HOMESTEAD HOG PRODUCTION
(Page 4 of 8)
In the event that unbred females are purchased and it
becomes necessary either to purchase a boar or to select a
male for boar service from a neighbor, it might not be
amiss to mention that the average sow will settle more
readily if the boar is brought to the sow rather than
transporting the sow to the boar.
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In the event that the country dweller is interested in the
hog business to the extent of maintaining four or more sows
it would pay him to maintain his own boar. On the other
hand if he maintains but one or two females then it would
not be economical to feed a male the year around. Instead,
he will find it necessary to rely upon a neighbor, or as is
often the case he may go into a small neighborhood
cooperative, along with several of his neighbors, in the
purchase of a male.
The boar should show marked masculinity. He should have a
strong, wide head, a well-crested neck and stand squarely
on good strong legs with predominant strength evidenced in
the pasterns. He should be well developed in the sexual
organs and inasmuch as he must be handled often, one should
be most careful to select a boar that displays a docile
disposition. He should not be selected until he is at least
eight months of age and he should not be asked to breed
until he is at least a year old.
BREEDING AND FARROWING
Usually one breeding per sow is all that is required to get
her with pig. As already stated she should not be bred
until she is at least eight months of age and young boars
(under two years old) should not be asked to breed more
than one sow daily throughout the breeding season. In the
case of older boars, and if many sows are to be bred, he
may be used twice daily ... early morning and late evening.
Sows and boars should not be permitted to run together. On
the contrary, they are kept apart until the sow comes in
season. The boar is then brought to her and she is bred in
a small pen. She should not he asked to produce more than
one litter per year until she is at least two years old, by
which time she may safely produce a litter in the spring,
and a second in the fall. She should have a productive life
of at least eight years and if given proper care will have
produced in the neighborhood of a hundred pigs during this
relatively short span of life. No wonder hogs are often
called the "mortgage lifters".
A sow will ordinarily farrow in about 112 days after the
day of her last breeding, and by keeping careful records of
dates of breeding and by using the following gestation
table, the day that the sow is due is easily computed.
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