1922.] 



Dry-Meal Hoppers for Pigs. 



817 



It will be noticed that the pigs rationed themselves very well, 

 but that they were not keen on palm kernel cake. The hoppers 

 were always kept full, except those containing whole soaked peas 

 and maize, as the pigs ate these as quickly as the}^ were put in. 

 Thev were therefore discontinued after two davs. 



The pigs obviously ate too much at first, but as they got used 

 to self -feeding the consumption dropped, and after a short time 

 they were only averaging 4| lb. per pig per day. 



On various occasions the amount of meal consumed by bunches 

 of pigs has been weighed before being put into the hoppers, 

 with the following results : — 



No. of stores. Average live Meal jjer pig Period of 



vjeight per dag. weighing meal, 



stones. lb. 



35 9 4-7 3 weeks. 



20 9 4-8 1 



20 9 4-75 2 „ 



15 8 4-8 1 



17 6 4-1 2 „ 



18 6 4-2 3 „ 



Before dry feeding was adopted, the pigs were allowed a ration 

 of 4^^ lb. per day, and as much green stuff and roots as they 

 would eat. The all-round improvement in their condition after 

 being dry fed for some weeks was very marked, particularly 

 among the smaller pigs, which now got all the meal they wanted, 

 and were not thrust aside by the larger ones. 



Fattening Experiment. — An experiment was then carried out 

 in the fattening pens, where there were facilities for weighing 

 the pigs. A bunch of 12 stores was divided as nearly as possible 

 into two equal lots ; one lot w^as dry fed, and the other lot slop 

 fed three times a day, with as much food as they would clear up. 

 The period of the experiment was six w^3eks and the following 

 were the results : — 



6 j^igs on wet food. 6 pt^gs on dry food. 



Original weight ... 51 stone 4 lb. ... 51 stone 1 lb. 



Final weight 78 .. 1 ., ... 87 11 



Meal consumed ... IIG „ ... 151 „ 



Meal consumed per lb. 



live weight gained... 4*4 lb. ... ... 4*1 lb. 



Average daily gain per 



pig ... ' l^lb 2 1b. 



The stores had been used to slop feed when the test began. 



This test was enough to show that, taking into consideration 

 the great saving in labour, dry feeding was likely to be a paying 

 proposition, and double dry feeders were installed in every other 



D 



