416 Western Live-stock Management 



over the fire long enough so that they have a mealy appear- 

 ance when they are opened, they make better feed than 

 if left in the water in which they were cooked and have 

 the meal mixed with them. 



GRINDING 



Grinding feed is a profitable practice at the prevailing 

 prices of grain. The saving is about 6 per cent with corn, 

 from 12 to 20 per cent with barley, oats, and wheat, and 

 even a higher percentage with hog millet and weed seed. 

 Grinding, if performed at all, should be thoroughly done 

 and the meal made fine. In addition to the actual saving 

 of feed required to produce 100 pounds of gain, grinding 

 feed will usually secure a better finish and consequently 

 is sometimes practiced only at the close of the fattening 

 period. The desired finish is thus secured without the 

 larger expense involved in grinding the feed for the entire 

 period. Likewise, younger pigs chew their feed better 

 than older ones, therefore older pigs are more likely to pay 

 a profit on grinding than are younger ones. 



SOAKING 



Soaking feeds which are so excessively hard that they 

 are not likely to be well chewed unless so treated, may be 

 of some advantage. It is very probable, however, that 

 some sugar may be dissolved out and possibly become 

 fermented if the weather is at all warm. Soaking may 

 take the place of grinding if the cost of grinding is ex- 

 cessive. With ground grain, no advantage due to soaking 

 is noticed, although merely wetting before feeding is a 

 good practice, in that it prevents the finer parts from 

 being blown away, or from being inhaled by the pigs. 



