TENDING THE YOUNG PIGS

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1680, 29 October 1925, Page 6

TENDING THE YOUNG PIGS

DANGER OF CRUSHING BY MOTHER.

Young litters of pigs may be guarded from the danger of crushing by the mother by having a fender made of scantling or rail fastened, say, eight inches from the wall and the same distance from the floor. The pigs quickly learn the protection afforded by this device w r hen the sow lies ‘down. Some breeders advocate a farrowing pen not large enough for the sow to turn round in, and with walls open eight inches from the floor, so that the pigs may run in and out. A pen of this sort may be made by confining the sow at one end of her regular pen with boards so nailed that she will be unable to turn round. The condition of the weather will govern the length of time it will be necessary to keep a newly-farrowed sow in close quarters, but she should not be denied access to the air. Pigs should not be allowed out in a cold rain, or where they will receive the shock of the cold winds. Where they can do so without danger they should be out in the sun within 24 hours after birth, and after that the best practice is to let them run in and out at will. Neither sow nor very young pigs should be permitted to run in the pasture early in the morning if the grass is tall and wet with rain or heavy dew.

For the first weeks of a pig’s life the mother’s milk is its drink as well as food, and therefore in caring for suckling sows it should be the aim to so feed them that milk of only medium richness will be furnished instead of a limited supply of that which is extremely rich, the latter being less healthful and more liable to cause thumps, scours, and 1 unsatisfactory growth. It is only a law of nature that pigs should make more economical gains through the milk of the dam than in any other way, and it is also true that the sow will furnish nourishment for her young at less cost for the raw material than any other animal on the farm. A sow’s milk is rich in solid matter, which amounts to 17 to 20 per cent. On a comparative basis of 10001 b live weight a cow giving three gallons of milk a day will give in the milk lib of fat and .771 b of protein daily, while sow’s milk will yield 1.261 bof fat and I.llb of protein a day on an average. In composition sow’s milk in comparison with cow’s milk is very high in total fats as well as solids.