308 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



some grain all the time as it will prevent the sow from getting 

 too thin, and will enable the pigs to grow more rapidly; gains 

 made at this time are much, cheaper than those made later on, 

 as has been shown before (Fig.. 81). After the pigs are about 

 three months old, they should weigh 60 pounds or better; they 

 should get their nourishment largely from pasturage, and only 

 one-half grain feed is given, unless feed is cheap, in which case 

 full grain feed may be continued until they are weaned at three to 

 four months of age. If the sow is to raise two litters a year, the pigs 

 must be weaned at a considerably earlier age, viz., from two or two 

 and a half months old, in order to get the sow bred again in time. 



To do well, pigs weaned at this age must have had grain before 

 weaning, and must also receive skim milk with their grain feed 

 after this period. If skim milk is not available, a slop is made of 

 hot water and rolled or ground barley, oats, and wheat shorts or 

 middlings (1:1:2). A little digester tankage added to the slop 

 before feeding will give good results. 



The amount of grain fed to pigs on pasture should vary accord- 

 ing to the kind and condition of the pasture, price of grain, thrifti- 

 ness of the pigs, etc. The Oregon station " gives the following as 

 a safe rule to go by with regard to feeding grain to pigs on pasture : 

 When the price of pork on foot at the farm is more than five times 

 the price of grain, a rather heavy ration should be given ; when the 

 price of pork is five times or less than the price of grain, a minimum 

 amount should be fed. 



The growing period of pigs will last until they are five to six 

 months old, depending on the method of feeding practiced, usually 

 about five months old, when they will have reached a weight of 

 nearly 100 pounds ; they are then put on fattening rations. 



The Dietrich Standard for Pigs. — Dietrich concludes, from 

 careful studies of the nutrition of pigs conducted during a series 

 of years, that one and the same pig under different conditions may 

 maintain its live weight on distinctly different quantities of the same 

 combinations of feed. This variation appears to be due to the plane 

 of nutrition upon which the pigs have been maintained previous 

 to the time of making the maintenance experiment. He gives the 

 maintenance requirements of pigs that have been previously kept 

 on a low nutritive plane as follows : 



Dietrich Maintenance Standards for Pigs, Per Head, 100 Pounds Live Weight. 

 Digestible crude protein Digestible carbohydrates Digestible fat 



0.10 pound 0.25 to 0.40 pound 0.03 pound 



"Circular Bulletin 18. 



