394 Western Live-stock Management 



two. If no other sow is to come into heat within the 

 time, a sow may be served at the beginning of the period 

 of heat, and also near the close, for the period of heat 

 is not always coincident with the discharge of the ova 

 from the ovaries. After a sow is served, she should be im- 

 mediately removed from other hogs. The boar should also 

 be removed to his own pen if he does not serve her there, 

 and should be shut off from other hogs, or at least from sows. 

 Using the boar in different pens is likely to make him unruly. 

 Three weeks after the sow is bred she should be tried again, 

 or if she shows evidence of being in heat before three weeks 

 is up, she should be re-bred. If the boar and sow are both 

 in good healthy condition, there should be few returns. 



PREGNANT SOWS 



Usually if sows do not come in heat three weeks after 

 being bred, they will not come into heat again until after 

 farrowing, but occasionally a sow will pass a period of 

 heat and then resume. It is therefore wise to try the sow 

 for at least two periods after she has been bred. When 

 pregnant, young sows should be kept gaining at the rate 

 of about one pound a day during the gestation period, 

 and old sows if in reasonably good flesh should gain from 

 one-quarter to one-half pound a day during the pregnant 

 period. With old sows, which are very thin when bred, 

 a larger gain than a pound a day is desirable, but in no 

 event should a sow be made so heavy that her feet be- 

 come sore. 



The sow, during the pregnant period, requires feed con- 

 taining an abundance of mineral and protein mat^^er. In 

 summer, if good pasture is available, hea\'y grain feed will 

 not be required ; in fact, some sows will make sufficient 



