SWINE MANAGEMENT 163 



Young vs. old sows. — There is but little difference 

 between the pigs of young and old sows. Owing to the 

 fact that gilts with the first litter do not usually do as 

 well as older sows, it seems advisable where possible to 

 use sows, other things being equal. It is nearly always 

 true that bred gilts can be obtained at lower figures than 

 older tried sows, and this largely accounts for their more 

 general use by those entering the swine business. It 

 seems that the best sows for breeding purposes are there- 

 fore the young sows, but not gilts. With the old sows 

 the period of usefulness is too limited, and after a certain 

 age is reached they are apt to become barren. Other 

 things being equal, a sow with the second litter is about 

 as good as one can do, because she will take good care of 

 her pigs and her period of usefulness will be greatest. A 

 sow has generally lived the best part of her life during the 

 first seven years. Some fail before that age and some exceed 

 it. Some sows will breed regularly for ten years and more. 



Pigs from old and young sows. — As pointed out in the 

 previous paragraph, the age at which the sow is of great- 

 est usefulness is between the time of her second litter and 

 the time when her breeding powers begin to fail. Some 

 are inclined to discriminate against the pigs of both the 

 first and second litters, but there seems to be no just 

 ground for such discrimination. Owing to the fact that 

 pigs coming from sows that have had two litters have 

 been more fully nourished than in the case of younger 

 sows, they may have some slight advantage. With the 

 sows of the first litter the pigs suffer some because during 

 pregnancy the sow continues her growth and some extra 

 nutrition is required, which is obtained at the expense of 

 the nutrition of the pigs. 



