Uremia in Young Pigs

A post mortem examination of young pigs that died during the suckling period in the herd at Beltsville revealed that most of the pigs lost in the first 2 weeks of life had uremia. The condition shows up in the excretory ducts of the kidneys, and is characterized by crystalline deposits, a marked increase in urea, uric acid, and other compounds in the blood, kidneys, and liver.

The condition apparently is not associated with the so-called baby pig disease, as the blood sugar content is within normal range. A similar condition was produced experimentally in young pigs by withholding food, an indication that the cause may be the failure of the sow to come in milk normally after farrowing, faulty feeding or management, or failure of the pigs to suckle soon after birth. Proper attention to the diet of the sow before and after farrowing should be helpful, although the definite cause of the condition is not yet fully understood.

THE AUTHOR

John H. Zeller is from Franklin County, Pa. He is in charge of swine investigations at the Bureau of Animal Industry. Except for time out to serve in the naval aviation service during the war, he has been continuously active in swine research for the Department since 1917.

FEEDING CALVES Under the traditional methods of feeding dairy calves, each one of them during its first 6 to 8 months of life drinks about 200 pounds of whole milk and 1,900 pounds of skim milk. Research to determine how early calves can be weaned from milk is reported by H. T. Converse on page 159. Of course as a calf's milk diet is reduced, it must be trained to eat morehay and grain. The following pages present some results of calf-feeding tests at Beltsville.

CROSSBRED SWINE With increasing competition from fats and oils of plant origin, swine breeders realize the need for a leaner hog that is adapted to American methods of production. In cooperation with several State experiment stations, good progress has been made, as illustrated in these pages. An article on swine breeding and management appears on page 201. Above, John Zeller inspects a group of pigs selected at random from a litter at weaning time. The purpose is to determine record of performance as to rate of gain and economy of feed per unit of gain.

Angora goats are the only source of mohair, a 10-million-dollar industry in the Southwestern States. The best mohair comes from Angora does that carry a dense, fine-quality fleece that grows in ringlets rather than as straight hair. The specimen at right is a doe of high quality.

Experiments indicate that it pays to add some grain to a milk goat's diet. This Toggenburg doe No. 971 gave 1,551.9 pounds of milk and 60.52 pounds of butterfat in 301 days on a ration of 1 pound of grain to each 4 pounds of milk. During subsequent lactation, without grain, she gave an average of only 886 pounds of milk and 28.03 pounds of butterfat in 231 days.