12 BULLETIN 646, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



LESSON IV. 



TOPIC: FATTENING MEAT HOGS. 



Time. — Early fall. 



Lesson outline. — It is too expensive to fatten hogs entirely on corn 

 and other concentrated feed; hence the necessity for fall pastures and 

 other supplementary feed. During the first part of the fattening 

 period the hogs should have access to good pastures such as cowpeas, 

 soy beans, or peanuts in the South, and alfalfa or clover in the North 

 and West. During this period some concentrated feed should be used 

 to supplement the pastures. It is estimated that fattening hogs when 

 on good pasture should be fed about 2 to 4 per cent of their weight 

 daily of concentrated feed. After the pastures are exhausted the 



Fig. 7.— "Hogging down" corn. 



hogs should be placed in a small lot and finished off with concentrated 

 feed. During the finishing off period the animals should receive 

 daily 4 to 6 per cent of their weight of concentrated feed. 



The practice of "hogging down" corn (fig. 7) has come to be a 

 desirable method of fattening hogs in some sections. The advantage 

 of this method is that the farmer's time is not consumed in gathering 

 and feeding the corn to the hogs. To balance the ration and supply 

 succulent food, it is well to grow with the corn such crops as cowpeas, 

 soy beans, peanuts, rape, pumpkins, and the like. Where peanuts, 

 cowpeas, or soy beans can not be grown it is necessary to feed the hogs 

 alfalfa hay to balance the ration during early stages of the fattening 

 period. 



When hogs are being finished off in a small lot corn will, as a rule, 

 constitute the principal part of the ration, yet it should be supple- 



