BREEDING OF PIGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20306, 13 July 1929, Page 19

BREEDING OF PIGS.

FEEDING PREGNANT SOWS.

INFLUENCE ON THE LITTER. Tlio stamina arid sizo individually of a sow's litter will often to a considerable oxtont depend on tho way she is kept and fed during pregnancy. At this period (writes " J.W." in London Livo Stock Journal) her food should consist very largely ol fresh, succulent, green stuff or raw roots, and not too much feeding meals She should ho allowed room for exercise on grass land or stubble, waste or wood land, where she may root, and plough up the soils to her own satisfaction. There is little need for ringing a sow, except perhaps, to prevent her from tearing up the (looi of her sty, undermining the walls, or otherwise causing irreparable damage.

| If a sow cannot bo iet run out of j doors on grass land or tho like, but must be confined to a sty, tho utmost cleanliness must bo observed. Thero should be a small open-aii yard or pen attached to th« sty. so as to afford the sow same exercise in sunshine and shower. Generally in such out-runs we sco an accumulation of mud and filth That is not as it should be. Let the place be cleaned out regularly and a harrowful of fresh earth and grassy sods thrown into one corner of the pen. This will afford tho sow some rooting exercise, and the earth will absorb some of the liquid ' manure that tends to collect, for even in the best-drained sty anil pen thero will sometimes gather unsavory pools., In the absence of some sort of fresh, gritty soil a few shovelfuls ol coal cinders will bo beneficial for the sow. Slio may also enjoy a mouthful of small coal. Salt in the Ration. Though most pig-keepers aro wisely careful to avoid feeding salted dairy swill or any sort ot food that has been salted too much, it is by no means advisable j to. let tho pigs havo absolutely no salt |in their food. Even little piglings which ! are beginning to cat a little oatmeal [ gi uel or porridge and milk must have | a pinch of salt in their food, say, just slightly less than is appreciated by the average human palate Some pig-breed-ers actually keep a piece of rock salt in a small trough where the pigs may take a lick of salt when they choose. If tho pigs are not thriving as they ought to he with good feeding, clean and comfortable housing, a small pinch of sulphur or black gunpowder mixed with their food will often effect a marked improvement. Charcoal, it need hardly bo said, is also a good corrective. Lime sprinkled freely after cleaning out tho sty will help to dry up and disinfect tho floor. Provide plenty of clean, dry bedding, especially during cold weather. Most pig-breeders are careful not to litter the farrowing sty with long straw, but tho floor should be covered with a good depth of cut straw or short litter. After the piglings are able to scamper around thero is little risk of their being overlain by the sow, even should they sntigglo under a wisp of long fodder If the pigs are comfortable m their sleeping quarters and have plenty of room for exercise outside the sty. as in an adjoining open yard, they will escape most of the maladies and ailments which young pigs less comfortably housed are apt to contract. Lengthy Sows Most Prolific.

Short, dumpy sows may bo very docile arid tolerably good breeders and sucklers of their young, but sows of a lengthy and well-developed type are invariably the most prolific, and the most thrifty. The short class ot pigs make good small porkers, but for good bacon, pigs of a lengthy kind with good backs and hanis, are what's wanted

A sow must be a good breeder and a good mother If sho possesses tho one qualification only, whether it bo prolificacy or docility, she will not be much of a success. It matters little how many pigs a sow may produce if she fails to rear but a few of her litter. Farrows of four to si.v, or oven soven, aro hardly worth while. Any sow which does not produce eight to twelve moro piglings, and rear at least eight of thein, will not earn very much profit as a rule. If a sow has heavy casualties at her second farrowing, and was as nnlucky with her first litter, sho should be fattened and got rid of as soon as possiblo. Usually an experienced pig-keeper can perceive at her first farrowing whether a young sow is to be a successful breeder or not.