SWINE 



519 



to 5.8 pounds per day and in one in- 

 stance reached 8.7 pounds. When ana- 

 lyzed, seven samples of sows' milk 

 showed an average composition of 81 

 per cent water, 7 per cent fat, 6.2 per 

 cent casein and albumen, 4.8 per cent 

 sugar, 1 per cent ash and 12 per cent 

 solids not fat. 



Carlyle, studying the milk yield of 

 sows further at the Wisconsin station, 

 found that four Berkshires ranging in 

 weight from 274 to 532 pounds each 

 gave, on the average, 6.31 pounds ot 

 milk per day for 84 days. Four Poland- 

 China sows gave an average daily yield 

 of 4.86 pounds per day for the same 

 period and four Bazorback sows 5.44 

 pounds daily during the 84 days. The 

 average for the 12 sows was 5.44 pounds 

 daily for the 12 weeks. Some sows were 

 found to yield almost double as much 

 milk as others. The most milk is found 



Fig. 337 — PEN WITH SWINGING FRONT, 

 OPEN FOR FILLING TROUGHS 



in the front teats. From the fourth to 

 the eighth week there was an average 

 falling off of 3 per cent in the milk 

 yielded. 



Care of sows — The pregnant sows 

 should be kept on pasture and forage 

 crops as much as possible during the 

 growing season, because of the cheapness 

 of this method of feeding and of the de- 

 sirability of keeping the sow in good 

 form by exercise, fresh air and sunshine. 

 Such bulky and succulent foods, how- 

 ever, must be supplemented with some 

 more concentrated feed like grain, as 

 the period of pregnancy advances if the 

 best results are to be obtained. 



At the Michigan station, five brood 

 sows weighing 158 to 360 pounds each 

 were maintained on blue grass and rape 

 pasture for 105 days and just about 

 maintained their weight. 



The maintenance ration for 12 sows 

 made up of Berkshire, Poland-China, 

 Bazorback and crosses between these, 

 was found by Carlyle at the Wisconsin 

 station to average daily for each 100 

 pounds weight of sow 1.19 pounds of 

 grain and 2.4 pounds of skim milk. 



Fig. 338 — hog cot 



The best pasture for the brood sow 

 is alfalfa, clover and rape. These pas- 

 tures, however, furnish but little, if any, 

 more than a maintenance for mature 

 hogs, and in case of a brood sow must 

 be supplemented with liberal allowances 

 of muscle, bone and flesh, making foods 

 such as shorts, middlings, ground oats, 

 bran, etc. It is not desired to make the 

 sow fat but she must be kept in a good, 

 thrifty condition. The sows should be 

 allowed a lot by themselves and not be 

 put in with a mixed herd. 



Exercise is essential to the produc- 

 tion of vigorous offspring and easy par- 



Fig. 339 — individual hog house 



turition and can be obtained by the pas- 

 turing method or in the winter time by 

 distributing the feed in the straw or by 

 having the pen at one end of the lot and 

 the feeding ground at the other. More 

 difficulties will be experienced in cold 

 weather in keeping the sows in good con- 

 dition than in warm weather when at 



