226 SWINE 



For ordinary purposes 25 to 50 brood sows are' suffi- 

 cient for a breeding herd. As soon as the pigs are far- 

 rowed the entire number in the litter are given the same 

 mark as their dam. Thus the litter is easily identified 

 at all times and after being developed, if some of the indi- 

 viduals are to be retained in the breeding herd, they are 

 given an additional nick or two in the ear so as to give 

 them a number that is different from that of their dam. 

 If the pigs are sold either on the open market or for 

 breeding purposes, no further attention need be given to 

 these nicks in the ears. Thus with a system of ear mark- 

 ing, as here outlined, in a breeding herd of approximately 

 100 sows, each can be easily and quickly identified. 



According to another practice in use to some extent, 

 all the individual pigs of a litter are given separate marks. 

 If this be adopted as a system of marking, the foregoing 

 method can still be used by going to the upper side of the 

 left ear for the hundreds and then to the upper side of 

 the right ear for the thousands. Thus with this system 

 of nicks in the ears, 9,999 pigs may be marked so that 

 each one can be readily identified. 



CASTRATION. 



Castration consists in removing the testicles of the 

 male. In the case of pigs this is a comparatively simple 

 operation and may be done by any one with very little 

 instruction and practice. The best time to castrate a pig 

 is between five and seven weeks of age. At this time the 

 pig will be sufficiently developed to enable the breeder 

 to select the ones that are to be retained as sires in the 

 breeding herd, and at the same time the pigs will be small 

 enough to render this task most easy and the shock to 

 the pig will be the least. Furthermore, the pig is still 

 with its dam and is probably more thrifty and in better 



