Self-Feeding of Sows During Gestation

Self-feeding of sows and litters during the suckling period and of pigs during the growing and fattening periods is common in swine management. Bred sows fatten so easily that the practice of self-feeding grains and concentrates during the gestation period until recently was not considered advisable. Comparisons of self-feeding and hand feeding of bred gilts have been made at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Preliminary results show that self-feeding during gestation is practical, but there should be enough bulk to the ration to keep the sows from getting too fat. A ration of 43 parts of ground corn, 25 parts of ground oats, 25 parts of alfalfa meal, and 7 parts of tankage, plus a mineral mixture, proved satisfactory.

An adequate ration for self-feeding can be made up largely of homegrown grains and good legume hay; only an animal protein supplement, if skim milk is not available on the farm, need then be bought. Other preliminary results show that the average number of pigs farrowed and weaned and the weights of pigs at both farrowing and weaning were practically the same for the self-fed and hand-fed groups. The milk production of the sows did not seem to be adversely affected by either method. The cost of feed per sow was slightly higher in the self-fed group. Self-feeding, however, lightens the work of morning and evening feeding.

Reducing Death Losses

The big economic loss in the swine industry is due to the failure to raise and market a higher percentage of pigs farrowed. An average of 35 to 40 percent of the total pigs farrowed never reach market. It is estimated that approximately a seventh of all hog feed is fed to pigs that never get to market.

Where electric current is available, the use of electric heat in the farrowing pens pays well. An ordinary 150- or 200-watt electric lamp is enough. The cost of installation of hover and light will pay for itself the first season in pigs saved. At Beltsville we saved approximately 5 percent more pigs in the spring of 1940 by using home-made electric hovers than we did without them. The comparison was made in a heated central farrowing house. Similar experience was had at the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station. The sows in a group with supplemental heat saved 82.8 percent of live pigs farrowed, compared to 65.7 percent in the group without heat. The death loss of pigs from chilling was reduced from 10 percent in the lot without heat to 2.2 percent in the lot with heat. The difference of 17.1 percent in pigs saved is of economic importance. If a similar saving could be had in a State or the whole country, it would mean greatly increased production with the same number of sows, or fewer sows would be needed to maintain a normal swine population.