THE PRODUCTION OF BACON PIGS

Otago Witness, Issue 3003, 4 October 1911, Page 17

THE PRODUCTION OF BACON PIGS

The following short notes on care, feeding,. and ordinary rules for producing proper bacon pigs may be found useful*: — —Breeding.— Choose for breeding purposes amongst the young pigs the best-built and most powerful animals bred from strong and healthy parents, and see that the sow pigs have at least, 12 teats. Freed them welly but do not let them grow fat, as a fat sow makes a large and neglectful mother. If the young pigs have to be kept in enclosures, make these' as large as possible, so as to give them the opportunity of plenty of exercise*"; but give them a wellsheltered and dry sleeping place. Do not let the sows be covered by the boar before they are well developed, and at least eight months old. The boar should not be used before 10 months old, and then for the first few months only for a limited number of sows.

Keep the bear away from the sows when not required, and feed according to the service wanted of him. If well fed and healthy a boar can, when kept apart from the sows, serve about 200 sows yearly. If •allowed to remain with the sows he can only serve one-third of that number. When the sow is brought into the boar's sty for service it is sufficient to let the boar cover her once, then take her away. To prevent accidents, make the floor in the boar's sty, if the sows are brought there for service, even, firm, and with a surface that will prevent slipping. Feed the sow, until a couple of weeks before it is expected to farrow, on cheap waste, green weeds, etc.While it is rearing the little ones the sow must be fed well: skim or buttermilk, grain, and, if possible, a little green fodder or potatoes. It must be remembered that a litter of 10 pigs will consume, when they are a week old, nearly four gallons of milk daily, and unless properly fed with substantial and concentrated food the sow will not be able to yield a sufficient quantity of milk. It is impontairtb that the sow's food, during the first couple of weeks after farrowina', shall be fresh, as old and sour, food will influence the milk for the little ones and give them diarrhoea. It often happens that the litter of young pigs is not "eYta," but thai on* or two

are much smaller and weaker than the rest. Those should, on the first day after their birth, as often as possible to put to the sow's foreimost teats, which give the most milk. They will then quickly be used to drink there (it is a well-known fact that each little one chooses its own special teat;, and in time reach the average size of the others. ~ - . Let there be a flat trough in the sty, from which the young pigs at an early age can get accustomed' to eat and drink. Castrate the youn.g boar® early (when three weeks old); they suffer less, and get time to recover 'before weaning. Farmers Gazette.