Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and PoultryPratt Food Company
Science
Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry
Pratt Food Company
Livestock; Poultry
Another big advantage of dry-feeding lies in the fact that large numbers
of swine, including those of various ages and sizes, can be safely kept
in one herd. The writer has seen over two hundred head of swine, ranging
in size from pigs just weaned to 250-pound porkers ready for market,
living in peace and contentment in one building, eating and sleeping and
sharing the forage pastures together. Of course this means a big saving
in buildings and fencing and a great reduction in the amount of
necessary labor.
The self-feeder may be used all through the life of the hog, beginning
when the pigs are still nursing and continuing until they reach market
weight. During all this time the ration should contain Pratts Hog Tonic,
the guaranteed hog conditioner, in order that at all times the herd may
be maintained in vigorous condition, be kept free from disease, may
avoid wasting feed through imperfect or sluggish digestion, may earn for
the farmer the maximum amount of profit. We suggest that you make a test
of this results-insuring, profit-producing tonic. Watch results. If
_you_ are not satisfied the dealer from whom you purchased the goods
will refund the full amount you paid for them.
The self-feeding plan of growing hogs gives best results when the
animals are given access to growing forage crops. The feeders may be
placed under cover out in the fields or kept in the hog house if the
latter is reasonably near the pasture lots. An unlimited supply of fresh
water must be available at all times because dry-fed stock drinks many
times the amount of water that slop-fed hogs do. The reason is plain.
There are many different systems of handling hogs under this plan,
varying according to local conditions. We will give in detail the method
used most successfully for many years on a Pennsylvania farm which each
season markets several hundred hogs of a quality which commands a
premium above current quotations.
On this farm, particular attention is paid to keeping the hog houses
clean and sanitary, light, sunny and dry. Dampness is always a fertile
source of loss. Further, the houses are never crowded. Each animal is
given plenty of room.
The brood sows are placed in separate pens at farrowing time and watched
carefully when giving birth to the pigs. They are fed a rich slop, a
small quantity at first, but in gradually increasing amount until they
are receiving enough to insure a big flow of milk.
When the pigs are eight to ten days of age they are permitted to go at
will to the self-feeder containing a mixture of ground grains. As a
rule, several sows farrow at about the same time and the pens are so
arranged that the pigs from several litters may all use one feeder.
This arrangement results in the pigs taking more exercise, eating more
food and making more rapid growth. It reduces the danger of thumps and
gives the youngsters a wonderfully strong start in life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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