SWINE 



521 



When the pigs are three or four 

 weeks old they will begin to eat a little 

 grass and take notice of the sow's feed. 

 At this time a low trough should be ar- 

 ranged to which the young pigs can 

 have access, but away from the sow, in 

 which a little skim milk or thin gruel 

 may be placed two or three times a day. 



Rations for the pigs — As the pigs 

 learn to eat, the feed may be increased. 

 Skim milk is one of the best rations to 

 feed at this time. It may be mixed with 

 cornmeal or meal of any of the grains in 

 the proportion of about 1 pound to 6 to 

 12 pounds of milk. The pigs should 



12 weeks. It is not advisable to wean 

 as early as four weeks, since at that 

 time the young pigs will only have just 

 begun to learn to eat solid food. If the 

 pigs are not well accustomed to skim 

 milk rations, grass and grain, the time 

 of weaning may well be delayed until 

 eight to 10 weeks of age. If the sow 

 is not to be bred again, the pigs may be 

 allowed to run with her as long as 12 

 weeks; by that time all the pigs should 

 be eating well and will scarcely miss the 

 sow's milk when taken away from her. 

 At weaning time, if the sow is giving 

 considerable quantities of milk, two or 



Fig. 343 — HOGS GRAZING ON SOY BEANS 

 (Courtesy Tennessee Exper. Station) 



be kept growing constantly from the 

 time they are born until the time they 

 are taken to market at eight or nine 

 months of age, and in order to do this 

 satisfactorily and economically it will 

 be necessary to feed them a small 

 amount of grain every day. 



Scours and thumps, which often 

 cause serious losses among young pigs 

 are largely due to overfeeding or the 

 feeding of unsuitable foods during the 

 early life of the pig. Plenty of exercise 

 and a reduction in the ration will usu- 

 ally correct these troubles. 



Weaning pigs_The pigs are usually 

 allowed to run with the sow from four to 



three of the smaller pigs in the lot 

 should be left with her a few days to 

 gradually dry her off. 



Breeding the sow again — Within two 

 or three weeks from the time of weaning, 

 the sow will come in heat and be ready 

 to breed again. It is advisable where 

 only one litter of pigs is raised to plan 

 the breeding as to have the litter come 

 in the spring, in April or May, when 

 the weather begins to moderate, anJ 

 when they can be allowed to run on pas- 

 ture at once. If two litters are to be 

 raised the first litter should come in 

 March and the second litter in Septem- 

 ber. This gives the second litter a 



