There are few points in connection with the breeding and feeding of pigs on which there is a greater diversity of opinion and practice than on the question of the weaning of the young pigs.
For instance, take the age at which it is most satisfactory to take the pigs off the sow. This practice varies greatly in different districts, and even in the same district where one would naturally suppose that the determining influences would be similar weaning at five or six weeks old.
One pig breeder will declare that a little pig of five or six weeks old should be and is able to support itself alone, and will act accordingly.
Should perchance a litter weaned thus early cease to grow the excuses made will be various.
The weather is at fault, it is either too hot or too cold, or the sharps, etc., on which they have been fed were not good or sweet, that the sow"s milk was not sufficiently plentiful, or it was wanting in nutriment. In fact, any excuse will be made rather than the actual cause admitted.
In far too many instances the real reason for the want of thrift on the part of the young pigs taken from their mother when they are not more than five or six weeks old is that their digestive organs are not sufficiently developed as to enable them to digest enough food to nourish them properly.
Another excuse often made for what we consider to be undue haste in weaning young pigs is the alleged desire of the owner not to waste the time of the sow. He is anxious to have her served again and hasten the arrival of the next litter.
Occasionally it is found to be unnecessary to wean the pigs for this purpose as the sow will come in heat and can be served by the boar, but if she should become in pig the result will be much the same so far as the pigs are concerned, since as soon as the sow has conceived the milk will promptly cease or become very reduced in quant.i.ty and quality.
On the other hand, if the sow does not stand to the boar time may be wasted. It is most unlikely that the sow will again become in heat for some three weeks, whereas this almost always occurs within a few days of the weaning of the litter of pigs.
Then another extreme, and one which is practised by some pig breeders, is to allow the young pigs to remain on the sow until the former are from ten to twelve weeks old. It is claimed for this practice that the young pigs grow much faster when left on the sow than when weaned, and that less food is consumed for a live weight increase from a given quant.i.ty of food. Also, it is said that food of more inferior kind can be fed to the sow than could be fed to the pigs if they were weaned, and thus the sow and litter are kept at less expense, and that if the pigs are not weaned until nearly three months, the milk of the sow will have gradually ceased to flow, and the pigs will not miss the help from their dam. Their digestive organs will then have become sufficiently developed to enable them to make the best use of the food given to them, and they will sustain no check in thrift or growth when they are weaned.
In this question of weaning pigs the good old fashioned plan of following the middle course will probably be found to be the best.
Anyway, it was the one which we followed for a great number of years and found the results generally satisfactory for the following among other reasons.
As a breeder of pure bred pigs for sale as boars or yelts for breeding purposes, we were naturally anxious to give the pigs a good start in life so that we should be able to sell them as quickly as possible, and that they should thrive when they came into the possession of their new owners, and thus prove the best possible advertis.e.m.e.nt of our herds. As a rule we found that if the pigs were allowed to remain on the sows until they were some eight weeks old they were quite strong enough to fend for themselves, that by gradually increasing the length of time which the sow was allowed to remain from the pigs, the latter became accustomed to exist without the mother"s milk, and as the milk of the sow naturally dried up when the pigs partially ceased to withdraw it, no trouble was experienced with inflamed udders as is usually or commonly the case when the pigs are suddenly weaned from a sow which is in full milk.
There is also another advantage apart from that to the sow and pigs, it is that the sow will almost invariably come in heat within three or four days of the weaning, and with the best possible chance of becoming in pig.
Some pig keepers are more inclined to wean their litter of pigs at an early age, and then if the sow be low in condition to baulk her at the first time of strum. There are objections to this--one of them is that there is frequently a difficulty in getting the sow to conceive after she has been baulked. Why this should be so we have not been able to ascertain. We only record what we know to be a fact.
In our opinion this difficulty is one of the strongest points in favour of the practice of allowing the young pigs of a sow with her first litter, or of an old sow which has become low in condition (either from having had too many pigs left on her, or from other natural cause), to remain on the sow for a longer period than about eight weeks. Some persons will keep the pigs on the sow until they are nearly three months old in the belief that both sow and pigs are benefited, and that the pigs can be kept quite as cheaply if not more so when unweaned than weaned. They also claim that the sow is so much stronger and better fitted to prepare for another litter. Experiments have been carried out in the United States which go far to prove that the first of these two claims is founded on fact; and it has further been demonstrated that certain foods can be fed to the sow without affecting the thrift and health of the pigs which could not with safety be fed to the latter direct, yet when fed through the sow the pigs will thrive on the milk produced therefrom. It is entirely a question of the cost of a rest for the sow during the extra two or three weeks, and the benefit to the sow and her pigs.
One occasionally sees in the press a claim for what is considered to be a great achievement in that some one has bred three litters of pigs from one sow within the year. There really is something wonderful in this since of the fifty-two weeks const.i.tuting a year, the sow would be carrying her pigs some forty-eight weeks. This would allow only four weeks for the two litters of pigs to be suckled, and this would also include the few days between the pigs being weaned and the sow coming in heat. Apart from the natural difficulty of successfully breeding three litters of pigs from one sow within twelve months, there exists a far greater possibility of loss rather than of gain from unduly hurrying on the arrival of each litter of pigs from a sow, especially of the profitable kind of sow.
Some forty years since when Small Whites, Small Blacks, and short thick Berkshires were fashionable, the number of pigs in each litter was few, and the number reared still fewer, owing to the limited quant.i.ty of milk furnished by the sow. Now, the Large Black, the Large White, the Middle White, the Lincolnshire Curly Coat, the old Gloucester Spots, the Tamworth, the c.u.mberland, and even the sows of most of the local breeds of pigs are expected to rear nine or ten pigs each litter. Even if it were possible for a sow to bring forth three litters within the year, she could not possibly do justice to them either before or after the piglings arrived in this world; and further, the life of such a sow would of necessity be a short one. It must not be forgotten that in the production of each litter of pigs the sow is compelled to manufacture from 20 to 30 lbs. of flesh, skin, hair, etc., which together const.i.tute the newly farrowed pig, and very frequently this has to be accomplished on a far too limited supply of suitable food.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Painting by Wippell._
MIDDLE WHITE SOW.
To face page 96.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Block kindly supplied by c.u.mberland Pig Breeders"
a.s.sociation, Carlisle._
c.u.mBERLAND SOW.
Owned by Mr. Carr, Kirkbride, Carlisle.]
CHAPTER XI
THE REARING OF YOUNG PIGS
One of the most important points in the profitable raising of stock is to give the animals a good start in their earliest days. There is an old and true saying amongst shepherds that the best and most profitable sheep are those which have never lost their lamb fat. It may with equal truth be declared that the most profitable pig is the one which has a good start when on its mother, and never afterwards lacks suitable food, judiciously given.
At frequent intervals, the question as to the number of pigs which a sow should have left on her to rear is the subject of discussion in the press. At each of these periods very similar arguments for and against large litters are used with much the same inconclusive results. This probably arises to a great extent from the varying conditions under which the particular litter of pigs is to be reared. The time of year has a vast influence, a sow farrowing in May will more successfully rear a dozen pigs than she would bring up ten if they were farrowed in the month of October.
The age and condition of the sow should also be considered. A young sow of about twelve months should not have more than seven or eight pigs left on her to rear, whereas with her succeeding litters until she is at least four years old she would rear at least ten pigs each litter. After the sow has reached the age of about four years, if that time has been fully employed in her maternal duties, she becomes gradually less able to rear so large a number of pigs with an equal amount of success. It is then advisable to vary the number according to the season, and to the physical condition of the sow; generally speaking an aged sow will bring up more pigs in the summer months than in the colder months.
Reference is made elsewhere to the manner in which the young pigs should be cared for until they are weaned from their dam, but no harm can arise from a repet.i.tion of the advice that the young pigs should be so managed and fed that only the very slightest difference will be noticed by the youngsters when parted from their mother. Many pigs are permanently checked in growth by being suddenly deprived of a full supply of mother"s milk if weaned when their digestive organs are insufficiently developed as to treat a sufficiency of food to make growth and progress without the a.s.sistance received from their mother"s milk.
Opinions differ as to the age at which little pigs are sufficiently developed as to exist and thrive without their dam"s help. Here again the time of the year, not only as far as the weather is concerned, but the desirability of prompt or deferred remating of the sow in order that her succeeding litters should arrive during the most favourable portions of the year, must be considered. The thrift and growth of each litter of pigs varies greatly. The health of the sow, her condition before farrowing, and other causes, some of which are not always on the surface, have their influence, but it may be taken as a rule that young pigs are fully able to fend for themselves by the time they are eight weeks old. Should it be possible to allow the pigs to remain on the sow for so long a time as twelve weeks without prejudicing the next litters as to the time of year of their arrival, the pigs may benefit, and no loss of food will be sustained, since it has been clearly proved that pigs beyond the age of eight weeks can be fed quite as economically, if not more so, on the sow than if weaned. It may also be possible to feed the sow on somewhat coa.r.s.er and less expensive food than could be satisfactorily fed to the young pigs, as her digestive organs would be better able to treat the coa.r.s.er food. Another advantage generally follows keeping the pigs for a longer time on the sow if the latter be well fed is that she will be in a stronger and better condition to start the building up of her next litter.
As a rule young pigs will commence to eat when they are from three to four weeks old. If the sow is fed in the sty in which the little pigs are, these will endeavour to share in the food; at first they may content themselves with licking any food which may be outside the trough, but they quickly show a desire for more, and attempt to get into the trough. When this is evident, it is advisable to feed the little pigs apart from the sow; a low flat trough is best, as one with high sides is said to cause "high backed" pigs, or pigs suffering from a curvature of the spine. If a little milk can be obtained, the pigs will promptly drink it, if the milk be whole they will thrive best, but even if only skim or separated milk be obtainable, or b.u.t.ter milk, providing that it be drawn off ere the salt is put into the churn, a small quant.i.ty will be beneficial, but the pigs will not be able to digest so large a quant.i.ty of the separated as of the whole milk. The former is apt to have a constipating effect on the bowels of the youngsters.
Should an ample supply of separated milk be available it can be fed through the sow, who will be better able to digest it, and whose yield of milk will be increased, provided that sufficient separated milk to affect her bowels be not given to her. A few kernels of wheat or white peas will be readily eaten by the little pigs, which will benefit therefrom.
If no other food is available, sharps, or whatever the local term for the finer miller"s offals may be, mixed with a little warm water and fed to the piglings, will prove beneficial, care being taken to give only so much as the pigs will eat up readily, or that any surplus is taken away, so that it does not become sour, as in this last condition it will cause diarrha in the young pigs.
When the pigs are about six weeks old the sow can be allowed to remain from them for a longer time, and the youngsters fed two or three times each day. The sow"s milk will then gradually dry up, and the pigs will become accustomed to the food, so that when the latter are about eight weeks old they will have become weaned naturally, and receive no check from the loss of the sow"s milk. This system, will also prevent any trouble arising from the collection of milk in the sow"s udder, and the occasional attacks of inflammation or garget which follow a chill to the sow when her udder is in an inflamed condition from being closely impacted with milk.
a.s.suming that the economical and beneficial practice of supplying the suckling sow with vegetable food of some kind after the pigs are some three or four weeks old has been adopted, the pigs will have become accustomed to its consumption. It will be found to be advisable to continue this whether it has taken the form of cooked potatoes, of mangolds, swedes, kohl rabi, cabbages, artichokes, etc., as not only will the food bill be reduced, as the pigs will make equal growth and thrift on food containing say ten per cent of vegetable matter as they will if fed wholly on sharps, but the vegetable food will have a beneficial effect on the health of the pigs, and tend to prevent those attacks of constipation and diarrha which are so frequently the result of food of too rich a character.
Of the vegetable foods, cooked potatoes and raw artichokes are the most nourishing and the most readily eaten, lucerne and clover in a green state come next in food value and favouritism with the pigs; cabbages are credited with causing constipation when fed to young pigs, whilst mangolds are said to have the opposite effect, and in addition when grown on light land by the aid of artificial manure mangolds are apt to affect the kidneys and cause excessive urination. Kohl rabi are not so much used in the feeding of pigs as would be advisable. They are easily grown and will take the place of swedes on land on which swedes are subject to mildew; they are very nutritious, and are readily eaten by both old and young pigs.
Coleseed is not used in the feeding of pigs in this country to anything approaching the same extent as in Canada and the United States; its value and results are of a very similar character to those of cabbages.
Tares or vetches contain too large a proportion of water for young pigs, and they also have a tendency to cause looseness of the bowels. The growth of maize for feeding to pigs in a green state has been recommended by some writers, but in practice we found it most unsuitable for young pigs, and of little value for aged pigs, owing to the small proportion of nourishment contained in it in comparison with its bulk.
Further, pigs both old and young will refuse to eat it unless driven by hunger. It is needless to remark that no pigs, especially young ones, will thrive under such conditions.
One of the most common mistakes made by pig feeders is allowing too long a time to pa.s.s between feeding times. Twice or three times per day is considered to be quite frequent enough, whereas prior to their being weaned the pigs would have had a meal wellnigh each two hours both day and night. Infrequent meals result in the pigs becoming so hungry that they bolt their food, and a greater quant.i.ty than is desirable, and then suffer from indigestion.
It must also be remembered that the pig"s capacity for storing food is very small, especially as compared with some others of our domesticated animals. Four or five meals per day at least should be given to newly weaned pigs. That most troublesome of ailments commonly termed cramp more generally results from injudicious feeding than from all other causes combined. Even when the young pigs are properly fed on suitable food there is a tendency in some little pigs to attacks of cramp. One of the best preventatives and even remedies is to compel the pigs to leave their nests late in the evening or prior to the pigman retiring for the night, as they will then relieve the bowels and bladder. Otherwise, particularly in cold weather, the pigs would remain quiescent in their nests from feeding time in the afternoon until they were fed the following morning, or in winter a period of some fifteen or sixteen hours--far too long a time for the good health of the young pigs.
Another point which requires attention is the provision of a dry bed.
Pigs are naturally clean animals, and will not as a rule foul their bed when they are in a healthy state. Still the straw will in winter time become damp solely from the moisture thrown off by the pigs when huddled together in their nest. All damp litter should be carefully removed at least once each day.
The best of all materials for the bedding of pigs is wheat straw. This will absorb a larger amount of moisture than any other kind of straw, whilst the skin and hair of the pigs will remain of a brighter colour than if bedded on oat or barley straw. Of these two, the former is more suitable than the latter, which so readily becomes damp and foul. In those parts of the country where comparatively little corn is grown, sawdust and wood shavings are commonly used for litter for pigs. So far as the comfort of the pigs is concerned there is little difference as compared with straw with regard to pigs of all ages in the warmer weather, but in the winter little pigs suffer, as they are unable to make the warm nest which straw enables them to make and enjoy.
When peat moss was first introduced it was strongly recommended for the bedding of pigs. It was claimed for it that it was a far better absorbent of moisture than sawdust, and that its manurial value was much greater. It is probable that both claims are founded on fact, as sawdust is of comparatively no value as a manure. But there exists one serious objection to the use of peat moss as litter for young pigs. It is that the pigs are given to eat it, that it causes severe attacks of indigestion, and often the death of the pig eating it.
Of late years the spaying of the sow pigs has ceased to be general. The causes of this neglect may be several, amongst them the dislike of trouble, but perhaps the main reason is that the so-called store period of the pig"s life is now so much shorter than in the olden days, and consequently the loss of food, and the risk of the arrival of unexpected litters of pigs are less, from the repeated periods of heat, indeed under the present or recent conditions of pig keeping a large proportion of the pigs are killed ere they have become sufficiently developed to be troublesome in this respect.
Still, there is little doubt that the castrating and spaying of young pigs at about the age of six weeks, or before they have been weaned from the sow is advisable and the cost of the operation is well repaid. An unspayed sow pig becomes a nuisance in company with other pigs, and when it is put up to fatten will make no progress on some three or four days during each three weeks when she ordinarily becomes in heat.
In addition to her own waste of time she will, if penned with others, be continually worrying her mates and preventing them from resting and thriving.