MODERN PIG KEEPING

Northern Advocate, 11 July 1936, Page 6 (Supplement)

MODERN PIG KEEPING

[BY C. E. CUMING.]

■ _A National Policy.

At a recent meeting of the Pig ; Breeders’ Association a resolution was p;. passed to the effect that “believing W.:' that recording, investigational and ingf:structional work was so vitally necessary for the future development of gpj&e pig industry that a levy of 2d a ' pig be imposed on all pigs killed in order that this work may be carried I out.” The association is to be heartily p congratulated. There is no ■ work more important to the individual and . the Dominion than this sound objective. The most important phase of i; the policy is the instructional work, || broadcasting in every section of t v the country of the essential principles E-pf g°°d management, for the best ifc stock and the best laid-out plant are I/, wasted, represent money thrown Ip away, if the management is not right. llpNext in importance is recording, t especially the recording of the pedi-

gree pigs of the country, for the elimination of unprofitable types and discovery of strains giving the right commercial conformation, and being prolific and early maturing, is absolutely essential to profitable pig-keeping. Being able to get the right strains makes all. the difference between success and failure. The utility differences in pigs is so great, greater than is the case with probably any other type of stock, that investigational work supposes research into breeding problems by highly trained scientists who have specialised more or less in the principles of genetics. Such work should only be entrusted to the highly-train-ed scientist. Then definite results

IpWill be secured in a reasonable time, i but if, for the sake of economy, or de£;v partmental jealousy, amateur scienpT, lists are to be allowed to potter with p .i't we will get nowhere. The- idea of pig breeders being | ready to tax themselves to pay for | -work that is vital to their industry is -so sound in principle that it is diffly. .cult to foresee that the Government I can refuse their request. Pig-keepers have proved by the success of their £■; ■'•-recording clubs, made possible by |: grants from the Meat Board, that they -can. provide the knowledge that is re|y.:quired. All that is needed is an exk tension of this work, or rather propaP ganda of the .knowledge already gained, together with the recording of C pedigree pigs on a national scale, and m \ sound research work to obtain the of breeding that is so ney cessary. The Pig Breeders’ Associ- | : ation has outlined the needs of the p-industry, and in this it has the sup||’port of the recording clubs. It now needs a commonsense view by y .’the Government to bring about the I'inecessary national scheme.

M Only Bacon Market. An address was given at a meet- | ;ing of a Rotary Club in England rePpcently in the course of which the I speaker said that England was the only market in Europe for bacon. In brief, Continental countries do not use - bacon, though they are large consumers of pork and pork sausages, etc., but apparently bacon is essentially an - Englishman’s dish, or rather the popular breakfast dish of Britishers, as bacon and eggs are said to be ousting porridge as the national breakfast p dish of Scotland, a country in which f ham sandwiches are also said to be remarkably popular. If bacon is not used in Continental countries and j. these countries have become great | producers of bacon it certainly indicates the weakness of the free trade policy of Britain in the past, Britain presenting free markets to Continental producers they have developed industries, bred by scientific methods animals specially suited for the pur-

pose, solely, for the purpose of catering to the British taste.

Value of Research Work.

Speaking recently of the value of research work to the pig breeder, Mr A. D. Buchanan Smithy of the Institute of Animal Genetics of Edinburgh University, instanced the results of progeny testing in Denmark. Through this method the Danes had increased the length of the average pig by an inch, reduced the thickness of the back fat by 25 per cent, and increased the belly thickness by 15 per cent. And all this had been accomplished in nine years.

Dealing with his own experimental ' work, Mr Buchanan Smith spoke of investigations regarding the amount of food required for a pound of liveweight gain. He cited the case of eight July litters of last year in which the food given ranged from 5.1 to 3.51 b per lb of liveweight gain. That meant 200 more meals for the greedy, compared with the economical, feeding pig to bacon weight. Then it was found there was a difference as between 41b and 3£lb of food for every lb of liveweight gain for pigs by one sire as against those by another boar. This dealt with the lactation milk yield of 25 sows. The average yield was 25 gallons, but it ranged from 18 to 52 gallons. It was obvious that piglings getting only half a tumbler of milk a day, as was the case with the sow producing only 18 gallons, could not possibly thrive as in the case of those getting three times the quantity. This, ihe said, was a matter that must be considered in breeding, not to mention also that of fecundity and fertility.

Complete Food.

Especially in the winter months should the pig receive ocmplete mineral matter, more particularly the inpig sow, and it is all to the good if this complete mineral matter is combined with balanced meals. Such a food is Vitameal, In addition this food has the added advantage of containing a special vitamin preparation provided by the Glaxo Laboratories. A small, quantity of such a food goes a long way. It is an insurance against pig ailments in addition to promoting rapid growth and a meaty pig.

Numbers Not Everything.

In egg production there are other things than mere numbers. The size and shape of the eggs, the fineness and smoothness of the egg shell, and the colour, of the shell. These things ai’e all of distinctive character and in pedigree breeding can be fixed the same as any other property.

This cannot be said of a flock of cross-bred or sex-linked pullets. These will produce eggs of all shapes and sizes and tints of colour. There is a difference in their blood lines, hence it is impossible to secure uniformity in any of these points. This in these days of standard and special grades is a serious matter. Uniformity in size j and shape of egg is most important. It j j saves time and labour when grading, j If meat and not egg production is j the chief object of the poultry farmer here again pedigree tells its tale. A family which has been carefully selected and mated for many generations to produce fine quality meat will certainly do it. In such birds there is a natural tendency for a better distribution of the fatty tissues, and this is not to be found in crossbreds. It is Economical. The question of economy is one that has to be considered, and experience teaches that it is far more economical to feed pure pedigree bred birds than it is crosses. The first cost of the food is the same in either case, but the result is not. Pedigree birds bred for a specific purpose perform their work efficiently, they give a better return for the food consumed, because they have been bred for., that purpose.

A man who keeps pure-bred stock has the opportunity -of selling stock cockerels at remunerative prices, dayold chicks, and eggs for hatching. None of these can the keeper of crossbred op sex-linked birds do. These three lines are more highly paid than ordinary commercial egg farming, and helps to swell the receipts of the farm considerably. The man who keeps cross-breds cannot touch this side of the business.

There is another side of the question. Not an economic one, but one that deals with the aesthetic side. What pleasure is there in showing a flock of cross-breds to friends or visitors? Who can take pride in a flock of nondescripts—a flock in which it may be there are not two birds alike?

A well-bred pedigree flock does present uniformity. The birds please the eye by their beauty, their owner can take pride in their appearance. More, that pride will tend to better care and attention being given to the flock, and therefore greater success financially. The Egg’s Progress. The completed egg is a marvellous production. When you have been preparing a fowl for cooking you will have noticed that there is in the abdominal cavity of the hen, or pullet, and attached firmly to the region of the backbone, a curious bunch of glandular bodies, varying in size from a mere speck to the full-size of an egg’s yolk; these you have called eggs, and have perhaps regretted the killing of the birds before their production. As a matter of fact, they would be more correctly described as primitive eggs, and consist only of a thin skin enclosing the yolk substance and the germinative dot.

If, instead of “drawing” the fowl, you had more carefully dissected it, you would have found that one of the internal “pipes” (the oviduct, which is nearly 2 feet long) terminates internally just below the bunch of immature eggs in a sort of funnel-shap-ed opening, the other end opening externally, and being that" from which the finished egg is expelled or “laid.” Now, what happens is this—as each primitive egg reaches maturity (which happens slowly and quickly, and chiefly according to your management In feeding), the little thread connecting it with the bunch snaps and it drops into the funnel-shaped opening.

It has then commenced its independent career along the curious passage towards the outer world. During this wonderful journey it is like the rolling snowball, gathering while it goes, and increasing in bulk and importance. It acquires layers of albumen (the “white”), some denser and some more fluid; it receives and is enclosed in additional skins or membranes; it provides a cavity between these skins at its broad end, which becomes apparent as the “air space,” when the egg condenses upon cooling; and finally it takes to itself the shell, which is composed of two layers—the inner thicker than the outer.

You see, therefore, how intricate an affair is an egg and its manufacture, and you will perhaps the better realise how easily mishaps may occur during the process of production. The delicate machinery of the hen’s productive organs need not trouble you, provided you keep her in health and condition; but you must remember she depends on you for the raw material used, and it must be your care to supply only such as will meet their requirements. The food must be such as will nourish her body and renew its waste, and also give that surplus material from which yolk, albumen, shell, etc, may be evolved; avoiding on the one hand that which will “race” the mechanism, and, on the other, whatever renders the working sluggish.