Fattening for Market 413 
GAINS 
A pig on full feed should gain from one to one-and-three- 
fourths pounds daily and should make 100 pounds of gain 
on about 425 pounds of feed. The daily maintenance 
requirement is about one per cent of the live weight of the 
pig and about one-fourth of a full feed for mature swine, 
but less than one-fourth of a full feed for growing and 
fattening pigs. A 100-pound pig can consume six pounds 
of feed daily, while the average daily feed consumed by 
200-pound hogs is only about seven pounds. As a prac- 
tice, heavy feeding during fattening is most economical 
because rapid gains involve a shorter feeding period and 
a smaller consumption of feed for maintenance. High 
finish also is not secured on pigs which make their gains 
slowly ; for they grow instead of fatten, and mere frame- 
work without finish will not bring top prices. The age 
of pigs affects the economy of gains as well as the quality 
of the carcass, and the consequent price for each pound. 
In the western markets, there is a difference of nearly a 
cent in the prevailing prices of heavy hogs and of 200- 
pound pigs. This is not only in accord with the desire 
of the consumer, but is economy to the producer, since 
younger and smaller pigs produce more economical gains 
than older or larger animals. 
Experiments have shown that, other things being equal, 
pigs will gain more rapidly and economically on three 
feeds daily than on two, but usually not enough to pay 
for the extra labor involved. This is, of course, in accord 
with the better gains made on the self-feeder. 
The palatability of a ration determines in a considerable 
degree its usefulness to the pig. If unpalatable, the pig 
will not eat as much as is required for economical gains 
