The Breeding Herd 393 



BREEDING 



If more than five sows are to be kept in the herd, 

 it will be more profitable to own a herd boar, while if 

 less than five are to be kept, and if the service of a good 

 boar may be procured from a neighbor, it will be less prof- 

 itable to own the boar than to hire the service. Sows 

 begin to come into heat when five or six months old, but 

 should not be bred until they are at least eight months 

 old, and fall-farrowed sows had best be a year old before 

 being bred. Fall pigs do not develop so rapidly as spring 

 pigs, so that at the same age they are not usually so large. 

 Healthy sows will normally continue to come in heat every 

 twenty-one days ufitil they are bred. Several weeks be- 

 fore the regular breeding season begins a record may be 

 kept of the date at which the various sows come into heat. 

 In this way one may know how many sows will be in heat 

 at a certain time so that none need be missed and the 

 boar may be handled more intelligently. If two or more 

 sows are to come into heat at the same time, it is well 

 to breed one of them as soon in the period of heat as 

 possible, and not to breed the other until toward the close 

 of the period. If small sows are to be bred to a large 

 boar, a breeding crate is almost a necessity, for the in- 

 juries to young sows will often amount to more than the 

 price of a breeding crate. Likewise, the energies of the boar 

 are conserved by the use of a crate. The one in Plate 

 XVI was developed at the Oregon Experiment Station, 

 and' is as satisfactory as any. However, like fences for 

 hog pastures, much is yet to be desired in the way of a 

 satisfactory breeding crate. Not more than one sow a 

 day should be bred to a boar and but one service should 

 be allowed, if another sow is to be bred within a day or 



