Many persons hold that in the selection of a boar one of the princ.i.p.al points is size. They contend that size, in pigs especially, is imperative if a profitable return is to be made. This view may have arisen to a greater or lesser extent from the want of method and observation which is characteristic of so many stock owners. The one point which to them is of the greatest importance is the selling price of the fat or store animal sold being fully up to the average. Little or no thought is given to the value of the food eaten by each animal. If it had been, very frequently it would have been found that the smaller animal of a lot had actually given the best return for the food it had consumed. It is not the size alone of the animal which determines its value as the producer of meat, but more than anything it is the feeding qualities of the animal fattened. In addition to this there never was a time when the consumer more strongly demanded small joints of meat, and these of the best quality and with as little bone as possible.
Apart from this a very large boar is a mistake as it is invariably awkward when serving--it can be used only for large and strong sows, and its average period of usefulness is decidedly shorter than that of a medium sized and compact boar. A large boar generally possesses an undue proportion of bone, its shoulders are heavy, and its ankles round, and feet large and spreading. Now these are all objections. The bone of a boar should be solid, not porous; the ankles compact and the feet small, and the pasterns short. The head should be wide so that the brain can be well developed, the head inclined to be short rather than long, since an animal with an extremely long head is certain to be deficient in natural flesh.
On the question of the size and hang of the ears a variety of opinion exists; pigs with long ears, and pigs with short ears are found possessing good carcases. It is the quality of the ear rather than its size and hang which seems to indicate the character most. A pig with a thin and firm ear is usually of fine quality, whereas a pig which has a thick, coa.r.s.e ear is generally coa.r.s.e in bone, skin, flesh, and hair.
The neck of the boar should be muscular as indicating const.i.tution and natural vigour; the shoulders fine and obliquely laid, the ribs well sprung, the loin wide, the quarters long and square, not drooping, the hams full and extending quite down to the hocks, and without any of that loose skin which is far too common amongst the largest of our breeds of pigs, and which is a sure sign of coa.r.s.eness. The flank should be thick and well let down, as this indicates const.i.tution and lean meat, the legs should be fairly short and set well apart so that the heart, lungs, and other organs have plenty of room to perform their share of the work of the pig. The skin should be fine and the hair straight and silky, as well as plenty of it. Sparsity of hair is generally an indication of shortage of lean meat, whilst curliness and coa.r.s.eness of hair are far too frequently a.s.sociated with excessive fat and coa.r.s.eness of meat.
With regard to the reproductive parts of the boar there are one or two points which should receive special attention. A boar with excessively small t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es should be avoided, as such a one is often barren. Again, a boar with one t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e of normal size and the other smaller, ordinarily suffers from the same disqualification to a lesser extent. A ruptured boar should not on any account be used, as this weakness is strongly hereditary. The weakness may not possibly show itself in the first generation, but it is certain to appear sooner or later. Not only is it a sure index of weakness of const.i.tution, but pigs so affected occasionally die suddenly, whilst there is always a certain amount of risk from the operation of castration.
Occasionally one or more of the boar pigs of a litter will be found to be malformed, in that only one of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es is apparent. Generally speaking, the other is found when the pig is killed to be attached to the inside of the pig, and thus is unable to descend into the s.c.r.o.t.u.m or purse, so that the act of castration is only partially performed. A boar pig with only one t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e down is commonly termed a rig. The removal of one of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es does not deprive the rig of reproducing its species, and it is thus a source of continual trouble when herded with a lot of sow pigs now that the general custom is to allow the female pigs of a litter to remain unspayed. It is, therefore, necessary to fatten a rig either alone, or with male pigs which have been operated upon. In addition to this extra trouble, the flesh of a rig pig if it be kept fattening after it is some five or six months old is almost certain to be strong in flavour, like unto that of a boar. It is, therefore, advisable to fatten a rig quite early in life and convert it into a porket or porker carcase of pork.
It may appear strange to some readers to specially mention the teats of the boar, but it is equally as necessary to avoid boars having small teats, teats unevenly placed, and commencing any distance from the fore legs, and blind teats, as it is in the case of the sow, since any weaknesses of the kind are equally as hereditary from the boar as from the sow.
CHAPTER VI
SELECTION OF THE SOW
It is impossible to agree with the view held by so many persons that the necessity for the same care is non-existent in the selection of a sow as in the choice of a boar. We hold that the desirability for studying the forbears, especially the dam, of a young sow intended for breeding purposes is fully as great as when selecting the young boar, since many, if not most, of the qualities which we desire the brood sow to possess are strongly hereditary. Take, for instance, the question of gentleness or a quiet disposition, it follows from dam to produce with a regularity equal to that of bad temper, and the latter is wellnigh a certainty.
Again, whoever found that the female produce of a sow deficient in the maternal instincts proved, if saved for breeding purposes, to be a really good mother? As a rule the daughters of a sow which gives but a small quant.i.ty of milk, and that of an inferior quality, are also cursed with the same grievous failings, but this does not appear to be universally the case, since the milking qualities of the dam descend through her sons, so that if the female progenitors of the boar have been good milkers it is probable that the boar"s daughters may be able to rear their pigs successfully, even if their dam had not been in the habit of suckling her pigs well.
Still, it is quite safe to a.s.sert that with this one exception we may fairly antic.i.p.ate that the good qualities which we seek in a sow are far more likely to be found in the sow pigs of a sow herself the possessor, than from one which does not possess them. We are inclined to the belief that the alleged failure of some pedigree yelts to make good brood sows is in the main due to the continued selection for breeding purposes of those pure-bred yelts which show early maturing and flesh-forming qualities, rather than that motherly look which is almost invariably to be found in a sow which is prolific, a free milker, and a really good mother. There is a marked difference in the formation of a milk-giving and a fat-producing sow--the latter is generally somewhat heavy in the shoulders, has a muscular or fat neck, is rather short in the head and heavy in the jowl, and is altogether more compactly built, whereas a good brood sow has rather a long face, is wide between the eyes, has a light muscular neck, is fine in the shoulders, possesses long and square quarters and appears to be heavier in the hind than in the forequarters.
She is somewhat more loosely built and often shows less of quality.
Thickness of flank and length of side are desirable, the first as indicating substance and flesh, whilst the second gives plenty of room for her pigs to suck. The bone should be of good quality; the same remarks apply to the skin and hair.
About half a century since there existed a fancy, which almost amounted to a craze for sows of small size; they could not be too neat, and showing too much so-called feminine character. The almost certain result of selecting the neatest of the female pigs followed, the fat pigs sent to market were light in weight, deficient in lean meat and rightly named "animated bladders of lard." Within about the same distance of time it was the common practice of exhibitors of pigs at the Smithfield Club"s Shows to provide pillows in the form of round pieces of wood on which the fat pigs rested their heads so that these were raised in order to prevent the pigs becoming suffocated. In addition, the pigs were fed on forcing foods until they were at least one and a half year old and allowed to take, or were given little exercise, with the result that the pork consisted mainly of soft fat or lard. To such an extent had this craze for neatness been followed that the bacon curers and consumers of pork wellnigh ceased to purchase or consume pork.
At the present time we are afraid that the tendency is in the opposite direction, and mere size is receiving far too much attention. At some of our agricultural shows the judges select for honour great unwieldly sows which could not possibly perform with any amount of success those maternal duties which a brood sow is supposed to be kept solely to perform. An extremely large sow is very frequently a poor milker, the quant.i.ty of milk she gives is not large, nor does she continue to give even this reduced supply for a period long enough to allow her young to grow strong enough to make a good start in life on their own account.
Another great objection to a sow of extreme size is that her produce almost invariably take after her to such an extent that it is difficult, if not wellnigh impossible, to make them fat until they are from nine to twelve months old, and by that time they are too large and heavy for the general demand which is at the present time, and likely to become still more so in the future, for small joints of meat which carry a large proportion of lean and a limited quant.i.ty of bone. The most successful manufacturer is he who most nearly supplies the consumer with that which he requires or fancies. We are not moved by the contention of breeders of pedigree pigs that the most valuable pig is the one which possesses in the greatest degree those special points which are characteristic of the breed, as, for instance, size in the pigs of the Large White, the Large Black, and the Lincolnshire Curly Coated pigs, therefore the biggest pigs should be held in the highest esteem. In our opinion the best, as it is in the long run the most profitable, is the pig which furnishes to the greatest extent exactly the kind of meat in the most general demand.
In addition to these objections to an extremely large and ungainly sow is the fact that such an one is invariably clumsy in the breeding pen, she is almost certain to lay on some of her pigs. It is even alleged that her period of usefulness as a breeder is shorter than that of a sow of ordinary size.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Sport and General._
TAMWORTH BOAR: BISHOP OF WEBTON. Owner, C. L. c.o.xon. 1st and Champion, Royal Show.
To face page 64]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, G. H. Parsons, Rostrevor._
GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT SOW. From the herd of Lord Sherbourne.
To face page 65.]
CHAPTER VII
THE SOW"S UDDER
One of the most important points in connection with the reproduction of the species of our various domestic animals is the provision of a full supply of milk for the young in the early portion of their existence.
Nature herself has set us a good example in a duplicated source of milk supply even amongst animals which usually produce only one animal at a birth. If this duplication be necessary under such conditions, it must be imperative on us to select those sow pigs which are intended for breeding pigs which possess a well-formed udder, having a full supply of teats, and these of good shape and properly placed on the belly of the sow. Not only is this necessary to ensure the rearing of a fairly numerous litter of pigs in a satisfactory manner, but it is held that the number of teats possessed by a sow indicates to a remarkable extent the probable degree of prolificacy of the sow. One can readily understand that nature would not be likely to endow a sow with the power to produce a larger number of young at each birth than she would be able to rear. Of course it may be said that the sow of the present day is not as nature first made her, in that, by selection and by feeding, the number of pigs produced at each birth is now so much larger than the litters of the wild sows, which have some seven or eight teats and farrow at each litter a similar number of pigs. On the other hand, neither the number of teats nor of the young is fixed either in the domesticated sow, or the sow in a wild state, so that by continued selection we are able to permanently increase, within limits, the production of larger litters and the increased supply of milk for their sustenance when young.
The provision of a suitable udder is even of more importance with the domesticated than with the sow running wild, since the latter produces each year one litter only, and that in the season of the year when the young are less dependent on their dams; whereas the domesticated sow is expected to rear at least two litters per year, and frequently owing to want of care on the part of the owner the young pigs are farrowed at the most unfavourable time of the year.
Apart from the provision of a certain number of teats there is another point to be considered, the power of the sow to produce milk enough to satisfy the given number of pigs. This of course varies with each family or tribe of pigs, and even with the various members in it, so that to obtain the best results selection must be made of the produce of those sows which give the largest quant.i.ty of the most nutritious milk. There exists amongst pig keepers a difference of opinion as to the number of pigs each sow should be allowed to rear, probably the average of this number would be ten for a mature sow, and seven or eight for a first litter. If so, the selected sow pig should possess twelve teats, as frequently one of these may not give a full supply of milk from either natural or accidental causes. The teats should be regular in size and form. It is not uncommon to find one or more of the teats of a sow much smaller in size than the others. These smaller teats will produce a reduced quant.i.ty of milk, so that the pigling which is unfortunate enough to decide on making this small teat its very own--and each pigling is confined by the others to its own special teat--is certain to be less well developed than its brothers and sisters, even if it should succeed in surviving.
The necessity for the teats being placed equidistant the one from the other arises from the desirability of each pig having room to suck comfortably. Should two of the teats be closely placed the two pigs will probably fight, when not only will sores be caused on the cheeks of the pigs, but the milk in the teats not properly drawn will gradually cease to flow.
Another point of great importance is that the teats should commence as near as possible to the fore legs--this for two reasons: it gives more room for the pigs to suck as they grow larger; the other and more important one is that the teats most forward on the udder of the sow produce the larger quant.i.ty of milk, or milk of a better quality. It will be almost invariably found that the pigs sucking the foremost teats thrive the best.
It is advisable to avoid the selection of a female pig for breeding purposes from a sow which has large and coa.r.s.e teats, as these invariably accompany coa.r.s.eness of skin, bone, hair, and flesh, this in turn affects the sale value of the carcase. It will also be found that those sows with a neat and compact udder, with fine teats, will give more milk and a better quality than sows possessing a coa.r.s.e and flabby udder.
Another weakness to be avoided when selecting a sow pig for breeding purposes is that which is commonly termed a blind teat, since it is undoubtedly hereditary in addition to being useless for the purpose of rearing pigs. The normal teat projects boldly from the udder, whereas the blind teat is almost flat or on a level with the udder. In appearance it resembles a ring of skin with a depressed nipple in its centre. At the time of parturition the blind teat contains milk to the same extent as do the other teats, but it promptly dries up since it is impossible for the little pigs to extract the milk from it since the nipple recedes as soon as the pigling attempts to clasp it with its lips and tongue, instead of becoming more extended so that the little pig can suck the milk from it.
An ideal udder can be briefly described as one possessing at least twelve fully developed teats, the more the better--these should commence from a point as near the fore legs of the sow as possible, and be placed as nearly as possible an equal distance the one from the other.
Some persons hold that large teats and much loose skin are sure indications that the sow has proved to be a good milker. This is a mistaken view; it is with sows as with cows, the most prolific milkers are those with well formed and soft udders which almost disappear when the lactation period has pa.s.sed.
CHAPTER VIII
MATING THE YOUNG SOW
As in most other details in the management of our domesticated animals there exists a variety of opinion as to the age at which the young sow, or, as it is commonly locally termed, a gilt, yelt, yilt, hilt, elt, etc., should be mated with the boar. Perhaps the most important point to consider is the time of the year when the antic.i.p.ated pigs should arrive. If possible the period between the middle of the month of September and the middle of December should be avoided. The long nights and the short and dull days generally experienced during this period are most unsuitable for young pigs. Many litters of pigs farrowed in October are not any larger nor nearly as thrifty in the month of March as those farrowed during the early portion of January in the following year, and very frequently the loss amongst the October and November farrowed pigs from lameness, or, as it is commonly termed, cramp, is very large. An attempt should be made so that the two litters which should be bred each year from the sow arrive so that they are weaned during the longer and brighter days of the year; thus a sow which farrows in the beginning of February may be expected to farrow again in July. The weather is sometimes rather cold for little pigs early in the year, but it is surprising how little they are affected by it providing the sow furnishes a good supply of milk and the bedding is dry and plentiful.
The pigs farrowed in the months of January and February are generally the most profitable, as they will be ready for the consumption of the separated milk, b.u.t.ter milk, whey, etc., which is generally abundant in the month of May in districts where dairying and cheese making are followed. These pigs are also ready for turning out to gra.s.s in April or May, or as soon as the weather is suitable, and the gra.s.s has grown sufficiently. These young pigs will grow and thrive splendidly providing that some additional food is fed to them and shelter provided.
This natural system of pig raising is of great benefit to those pigs which are intended for breeding purposes and was consistently followed by the writer from the year 1863. It was by no means a new plan even at that period, although strange claims have recently been made that the system is a novel one and originated in the fertile brain of one or two enthusiasts who have gone the whole hog in pig breeding. In the middle of the last century it was quite a common practice in parts of the counties of Cambridge, Ess.e.x, and Suffolk to graze the seeds which comprised clovers, trefoils, etc., with pigs which received in addition extra food, such as peas or beans in accordance with the amount of vegetable food obtainable or the purpose for which the pigs were required; those intended for pork receiving the larger supply.
Although it may not be possible to allow the young boar pigs to have their liberty after they become five months old, yet the sow pigs will grow and develop far better in the field if properly fed than they will in an inclosed sty; further, the young pigs which they produce will be much more l.u.s.ty than if the sows had been kept in close confinement.
Although the sow pig will generally come in heat when she is about six months old, it is advisable that she should not be mated until she is some eight months old, so that her first litter of pigs is not farrowed until she is about a year old, when she should be quite strong enough to rear a fair litter of pigs and also to grow and develop into a fully natured specimen of its breed.
In some districts where the breeding pigs are generally kept in confinement and high keeping is followed the sow pigs are mated with the boar at an earlier age, but the system has its disadvantages which more than outweigh the saving of the extra few weeks of the keep of the yelt ere she is put to the boar. This early mating is especially harmful if the number of the pigs in the first litter should be large. So few pig keepers have the hardihood to knock a certain portion of the too numerous litter on the head, and so reduce the number to say seven or eight, which most young sows should be able to rear fairly well and without any undue drain on the sow"s system--but the whole of the large litter are left on the sow, which becomes very much reduced in condition, and checked in growth, whilst the too large litter of pigs are badly reared and frequently become a source of trouble and annoyance to the owner.