UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 610 



Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry 

 A. D. MELVIN, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



Dec. 7, 1917 



FISH MEAL AS A FEED FOR SWINE. 1 



By Frank G. Ashbkook, Junior Animal Husbandman, Animal Husbandry 



Division. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Introduction 1 



Use of fish meal in the United States 2 



Feeding experiments with pigs 3 



1. Comparison offish meal and tankage as 



supplementary feeds 3 



Feeding experiments with pigs— Continued. 

 2. Fish meal as a supplement to dried 



potato 



Carcass t est . „ 



Conclusion 



Page. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Heretofore feeds and labor have been so abundant and have been 

 available at such moderate prices that close calculation in their use 

 has been unnecessary. The present war has caused the American 

 farmer to make a closer study of the economics of the national feed 

 situation than ever before. If a large part of the corn, wheat, barley, 

 and similar carbonaceous grains must be saved for human consump- 

 tion, then farmers who raise and fatten live stock will have to prac- 

 tice stricter economy in their feeding operations. 



The hog is a heavy and promiscuous feeder. He is not a ranger 

 and does not thrive on pasture alone. The grain fed to swine, how- 

 ever, can be reduced greatly by making wider use of nitrogenous 

 feeds. Since the feeding stuffs of high protein content are already 

 in great demand, now is the time to call upon the reserve supply of 

 protein furnished by waste fish and by the waste from fish-canning 

 industries. Many years ago attention was called to the possibilities of 

 fish meal as a feeding stuff, both in this country and abroad, and it is 

 indeed surprising that its use as a feed for stock has not been fostered 

 in this country. 



1 The fish meal used in these experiments was made under the direction of Dr. P. C. 

 Weber, Chemist in Charge, Animal Physiological Chemical Laboratory, Bureau of Chem- 

 istry. Acknowledgment is here made for his interest and cooperation, which made the 

 experiments with fish meal possible. 

 13186°— Bull. 610 — 17 



