THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 585, 16 July 1913, Page 7

THE RURAL WORLD.

THE PIGGERY. HOW MANY LITTERS? One of the mooted questions of pigraising is whether it is profitable to try to raise more than one litter per year from the same breeding stock. This problem is one which must be decided by each farmer for himself, and it depends entirely upon the cur.ditions under which he is working and the equipment he has for caring for hogs. Pigs born in they fall are never profitable unless the farmer is prepared to take the very best care of them during the winter. If he has warm shelter for them and ha 3 an abundance of milk or ground feed and roots with which to keep them growing, and has equipment for heating or cooking this feed during the cold months, fall pigs may be made to pay fair profits. Unless they can be very carefully taken care of, they will not thrive during the cold weather, will become stunted, and*it will be impossible to get the growth out of them that is necessary for profitable stock pruduction. To successfully raise two litters per year from one sow, it will be necessary to plan for the arrival of a spring litter early in September. This frequently will be found a disadvantage because the weather at this time is usually cold and stormy and not conuducive to thrifty growth during the first month of the pig's life, which is a vital period. By planning the arrival of the spring litter at this time, the fall litter should be farrowed by the middle of March or early in April, so as to have the fall pigs well started on their growth before the cold weather arrives. 5 An important detail in the management of growing piga, especially fall pigs, ia to see that they get plenty of exercise. The spring pigs will usually take plenty of exercise of their own accord, especially when raised on pasture, but in winter, when tfiey are likely to receive a large concentrated grain ration in the barn, there is danger thai they will become sluggish and not move about enough. Pigs which are heavily fed, and take insufficient exercise, will very probably develop the disease known as thums, for which there ia no remedy, and which almost invariably ends fatally. Furthermore, in the lack of exercise, the pig will not develop bone and constitution, and will tend toward the small ,blocky type of little constitution and inferior breeding qualities. FEEDS FOR GROWING PIGS. There is no feed more adapted to the needs of growing pigs than skim milk. This makes hog-raising a valuable adjunct to the dairy industry. As the pig grows older, it can be fed increasing amounts of grain with this milk by mixing the two into slop. Bran, shorts and other mill fseds, or ground cats and barley, with a little cornmeal, make excellent grains! for use in connection with skim-n.ulk. It has long been known that plenty of pasture during as much of the year as is possible is absolutely esentials to the troat economical hog growing. Conditions during recent years have served to emphasise this need. The prevailing high prices of grain have had a tendency to induce hog-raisers and breeders to rely on pasture for feed much more than was formerly customary. All pasture grasses are not of equal value. The poorest kinds are much better than none, but the benefit received from any depends largely upon the management of both hogs and pasture. Lucerne stands at the head of the list, clover a close second, with white clover, June grass and timothy in the order named. It is a mistake to compel the hogs to depend entirely upon the grass, even though the prices of grain and mill feeds are high. The stomach of the pig is not like that of the sheep and cow, and cannot be used as a repository for a large amount of coarse feed at one time. It has been found by experience and experiment that hogs fed a half ration or cornmeal while running to clover will make as rapid gains as they will if confined and feed a whole ration and that, too, if a batter quality of meat than that made wholly from corn. The grass gives bulk to the mas 3 in the stomach, enabling the gastric juice to circulate more freely though it, and digestion is more completely accomplished than if the grain constitutes the entire ration. And, further, tbe clover con- I tains the elements that promote the j growth of one and muscle which helps to make up a pretty well-bal-anced ration. j