Much depends upon this; as many a fine sow and promising litter have
been ruined for want of proper and judicious care at this period.
Immediately after farrowing, many sows incline to be feverish; where
this is the case, a light and sparing diet only should be given them for
the first day or two, as gruel, oatmeal porridge, whey, and the like.
Others, again, are very much debilitated, and require strengthening; for
them, strong soup, bread steeped in wine, or in a mixture of brandy and
sweet spirits of nitre, administered in small quantities, will often
prove highly beneficial.
The rations must gradually be increased and given more frequently; and
they must be composed of wholesome, nutritious, and succulent
substances. All kinds of roots--carrots, turnips, potatoes, and
beet-roots--well steamed or boiled, but never raw, may be given; bran,
barley, and oatmeal, bran-flour, Indian corn, whey, sour, skim, and
butter-milk, are all well adapted for this period; and, should the
animal appear to require it, grain well bruised and macerated may be
added. Whenever it is possible, the sow should be turned out for an hour
each day, to graze in a meadow or clover-field, as the fresh air,
exercise, and herbage, will do her immense good. The young pigs must be
shut up for the first ten days or fortnight, after which they will be
able to follow her, and take their share of the benefit.
The food should be given regularly at certain hours; small and
often-repeated meals are far preferable to large ones, since
indigestion, or any disarrangement of the functions of the stomach
vitiates the milk, and produces diarrh[oe]a and other similar affections
in the young. The mother should always be well fed, but not over-fed;
the better and more carefully she is fed, the more abundant and
nutritious will her milk be, the better will the sucking-pigs thrive,
and the less will she be reduced by suckling them.
When a sow is weakly, and has not a sufficiency of milk, the young pigs
must be taught to feed as early as possible. A kind of gruel, made of
skim-milk and bran, or oatmeal, is a good thing for this purpose, or
potatoes, boiled and then mashed in milk or whey, with or without the
addition of a little bran or oatmeal. Toward the period when the pigs
are to be weaned, the sow must be less plentifully fed, otherwise the
secretion of milk will be as great as ever; it will, besides,
accumulate, and there will be hardness, and perhaps inflammation of the
teats. If necessary, a dose of physic may be given to assist in carrying
off the milk; but, in general, a little judicious management in the
feeding and weaning will be all that is required.