HOMESTEAD HOG PRODUCTION
(Page 6 of 8)
For the first two days after farrowing, sows will have
little desire for feed and will usually be content with
lukewarm water, or they may be interested in a warm bran
mash during the morning of the second day. After that the
sow will show a strong desire for food and she may be
started off on about three pounds of grain daily which may
gradually be increased until she is on full feed (all the
grain she will clean up) by the time the pigs are two weeks
old.
RELATED CONTENT
Weak or orphaned pigs may be raised successfully on cows'
milk fed with a nursing bottle ... however, healthy sows
that have healthy pigs will require nothing but feed and
water and the best pasture available.
An excellent grain mixture for sows while suckling pigs is:
Corn or ground barley .............................. 6 parts
Oats ...................................................... 1 part
Shorts ....................................................2 parts
Tankage or meat meal ......................................1 part
Sows should be watched for condition and fed enough to keep
their milk at maximum production during this all-important
phase.
During the suckling period a creep which bars the sow but
allows the pigs to enter may be built. The little porkers
should be fed a grain mixture of:
Corn or ground barley ............................... 10
parts
Shorts ................................................4 parts
Tankage or meat meal ..................................1
part
Oats (either rolled or ground) .........................2
parts
For those interested in fattening but one or two hogs per
year, commercial feeds may be used to an advantage as it
will not then be necessary to mix feeds for the hogs.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
It is interesting to note that the hog is the rare
exception in the animal kingdom ... he will not overeat.
For this reason it is unnecessary to give rations in daily
amounts, for hogs may be self-fed ... a method which
reduces costs of labor and removes all possibilities of
under or over feeding.
Inexpensive self-feeders may be made by anyone who is at
all handy with tools, the principle being that the
self-feeder is merely a grain container with outlets into a
small trough at its base which refills itself as the grain
level is lowered by the animals. In this manner, regardless
of what grain mixture is fed, it is kept before sow and
pigs at all times. All that is required of the husbandryman
is to keep grain in the feeder and supply ample water and
minerals.
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