Raising Hogs in Colorado. 13 
day’s rest after every second or third day. He should be used 
before being fed. Handled in this way, a mature boar is sufficient 
for fifty sows. Over service results in pigs that are dead, weak, 
or puny at birth. 
The boar should have comfortable shelter at all times—dry 
and free from draughts. His surroundings should be kept free 
from vermin. Remember, that from a breeding standpoint, he is 
half the herd. He should have daily exercise to keep him healthy 
and muscular. A half-acre pasture will furnish this. He will keep 
better natured and be easier to handle if allowed to run with the 
barrows outside the breeding season. If allowed to run with the 
sows during the breeding season, he will weaken himself by over 
service. At other times there is danger that he will injure the 
sows. 
Keeping him in close, dirty quarters, or allowing him to 
range over the farm and neighborhood half starved, are both sure 
ways of making him valueless. Too much attention is rarely 
given to the boar, and his health and comfort should be looked 
after every day throughout the year. 
It pays to train a boar from his first service to the use of a 
breeding crate. With it, any size and weight of boar can be 
mated with any size and weight of sow without injury to either. 
REED AND MANAGEMENT OE THE SOW. 
A large litter of heavy, vigorous pigs at weaning time is the 
foundation of profits. The sow should be selected and from birth 
should be fed and handled to produce such litters. 
The sow pig intended for a breeder should be pushed for the 
first year and given feeds that will make rapid growth, but that 
will not fatten. Such feeds as milk, alfalfa pasture, or hay, and 
moderate quantities of grain, such as wheat, peas, barley, milo 
maize, and shorts. She should weigh from 300 to 375 pounds at 
12 months of age when in thrifty condition, but not fat. Ample 
exercise every day is necessary for health and to develop muscles 
and lungs. If the sow has made a good growth, she may be bred 
to drop her first litter when she becomes twelve months of age. She 
should be in perfect health and in good flesh when bred. The 
gestation period for the sow is 112 days. 
While pregnant, the sow should be given muscle and bone¬ 
making feeds that will develop in the unborn pigs size and strong 
vital organs. The same feeds are needed for this purpose that 
are required by pigs after weaning. When the sow has good al¬ 
falfa pasture, only a small quantity of grain is needed. The sow 
should be kept in good flesh, but not fat. A heavy condition of 
flesh is favorable if it is put on with muscle-making feeds and the 
