animals are usually 

 bought when from five to six weeks old, and weigh from 

 25 to 30 pounds per head. They are fed until they reach a 

 live weight of from 180 to 190 pounds, when they are sold 

 to the butcher. 



From 112 to 125 days are usually required to produce the 

 desired live weight. Their daily gain in live weight has 

 been from 1.4 to 1.5 pounds. During spring, summer and 

 autumn one to two weeks less time is needed than during 

 the winter season to finish the operation. The shrinkage 

 from live weight to dressed weight varies usually from 18 to 

 21 per cent. 



Our daily supply of skim-milk rarely exceeds five quarts 

 per head of young pigs. We usually begin feeding from 

 two to three ounces of corn meal with every quart of skim- 

 milk required at the time. As soon as the live weight has 

 reached from 60 to 70 pounds per head we increase the corn 

 meal to four ounces per quart of skim-milk consumed. 



The additional feed subsequently called for has usually 

 been made of either a suitable mixture of several kinds of 

 commercial feed stuffs, as wheat bran and Chicago gluten 

 meal, or dried brewers' grain and gluten meal, or ground 



