CHAPTER XXVI. 

 THE SOW. 



Age of Breeding. — ^The age at which a young sow is first 

 bred will depend upon her development, but it is very seldom 

 that it is advisable to breed her before she is eight months 

 old. Many good breeders prefer not to breed sows before they 

 are ten, or even twelve months old, and if they are intended 

 for show purposes it is scarcely advisable to breed them earlier. 

 One of the great objections to breeding sows very early is the 

 fact that the very young sow is seldom able to raise a fair- 

 sized litter of pigs, and if she raises only a few pigs in her 

 first litter her mammary glands do not develop properly, and 

 she rarely makes as good a nurse with subsequent litters as 

 the sow which raises a good-sized first litter. Another objection 

 to early breeding is the fact that the very yoiing sow has not 

 the strength to stand the strain of nursing a litter of pigs, and 

 her vitality is sapped to such a degree that she never develops 

 as she should. A's a result, she will not retain her usefulness 

 for so long a period, nor is she so likely to give strong, vigorous 

 litters as though she had possessed more maturity before being 

 bred. 



Breeding Mature Sows. — Many sows will accept service a 

 few days after farrowing, but it is hardly necessary to say 

 that to breed a sow at this time is bad practice. No bow can 

 do ju'stice to herself and two litters of pigs at the same time, 

 and the man who attempts to gain time by following such a 

 practice will surely lose by it in the end. 



Usually the sow may be bred again a few days after her 



pigs are weaned, if not too much pulled down in condition by 



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