Raising Hogs in Colorado. 23 
great hog raising state. 
Barley feeding produces fine pork with choice flavor and a 
white fat—the three qualities demanded for the highest priced 
pork products. 
The feed and bald barley are not as appetizing as corn, and 
hogs grow tired of them. It is, therefore, best to feed the barley 
in combination with some other feed or feeds. Alfalfa, peas and 
wheat maintain the appetite well. The Danish and Canadian 
feeders generally use skim milk or buttermilk, and both of these 
dairy products improve the quality of the meat. 
Wheat tests made at many experiment stations show that 
pound for pound, wheat is equal to corn for making gains on fat¬ 
tening hogs. Professor Buffum found, at the Colorado Experi¬ 
ment Station, that a mixture of equal weights of wheat and barley 
was worth 17 per cent, more than corn for fattening hogs. 
Wheat is largely used for fattening hogs in Western Colo¬ 
rado and on the Plains, and the pork from it is likely to be tough 
and to waste unduly in cooking. Part of this is probably on ac¬ 
count of many wheat-fattened hogs not being well finished. The 
fat has a dingy color. Often the price of wheat, or the distance 
to market make it much more profitable to feed it to hogs than to 
sell it as grain. In such cases the hogs should be fed for 60 to 75 
days with barley, field peas, or corn, as these feeds whiten the fat 
and improve the flavor and texture of the meat. 
Wheat Bran .—This feed contains too much woody fibre to 
be a profitable feed for either growing pigs or fattening hogs. It 
is sometimes useful to feed to mature breeding animals, when bulk, 
with a moderate amount of nutrition is wanted, and may be used 
as a laxative feed just before farrowing. The leaves of alfalfa hay 
have every good quality of bran as a hog feed, are more nutritious 
and much cheaper. 
Wheat Shorts and Middlings are especially good 'feed for 
suckling sows and young pigs, and for fattening purposes are 
worth about 8 per cent, more than an equal weight of corn. 
Oats .—The meat of the oat is excellent hog feed. The hull 
has about the same value as straw. Usually the high price and the 
per cent, of husk make it unprofitable to feed oat« to fattening 
hogs. 
When oats are fed to hogs they should be ground, and for 
young pigs the hulls should be sifted out. Oats whiten the fat 
and give a good flavor to the meat, and can sometimes be used 
with profit as part of the ration in finishing hogs fattened on wheat 
or rye. A mixture of equal parts, by weight, of ground wheat 
and oats, make an excellent ration for growing pigs. 
