MODERN PIG-KEEPING

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19899, 30 May 1936, Page 27 (Supplement)

MODERN PIG-KEEPING

Vitamins In the Pig's Diet. ! A very important investigation has. been carried out by Martin Ml Cun~i nlnsham, M.A., B.Soi, Ph.D., at the; Wallaceville Laboratory, to determlncj the vitamin requirements of pigs. The ‘outstanding fact emphasised in thcl ireport of the experiment is that sen—i iarated milk (and the same would‘ iapply to whey) does not contain thel important vitamins A and D. Thatinn vitamins A or D should he detec— ! table in skim-milk is not surprising! says the report, when it is consideredl that the Vitamins are fat—soluble and.‘ would therefore be present only in i the 0.15 per cent of fat remaining after Iseparation. This finding is in accortlv ‘ance with other research workers abroad. Air-dried rye-grass and sun—eured hay were found to contain the two vitamins. though the former had‘ three times as much vitamin A as the latter but the content of vitamin D was about the same with the two foods. Neither. however, had any—thing like as much of the vitamins as Whole milk. The report points out that fresh grass and 'Whole milk are good sources of vitamin A but- that vitamin D is present in only smalli amounts in whole milk, grass or rhay.‘ Exposure to sunlight will, however.‘ protect the pig against deficiency 01" this vitamin. ‘

A common Mistake. A common mistake, probably the‘ most common, among pig-keepers in! general is failure to increase the‘ amount of food with the increasingi weight of the pigs. This is the ex-j perience of the Recording Officer of the Waiketo Pig Recording and Rev search Association. The fortnightly weighing of the pigs shows at once pvhetlier the food has been increased jas advised. It the food has been in—‘creased satisfactory weight increase , takes place but when the same amount of food is fed as in the previous fortnight hardly any increase takes place. Thus the great value of fortnightly weighing is proved. It is the great check on management. But the periodic weighing does more than this. It indicates Just when the pigs should be sent away. And if the feeding is right and has been increased as it should have been it is easy to calculate when other pigs will be ready to go. As to increasing food with increase in weight it is very poor economy to try and save on the *food supply by not increasing the ration as thereby the pigs will be too long in making their satisfactory market weight. It will often pay, as the milk supply is declining, to send away some of the pigs as porkers rather than keep too many for baconers when the food available will not warrant it. e t as 0 Treatment of Son. 4 When one reads of the treatment of the sow prior to iarrowlng by the more successful pig—keepers oi‘ Britain and the little interest taken in the sow at this ('riigial time in this Icountry one can understand why suc'cess comes to some and failure comes to others. ’l‘rue climatic conditions are much more favourable in New Zealand, and there are fewer diseases to flight, but it would pay handsome—ly to take much better care of the farrowing sow than is usually the case. Here is the method or one successful Home breeder. Three weeks before the sow is due to farrow she is brought off her free range to her iarrowing pen indoors. Before she goes in the pen has been scalded and scrubbed out with boiling sodawater and every bit of the walls and floor gone over with a blow-lump. She is washed with tepid water and snap to which is added some one of the coal—tar disinfectants. particular attention being given to the udder and hind-quarters. She is then put into her clean pen and given clean water ad lib for the first twenty—four hours. [She then I‘CL'eIVCS Gil) per day of the same food as she 4will get right through ‘ her suckling period. This is regard}ed as an important factor, as her first :mill; must he made from the same‘ food as it will he later on. M thisl Is not done scour is almost certain to start when the change over is made. The same care may not be necessary in this country, but it is very unsatis—factory to note that few houses in this country are as rh'atn us ihcy should he at such a time. and neither are they as drought-proof us they rouhl he. When the houses are huilt sluls are nuilml over the joints of tho hoards. but if any of those are. kllllt‘lfl‘ti ur rubbed nit they are schiom rrphu-ml, Anti Ihr sligltlt‘sl draught is often the start of the lung.r irnultlr so «‘umlnnn among thn pigs of the this country. it would ho. lmlior In uliu“ the plus in [arrow umlm‘ n limit-'0 llum in the majority of tho hruust's Ivrrn'irlml for lhrm. 'i‘hc irlt'u of lumping [hr sow on lilt‘ snnu‘ rlnss ni‘ I'umi nilt‘l’ my} rowing as she hail lmfnl'n is n sotnuil nnn, liltnnge of [uml :tl surh it time must he hall, I __._.__.___.._—_

Good Food House. Mr C. ‘Harington. of Eureka. has struck an excellent idea for a food house. He uses a 3000 gallon tank he bought, from the rhcosc factory for 259. The tank is sunk in [he gmunll for abunt. twelve inches and sand is rannneil in for a (lClllll of twelve inches on Lilo linttom, to serve as an“anr‘,llor." 01' cnnrsc a lanl‘ is Put, in on one fare of [he coi‘rugalml il'nn. There is ninplv room inside am! one Kim-at eul—\'anlage 01' the tank is lhal ii is i'al proof. .\nnllwr [.'nr‘ idea in Ile same lay—mil is the use nl‘ ”141 wheels in make. an ideal shade. ;-\ gmnl IN)?” is sunk in the ground in a lll‘plh or Iln‘ce {CPL and made as ili'm as possihllx (in lap of this is fixed an old \\liecl (.\li' llaringlnn uses the wheels or an 011 l hay rake, and ”my are ideal fur the pun-pinsel. on which is planed Slraw Ul' hell-:0 Clippings. lli'ann‘ln's‘ nl' Lmvsuniana sr‘i‘w Ihr» [\ln'pnm! \\‘Pll. lllv means of this Dei‘inann'nl. "uni—‘ lil't‘lla" Hie pigs {:01 shade [rum \\lial—i t'wr tiii'm'linn HIP sun i> >hinin::. .\li- Haringiun snguesls \\i-appina' Sllllli" snrking :n‘uliml llu‘ ]msl, In «‘arl‘y nil l‘m' \il'lnin L-nhilrul. i _ l M.-. H _ , , ._ J