524 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



per pound of gain, and made gains at 

 the greatest cost of any of the pigs in 

 the test. On the average, it required 

 277 pounds of digestible feed to produce 

 100 pounds of gain from birth to ma- 

 turity. The average cost is $3.12 for 

 each 100 pounds of gain made. 



Gains before and after weaning — In 

 an experiment at the Michigan station, 

 it required on the average 2.8 pounds of 

 dry matter per pound of gain for the 

 four weeks before weaning and 2.35 

 pounds for the four weeks after wean- 

 ing. 



In experiments at the Wisconsin sta- 

 tion, it required 316 pounds of corn 

 meal to make 100 pounds of gain in 

 sows and pigs before weaning, while 

 pigs alone after weaning required 384 

 pounds of meal per 100 pounds of gain. 

 It is Professor Henry's judgment that 

 the gain in young pigs is never made so 



Fig. 346 FARROWING PEN WITH FENDERS 



cheaply as when they are sucking the 

 dam. In the case of the four sows and 

 28 pigs used in the test made above, the 

 gains were 21 per cent more economical 

 before weaning than after weaning. 



At the Alabama station, however, 

 Duggar found that the pigs made the 

 more economical growth just after wean- 

 ing than the sow and pig did just before 

 weaning. 



While these results are conflicting, 

 the practical point in the matter is that 

 the sows require heavy nutritious ra- 

 tions while they are sucking their pigs. 

 They are oftener underfed at this time 

 than overfed. 



PASTURE FOR HOGS 



The cheapest pork on the farm is made 

 on grass. Young and growing pigs as 

 well as fattening hogs should have 

 plenty of pasture, pure water and some 

 grain. Hogs will gain in weight on 

 pasture alone, but the gains are too slow 

 for the greatest profit. On pasture 

 alone, hogs cannot be brought to a mar- 

 ketable condition within six to eight 



months, but if fed a small amount of 

 grain with pasture they can be made to 

 weigh 175 to 250 pounds at this time, 

 which is usually more economical than 

 to keep them pastured on grass and run- 

 ning in the woods for six to eight months 

 without grain, then bring them up for 



Fig. 347 DOUBLE PEN FOR SUCKLING PIGS. 



THE PIGS CAN RUN UNDER CENTRAL PAR- 

 TITION 



finishing off with two or three months' 

 corn feeding. 



The benefits of pasture for pigs have 

 been shown in many experiments reported 

 by the experiment stations. At the 

 Utah station, pigs at pasture on a full 

 grain ration made 33 per cent better 

 gains than pigs on the same ration with- 

 out pasture. The average daily gain3 

 were 29 per cent greater with pasture 

 than without and there was a saving of 

 more than 10 per cent in the feed re- 

 quired to produce 100 pounds of gain. 



At the Central experimental farm in 

 Canada, pigs at pasture made 10 per cent 

 larger gain and 11 per cent cheaper 

 gain than when fed in pens. 



The Arkansas station reports an ex- 

 periment in which five pigs farrowed 

 in March were fed 10 months on a suc- 

 cession of green crops harvested by 

 themselves. The land was such as to 

 produce about 25 bushels of corn per 

 acre. The green crops pastured were 

 red clover, sorghum and Spanish peanuts. 



Fig. 348 — wing's portable hog fence 



Up to the age of six months, the pig 

 were given, in addition, a total of 21 

 pounds of bran and 5 bushels of shelled 

 corn and had made an average daily gain 

 of 1.3 pounds per head. These pigs were 

 then taken off pasture and fed 19 bushels 

 of corn to harden them up, and slaugh- 

 tered. The average weight at this time 



