The Feeding of Swine 289 
of swine; and the majority of swine feeders let the herd run with 
the fattening swine, with the result that the breeding herd gets so 
fat that its breeding powers are materially lessened, the sows often 
become barren, and those that do breed farrow small litters of 
pigs lacking thrift and vigor. 
To avoid such difficulties, the breeding herd must be separated 
from the fattening swine and fed a growing ration rather than a 
fattening ration. The object should be to keep the herd thrifty, 
but not fat. This can best be done by feeding such grains as 
wheat bran, middlings, and the like; also roots, pumpkins, and 
skim-milk for succulence. Alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay in small 
quantities may be fed with profit. Hay should be fed from a rack 
and not thrown upon the ground, as the animals will tramp it 
under their feet. When the hay is clean and sweet, and slightly 
salty, the swine will eat it and be much benefited thereby. ; 
When the grain is fed in the form of meal, better results will 
be secured by mixing with water, or better still skim-milk, and 
fed as a mash. If skim-milk is used, much care should be taken 
not to feed the animals too much, as they will take on flesh rapidly 
and may become too fat. A very good mixture is made by using 
one part meal to five parts of water or skim-milk. 
FATTENING SWINE 
In fattening, the sole object is the economic production of pork. — 
As a rule, the animals are forced to the limit of their ability as 
feeders, fattened and marketed under one year of age. In this 
respect pork production is somewhat similar to beef production. 
The same general factors apply in both cases. 
471, Feeding the lard-hog. — If light hogs are to be the prod- 
uct, the fattening process will begin much earlier in the life of the 
animal than if heavy hogs are to be produced. Feeding for fatten- 
ing naturally divides itself into two parts, winter and summer 
feeding. 
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