CHAPTER XXVIII 



FEEDS FOR SWINE 



I. Carbonaceous Concentrates 



The digestive organs of the pig are of limited capacity compared 

 with those of other farm animals, for pigs have neither the large four- 

 fold stomach of ruminants nor a caecum of large size, as has the horse. 

 While in cattle the digestive organs with their contents comprise over 

 14 per ct. of the total weight of the body, in pigs they make up but 7 

 per ct. of the body weight. Pigs therefore require feed that is more 

 concentrated and digestible and less woody than do horses, cattle, and 

 sheep. In nature the pig is an omnivorous feeder, living not only 

 on the seeds, leaves and tender stems and roots of plants, but on 

 animal matter as well. Moreover, he lives close to the earth, gather- 

 ing some of his food from beneath the surface and swallowing con- 

 siderable earthy matter in so doing. The intelligent swine feeder 

 bears all these facts in mind in feeding his herd. 



Indian corn. — This imperial fattening grain is the common hog 

 feed in the great pork-producing districts of America. As has been 

 pointed out before, corn is low in protein compared with its wealth 

 of carbohydrates and fat, and is also deficient in mineral matter. 

 Hence, even for fattening well-grown pigs, much larger and more 

 economical gains are secured when this grain is properly supple- 

 mented by feeds rich in protein and mineral matter, especially cal- 

 cium, or lime. This is clearly shown in the following table, which 

 summarizes the results of 32 trials at various stations, averaging 82 

 days, in each of which one lot of pigs was fed corn alone and another 

 lot corn and a protein-rich concentrate, such as tankage, wheat 

 middlings, linseed meal, pea meal, or soybean meal. 



Com alone vs. com and nitrogenous supplement for pigs 



Initial Daily Feed for 100 



Average ration weight gain lbs. gain 



Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 

 Lot I, total of ISO pigs 



Corn, 4.8 lbs 115 0.9 602 



Lot II, total of 187 pigs 



Corn, 4.3 lbs. Supplement, 1.4 lbs 117 1.3 441 



Altho most of these pigs were well grown when placed on trial, 



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