PIG BREEDING

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3929, 21 July 1937, Page 8

PIG BREEDING

If there is a trade preference it is toward the use of either a Large White or a Berkshire sow, but it is admitted that good pigs can be produced from sows of other breeds. To select the breed alone is not sufficient; the breeder must go further and select from within the breed a boar Or sow which itself shows the type required in its progeny.. The head and neck should be light, and shoulder fine and sloping, the back long and slightly arched where the back stops and the sides begin. The loin should be broad and strong and well let down; the hams full and carried well down to the hock, but there should be no excessive bulging; the heart girth should be full, the barrel long, even and deep, with sides blending well with the shoulder and hindquarters, and the underline should be straight. The back should be broad and well-fleshed, without any depression at the root of the tail. The skin should be mellow and free from wrinkles; the legs should be short and straight, with fine, compact bone and the pig should stand well up on its toes and be of an alert and lively disposition. The breeding stock should come from big liters of quick-growing pigs, since litter-size and early maturity are both hereditary factors, and to make pig farming profitable large litters of pigs which will mature early are essential. This type of pig will meet the re quirements of either the pork ana bacon market, according to the weight of carcase.