SWINE MANAGEMENT, 



27 



Fig. 11.— Average weekly weights of 121 hogs at Bureau of Animal Industry Experimental Farm, 



Beltsville, Md. 



was disposed of at about 8 months of age, weighing between 200 and 

 250 pounds. At marketing the Hve weight approximated in pounds 

 the age in days. 



THE KEEPING OP RECORDS. 



On a farm where swine are raised for purely market purposes 

 and where the number of sows is small there need be no identification 

 of the stock. The feeder knows his animals and even when mistakes 

 are made they are of relatively small importance. But where large 

 herds are maintained or where pure-bred stock is bred, there is neces- 

 sity for some method of identifying the individuals. It enables the 

 careful breeder to tell the ancestry of any member of the herd, which 

 is a self-evident advantage in the selection of breeding stock. The 

 clerical end of record keeping need not be discussed, but it is well to 

 mention a few methods used to identify the animals. No practical 

 method of branding hogs has been devised. Some breeders use 

 ear tags marked with different numbers, but these tear out very 

 easily and become lost. They are also subject to the objection that 

 it is impossible to mark pigs by this method at birth. No system is 

 free from defects, but one of the most satisfactory methods is to 

 mark by means of ear cuts or notches, each of which represents a 

 number and by combining them any number from 1 up can be des- 

 ignated. These notches can be cut at the time of birth, and unless 

 the pig has an ear mutilated in fighting, they usually remain perma- 

 nently. The following is a key to a simple and effective method of 

 notching pigs so as to be able to record their breeding. All pigs in 

 the same litter should have a common litter mark. Keep a record 

 of the mark and the sow's identification, and her pigs can then be 

 selected at any time. 



