COMPARISON OF FEEDS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19523, 24 June 1933, Page 15

COMPARISON OF FEEDS

TRIALS AT LINCOLN COLLEGE. An interesting section dealing with pig feeding trials is contained in a report of research work at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln. Feeding trials with bran and barley and bran were conducted from August until the middle of November.

For the first seven weeks the pigs were fed in sties and at the end of this time the control pens, receiving barley and meat meal, or barley, molasses and meat meal, had reached killing weights and were sold as porkers. The remaining four pens were shifted to outside runs and were fed for a further six weeks. At the end of this time those fed on bran and meat were still too thin to kill, but those on bran, barley and meat meal and on the same plus molasses were fit to kill. Three pigs from the last-named actually took first prize in a local bacon class at the Christchurch Show. The point of interest about the second period—in runs outside—is that the pigs grew more economically there than they did for the previous six weeks in sties. Two extensive tables were prepared from which the following conclusions have been drawn:—

(1) When oat pollard is used as a fattening feed along with barley and akim milk it has about half the value of barley; oat pollard, 56s lOd; barley, 2s 9d per bushel, 110 s per ton. (2) From trials reported in 1931, oat pollard used as maintenance ration with minimum quantities of attenlng feeds gives a better return than it does when used as production ration with greater quantities of fattening foods—--76s compared with 56s per short ton. (3) Pigs fed on oat pollard grew slowly and fail to fatten. (4) Like bran, oat pollard should be niore suitable as a feed for horses, cattle and sheep than it is for pigs.