THE RURAL NEW-YORKER* 
October 3 
666 
SELLING SMALL PIGS IN KANSAS. 
HOW TO MANAGE THE HERD. 
I wish to keep 10 breeding sows to raise two 
litters of pigs each per year. I wish to sell the 
pigs at 40 or 50 pounds weight, to stockmen. I 
think that I can make more profit this way than 
to feed them for the market. I live in northern 
Kansas, 100 miles west of the Missouri River, 
oil good, flat creek-bottom land that does not over¬ 
flow. I shall require two pastures. We have no 
grass and shall have to depend on rye. oats, bar¬ 
ley. etc. What size should the pastures be, and 
what shall X grow in them ? How shall I manage, 
feed and care for the bows and pigs ? If success¬ 
ful, I shall increase the number each year. Are 
10 enough to keep in one pasture ? How many 
pigs can I average per sow ? F. o. c. 
Washington County, Kan. 
Pastures Are the Staff of Life. 
For pig raising, I would recommend 
sowing rye and wheat for fall and early 
spring pasture. For spring and summer 
pasture, sow oats, rye and cane mixed ; 
this will furnish pasture the greater 
part of the year. I would sow a patch 
of cane early in the spring, to cut during 
July and August, when the pastures 
have dried up. Five acres in two pas¬ 
tures would be about the amount needed; 
use one while the other is growing. 
The fewer brood sows confined together, 
the better. If the sows are bred and 
kept up until they have become quiet, 
there will be no harm in having a num¬ 
ber in one enclosure. 
I would breed my sows to farrow in 
April and September ; I find this to be 
the best time, as the spring pigs can be 
used for winter feeders, and the fall pigs 
will get a good start before winter. A 
slop made of mill feed is one of the best 
feeds for brood sows and growing pigs. 
Feed very little corn ; oats are better for 
growth and health—corn will do to fat¬ 
ten. Feed the sows lightly for a few 
days after farrowing and increase their 
feed as the pigs get older. Have a place 
to feed the pigs away from the sows, as 
they will begin to want extra feed after 
they are about two weeks old. Keep 
the sows in good flesh while suckling 
their pigs. If one can get an average of 
six pigs it is good ; with that number, 
20 sows will make a good business. My 
advice is to get the best stock, as they 
are the cheapest. It doesn’t pay to 
handle scrub stock, ward a. bailey. 
Calista, Kan. 
An Old lime Breeder’s Advice. 
I use about 1% to 2 acres to five sows ; 
seed it to rye, and when pastured down 
in spring, plow it and seed to sorghum 
or sweet corn (I prefer sorghum for 
brood sows), and reseed to rye early in 
the fall. Ten sows are a plenty to run 
together, as the master animals are 
likely to injure the others at feeding 
time, and in cold weather, will crowd 
up too much at night to the injury of 
the coming offspring. I would prefer 
less rather than more. Brood sows 
should be kept in good flesh, and a 
thrifty condition without feeding heat¬ 
ing food ; feed bran, shorts or middlings 
made into a good slop, with a little cake 
meal and some whole corn to balance 
the ration. We feed in this manner, 
whether on pasture or not, increasing 
or diminishing the supply to suit the 
circumstances and conditions of green 
food. Handle them gently, so that they 
will not fear their attendant, they will 
come to the feeder to be petted, and he 
can care for them at farrowing time 
without trouble, and save the life of 
many a pig. Exercise they should have 
without stint, and fresh, clear water at 
all times. 
If constipated at farrowing time, a 
tablespoonful of sulphur in the slop 
will give relief ; cared for in this man¬ 
ner, I have no trouble with sows eating 
their pigs. A few days before farrow¬ 
ing, place the sow in a pen alone, and 
watch her that all goes well—1 have 
had very few occasions when help was 
required. For the first day after the 
arrival of the litter, only pure water 
should be provided; the second, she is 
given a thin slop of wheat shorts or 
scalded bran, and fed sparingly until 
the pigs are able to take all th# milk 
she will give. As the pigs grow older, 
the sow is fed all she will eat clean. 
By the lima the pigs are three weeks old 
they will begin to look for extra rations; 
these should be furnished-where the sow 
cannot get at them. Give a small 
quantity at first, preferably skim-milk ; 
if that is not plenty, make a thin slop 
of scalded shorts, and flavor it with 
sweet skim-milk. Increase the quantity 
with the appetite, and see that each 
feed is eaten up clean with a relish. 
Soaked oats or oats and corn chop soaked 
and fed sweet, or nearly so, are an ex¬ 
cellent food for growing pigs. Change 
around to break the monotony. After 
weaning time, feed the same as the sows 
before farrowing. 
I have averaged, one year with 
another, about seven pigs to the sow, 
twice a year, that is, raised that many 
to weaning time. I had one sow that 
farrowed 18 pigs at three different 
times, and always from 12 to 13, and we 
seldom have less than six in a litter, 
usually 8 to 12. This is an outline 
of my experience, and there is no theory 
about it. I practice it, and I know by 
the results that it will work. I modify 
and change around as my judgment 
dictates. I have always bred the Berk¬ 
shire and its crosses, believing that they 
make better and more prolific mothers 
than others, fatten well and are desira¬ 
ble for market. M. 8. kohl. 
Furley, Kan. 
Rye and Oats for Pasture. 
I hardly know how to answer these 
questions, as F. O. C. says that he has 
no grass. In that case, I would use rye 
for fall and winter pasture ; then sow 
oats and sorghum, mixed, which make 
very good pasture for a while. If he 
has land enough, and oats do well, part 
of the oats will seed and fall down, on 
which the hogs will thrive. I would 
thiDk that he is far enough north to 
raise peas, of which hogs are very fond. 
As to the number of sows in a pasture, 
that depends on the size of the pasture. 
When they are not suckling pigs, more 
could run together, but when they are, 
not more than two should be together, 
as the pigs will rob each other, and not 
do well. At farrowing time, each sow 
should be by herself, with a good house 
or shed and lot to run in. As to the 
number of pigs per sow, I think five a 
fair average, and six very good. I breed 
about 30 sows, and my average doesn't 
run over six pigs raised. 
Fort Scott, KaD. B. R. adamson. 
Some Pasture Is Needed. 
F. O. C. should have sowed, at least, 
four small pastures, so as to have a 
change in the absence of permanent pas¬ 
ture. I should sow rye in the fall for 
fall, winter and early spring pastures, 
for green feed is essential for health and 
rapid growth of swine. He ought, also, 
to have small yards in which to inclose 
his swine during wet weather, so that 
they will not root up and trample the 
pasture, and to give them a change. He 
will, also, need the small yards to keep 
the smaller ones from the older and 
larger ones, as the smaller ones need 
more and better attention. The sows 
should be fed a soft, laxative food, at 
least two weeks before farrowing time, 
so that their bowels and systems will be 
in a healthy, cool condition. The sows 
should have a warm, dry place to far¬ 
row, if possible, a kind attendant, and 
nothing to eat the first day except plenty 
of cool water ; the next day, a very light 
slop of shipstuff or shorts. This ration 
could be increased gradually until the 
pigs are 10 days old, when the sow could 
be full fed with soaked corn and slop. 
Do not feed too heavily the first two 
weeks. If pigs scour, there is always 
a reason for it. Either the bed is wet 
or damp, and should be removed at once, 
and dry bedding put in, as wet bedding 
will scour them ; or overfed sows on too 
rich food will, also, cause it. If scours 
appear, they should be checked as soon 
as possible, as the pig will grow back¬ 
ward instead of forward. 
As soon as the little fellows are two 
or three weeks old, they should have a 
small pen near their mother’s feeding 
quarters, where they can be fed in 
troughs or on clean floors, by themselves. 
Their feed should consist of slop of ship- 
stuff and water, or sweet milk is better 
if it can be had After they have begun 
to eat a few days, give- them a little 
shelled, soaked corn. Do not let the 
feed sour, as it will give them the scours. 
The feed fed to the sows while suckling, 
should always be sweet and never 
allowed to sour in the least. To be 
successful, the p’gs should grow every 
day, and never be allowed to go back 
or stand still. After the pigs are weaned, 
the sow’s rations should be shortened a 
great deal. 
If possible, F. O. C. should have, at 
least, a part of his pasture down in 
Alfalfa as it makes the best pasture for 
stock of all kinds, especially swine. Six 
to eight sows are enough for one pas¬ 
ture ; where too many sows run together, 
the older pigs steal from the weaker 
ones. From seven to nine are a good 
average. Above all things, use noth’ng 
but the purebred boars. r. s cook 
Pres Kan. Swine Breeders’Association 
^Uiscfllancousi §Mmtisinn> 
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THE OL D RELIABLE 
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