WATER FOR PIGS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 178, 14 August 1937, Page 19

WATER FOR PIGS

The Efiect on Bacon i Qualities An important point^tq th:e pig feede^ oi to-day is the standard 'of belly gradings. Thickness oi belly may not present the same problem as back fat, probably because it would apppar to' 'bp more amenable to controi, but; th® fact remains that it is a inatter of somd signifieance that therefore should continually receive the feeder's attention, says a writer in an Einglish fapmers' journal. b Although breeding does enter into the evolution of satisfactory bellies, it is generally agreed that, compared witli the back fat, thickness of- belly is largely controlled by meal consumption which, of course, includes liquid as well as solid food. As far as the belly is concerned, the basio line of attack is to extend the abdominal walls as little as ]>ossible, the object being to keep the muscular tissues invarjably contracted, which, other things being equal, automatically tends to maintain the former in a closely set or tight condition, thus causing them ^to thicken. Distention'means a given thickness of wall pmbracing an abnormaly large volume; in other words, to cover the additional surface area due to an overfull abdomen the retaining walls are stretched, and when this happens repeatedly they become permanently fixed, as it were, this being revealed in the dressed carcase as a thin streak, fiank, etc. (that is indifferent belly grading). In tlie avoidance of tliis undesirable condition, feeding plays a big -part, and in this connection it should be ciearly understood that it is the mechanical rather that the chemical or nutritive value that is the active factor. To prevent recurring distension of the a'bdominal organs, the cubic capacity of a j ration must not be excessive in propor- i tion to a pig's size, and since lpoisture j can and does have a considerable effect, the liquid part of a diet 'should be care fully watched. Luckily tliis can be dorie without rnuch difl'iculty, and tho result is that | our modern pigs are allowed to imbibe , far lctea water that fcheii* ancestors did . only as recently as a decade ago. While the amount of water in aj ration is possibly tho more siguiiicanl poipt. regardiug belly thickness, there is another that does. not lag far behind in importance, although to date it must be admitted it has not been widely recognised. Somo feeding stuft's which can be used in fattening mixtures are adpt to increase their volume markedly, thereby bringing about a condition which to all intents and purposes is similar to and produces the same bad effect as -excessive moisture supply. Thus, eliminating other oousidera-i tions, sugar bcet pulp and bran fed to pigs -intended *for bhcon require judicious. handling, since a little too much of either of these can seriously increase the volume of a ration. Though, fortunately nowhere near the same extent, tapioca flour is inclined to have a similar effect, while potatoes and wlxey are somejvhat worse, it probably being a aound policy in their oase

f-o limit their use to hogs over 18 weeks old. Although belly thickness is in the main dependent upon what might be j called the "mechanics" of rations, there remains one furtlier point. To keep abdominal walls tense, or, in fact, to encourage them to contract still further, there is a growing tendency to adviso pig breeders to starve their pigs well before killing. As far as a slight saving of food and ease of dressing are concerned, this is sound advice, but should the ■ period without food be allowed to become too protracted, the little t monetary gain may be more than counter-balauced by nnduly heavy slaughter losses.