THE PIGGERY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1315, 13 May 1897, Page 6

THE PIGGERY.

In pig raising fattening is the important and sole end. Ihe aim is to obtain a large quantity of meat of good quality in as short a space of time as possible Cheap and quick fattening depends upon the health and age of the pig, as well as upon the season and condition of the food. On account of rapid digestion, pigs cannot assimilate dry food, and it should therefore be prepared in such manner as to make the loss as small as possible. And here the question arises whether grain should be fed whole, ground, dry or soaked. Different authoritative experiments have produced different results, but in no case has the difference been of importance. To young animals, with : sound teeth it is found just as well to feed them on ear maize. In order that pigs assimilate their food well, it is necessary to have it well mixed with saliva, and this is done by chewing. Some good feeders recommend soaking maize 12 hours before feeding, to make the pigs eat as

much as possible, This, however, we are not inclined to approve of. Tho maize may be more easily swallowed, but it will not be properly chewed, and consequently will pass through undigested. The digestive organs also suffer, and soon complaint will be heard of the pigs being “ off their feed,” &c. “ According to my experience,” writes Mr A. Selle, a most successful pig raiser in Wisconsin, one of the leading American “ hog ” States, “ the most profitable way is to soak maize or peas four or five days. It -then becomes so soft

that it may be pressed with the fingers. Soak maize meal two or three days, then mix with middlings or barley meal ; it is better thus than with maize alone. To begin to fatten old lean hogs with rich food from the start is wasting; full rations of maize or peas ought to be left for the finishing of that process The end of fattening is best done in a well ventilated building. Provide plenty of food and bedding, for even a hog likes comfort. Peed three times a day, but not too early in the morning. To get up too early on a cold morning doee not suit a hog. If the food is well soaked, the hog will not care to carry around much unnecessary water in its stomach. Hogs like a change in food, and it is well to provide this from time to time ; it improves the appetite and aids digestion. Summer and autumn is the time to push growth ; early winter is the time to lay on flesh and fat. It is poor economy to feed a bog a year over proper age; there is little gain in the extra year’s growth. The average farmer should not try to get his hogs to an extreme weight, but should sell them before they have cost too much. If we feed over fat hogs without gain, the food is thrown away ; besides the meat from young, quickly fattened hogs will sell better than that of older, over fattened animals.”