October
1. Feeding the young sow. Not more than two-thirds of the grain ration of the young brood sow should be corn. Good feeders prefer to use ground oats and middlings with milk or tankage[1] in connection with corn. The young sow should be kept in good, strong condition but not overloaded with fat. The following ration is one good one recommended:
(a) A pasture should furnish the bulky part of the ration.
(b) A meal ration consisting of equal parts corn, ground oats and middlings. If the pasture is a good one the sow will need little other feed for several weeks. The meal ration should be begun several weeks before farrowing.
(c) Roots may be fed whole or pulped and mixed with meal.
(d) Alfalfa or clover hay is good in the ration.
(e) Skim-milk is excellent for sows.
(f) For minerals keep a mixture of slack coal, two parts by weight, air-slacked lime, one part, and salt, one part, before the hogs all the time.
2. Farrowing time. At farrowing time place the sow in a sheltered building, dry, free from draughts and well-ventilated. To prevent the sow from lying against the wall of the pen and thus injuring any little pigs which may be lying there, it is a good plan to provide a guard rail made of two by eight-inch planks fastened with their edges against the sides of the pen a little above the bed. The young sow should have a liberal amount of bedding of cut straw. She should have an individual pen or house, receive kind treatment and have quiet quarters. If the sow remains quiet for twelve hours or more after farrowing, so much the better.
3. Feeding and care of the nursing sow. The feed after farrowing should be about the same as before. At first she should have little more than a drink. A thin slop of middlings and water will serve. The sow should not be overfed and should be given a week or ten days to come to a full ration. The following is one good ration recommended:
(a) Equal parts of ground oat and wheat middlings, allowed to soak between feeds.
(b) Sweet skim-milk added to the above ration makes it almost ideal.
(c) Corn may be used as recommended for sows before farrowing.
(d) A certain amount of bulky, succulent feed such as hay and roots helps to keep the sow healthy.
(e) When the pigs are weaned, the feed of the sow should be cut down to check the flow of the milk. Dry oats are recommended for this purpose.
4. Record work. Be sure to keep all records called for on the record pages, including date of farrowing, number of pigs, method of housing, feeding rations, successes, failures, etc. Provision for weighing the pigs from time to time should be provided.
5. Reading and study. In connection with the practical work of raising your pigs, read at this time what your text and reference books have to say about care and management of the brood sow.