244 



LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



they should be made gradually, both in the feeds used and in 

 the total quantity of the digestible nutrients contained therein. 

 It takes time for a pig to become accustomed to changes so 

 that it will eat, digest and assimilate the new ration as well as 

 the old one, hence the more gradually such changes are made 

 the better will be the results produced. 



Protein for the Breeding Herd. — It is well known that hogs 

 older than those just referred to need much less protein. Good 

 results have been obtained by feeding mature hogs 0.20 and 

 0.25 pound daily of digestible crude protein for every 100 

 pounds of live weight, and those ranging from two years down 

 to eight months of age from 0.25 to 0.35 pound. It does not 

 seem to be necessary to feed much more during a period of 

 gestation than at other times. 



CARBOHYDRATE 



In point of quantity the carbohydrate part of the ration is 

 the most important. It comprises anywhere from three- 



Fig. 64. — Carbohydrate requirement of market pigs. 



fourths to nine-tenths of the dry matter part of the ration. 

 Carbohydrates are used in the animal body for the produc- 

 tion of energy, heat and fat. The amount needed by swine 

 of the different ages depends upon the purpose for which they 

 are fed. 



For Market Pigs.— The pig that is being grown and fattened 

 for market to be finished at eight months of age requires the 

 following amount. 



The foregoing figure shows the amount of digestible carbo- 

 hydrates required by a pig daily for every 100 pounds of live 

 weight. It will be noticed that starting with the pig at two 

 months of age, when usually weaned, the amount should be 



