PART I_Pig Raising: A Manual for Pig Clubs

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PIG RAISING

A Manual for Pig Clubs

ARETAS W. NOLAN

Assistant Professor, Agricultural Extension,

University Of Illinois

and

JAMES H. GREENE

State Leader, Junior Extension Service,

University Of Illinois

[Illustration]

Chicago New York

Row, Peterson and Company

PREFACE

Whatever may be the status of the project system of teaching other

subjects, it is coming to be quite generally agreed that the home project

offers one of the best methods for teaching elementary agriculture. The

essentials of the home project plan are as follows: (1) A definite,

detailed plan for work at home covering a season or more or less extended

period of time; (2) it must be a part of the instruction of the school

in agriculture; (3) the parents and pupils should agree with the teacher

upon the plan; (4) the home work must have competent supervision; (5)

records and reports of time, method, cost and income must be honestly

kept and submitted to the teacher.

In the study and practice of a vocational subject such as agriculture,

we may distinguish three aspects, each involving distinct pedagogical

characteristics and special problems of administration. The first

includes the concrete, specific, or practical work, such as the actual

making of a garden, the raising of poultry, or the growing of corn; the

second involves a study of such technical sciences as botany, physics,

chemistry, and the principles of the agricultural science relating

directly to the subject of agriculture under consideration; the third

aspect includes such general information as the history, economic values,

and other interesting facts of that particular phase of agriculture being

studied. Doctor Snedden states in his “Problems of Secondary Education,”

that the keynote of the newer education in these fields is to be found

in the development of facilities for obtaining practical experience,

under conditions as nearly approximating those of the actual vocation as

can be obtained.

It is for the purpose of making as practical as possible some of the

principles of scientific agriculture for the boys and girls of the

public schools, and of giving direct vocational value to such work

that this little book, the third of a series, is submitted. The plan

outlines one project in each booklet, supplying the project directions,

practical exercises for laboratory work, subject-matter for study and

recitation, and notebook forms for accounts and records. The school work

in elementary agriculture for one year may be based upon one or two

projects, giving opportunity to supply new subject-matter by rotation

each year; or the project method may be used to supplement the text-book

method as used either in the elementary or high-school grades. In either

case, the boys and girls doing the project work should be organized into

a club and affiliated with the State Boys and Girls Club movement through

the state leader, usually located at the State College of Agriculture.

—THE AUTHORS.

CONTENTS

PART ONE. PIG RAISING CALENDAR 9

PART TWO. PRACTICAL EXERCISES 21

1. Wild Relatives of Swine

2. Swine on the Home Farm

3. Market Prices

4. Inspection Trips

5. Comparative Judging

6. Exercises in Judging

7. Reports on Home Feeding

8. Hog Houses

9. Breed Directory

10. Concrete Hog Wallow

11. Wooden Troughs

12. Hurdles

13. Making a Collection of Feeds

14. Weighing Pigs with Steelyards

PART THREE. SWINE 29

1. Origin

2. Bacon-Type

3. Lard-Type

4. Breeds

5. Bacon Breeds

6. Lard Breeds

7. Selecting the Pigs

8. Getting Started

9. Care and Management

10. Houses

11. Sanitation

12. Wallows and Dips

13. Worms

14. Hog Cholera

15. Feeds and Feeding

16. Corn, Pasture and Other Supplements

17. Mineral Matter

18. Feeding and Care of the Sow

19. Feeding the Pigs

20. Markets

21. Market Classes and Grades

22. Notebook Questions

APPENDIX 49

A Model Constitution for Boys and Girls Clubs 49

Parliamentary Practice, Hints and Suggestions,

Duties of Officers 50

Suggestive Programs for Agricultural Clubs 53

References on Pigs 53

PART FOUR. THE HOME PROJECT NOTEBOOK 57

TO THE TEACHER

Teachers of agriculture are beginning to realize that the swine industry

may be utilized to advantage in the training of young farmers. Pig

raising makes a good home project. Most boys in the country, and some

girls, will find a way to keep one or more pigs if their interest is

aroused. The class work may be centered around the project, or the

project may supplement and furnish the practical work in connection with

a text-book study of general agriculture. With one or two class-room

recitations a week based upon reports of the progress and problems of

the project, upon the practical exercises herein given, and upon the

subject-matter and project outline study presented in Part IV; including

also some Friday afternoon club programs as suggested, and with the

actual work being done at home, a course in agriculture of real,

practical worth may be given in any school. Pig raising enables a boy to

enter in a small way into the live-stock business. Comparatively little

capital is required and quick returns are secured. With good management

a small beginning will soon result in a herd of good size. The teacher

should make use of the studies connected with the pig raising project

to bring out the essentials of general animal production. Much that is

learned regarding the feeding and breeding of swine may be applied to

raising other animals.

It is not necessary that the teacher be an expert in swine husbandry to

make this project a success. The teacher may help greatly by being an

interested co-worker, encouraging the boys and girls, learning with them,

leading them to sources of information, and being a sympathetic friend in

their work and life on the farm.

If possible, each member of the class should be induced to begin the pig

raising project with a pure-bred gilt. If this is not possible, any pig

may be selected, fed, and cared for according to the project directions.

The home project may be carried on as an independent class activity, or

it may be correlated with the work of the pig club organization. It will

be an easy matter and a most desirable thing to do to organize the class

into a pig club, affiliate with the state club movement, and all work

together in the big business of food production.

—A. W. NOLAN.

[Illustration: A GOOD HERD IN PASTURE]

PART I

PIG PROJECT CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

1. =Organization of the club.= See plans for club organization in the

appendix. The class in elementary agriculture undertaking to base its

work largely upon the home project should organize as directed by the

club plan. Each member of the class should become a member of the club

and plan to do all the work outlined for the project. The plan should

meet with the approval of the board of education, of the parents of

the boys and girls undertaking the project, and should have the hearty

support of the county superintendent of schools, of the teacher and of

the pupils themselves who are to do the work. The state club leader at

the State College of Agriculture should be notified of the organization

of the club so that he may send enrollment blanks and all such literature

and publications as will be helpful in the progress of the work.

2. =Getting started.= For the pig raising project members of the class

or club may start with one or several pigs, or with a sow pig (or gilt)

bred to farrow early in October, since this is to be a project for the

entire year. A pig belonging to one of the breeds most prevalent in the

community should be selected, provided, of course, that it is a breed

which is adapted to local conditions and meets market requirements.

In making the selection of the gilt, consider the pedigree and the

individuality of the animal. Unless you know the pedigree it is best

to leave that to the reliable breeder with whom you are dealing. Every

member of the class joining the pig club should learn how to pick out

a good pig. In the beginning, however, it would be well to depend upon

the judgment of an experienced man in the selection of the gilt for the

year’s project.

3. =Beginning the record.= On the blank pages provided in Part IV of

this book write a brief history and description of the breed of hog

you select. Each pupil should keep a neat and accurate record of all

operations, accounts, results, etc., on the pages provided for the pig

raising project.

4. =Registering the pigs.= If a pure-bred gilt is the starting point of

the project, the club member should get the experience of following the

rules of registration for the breed. Send to the secretary of the breed

association for full information and blank forms, free of charge. When an

animal is sold, a certificate of registration will be appreciated by the

purchaser. Fill out the registration record in the form given in Part IV

of this book.

5. =A place for the pig.= The first problem after securing a good pig is

that of proper care and management. Pigs need clean food, clean water,

exercise and a clean bed, if they are to thrive and be profitable.

See to it that your pigs have a dry, warm, clean, and well-ventilated

house. Sunshine is a good warmer and disinfectant of the hog house.

For the beginner the individual house of the A type or square type is

recommended. A good pasture will provide cheap, clean food, exercise and

a clean bed during the summer.

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.

(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.

(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.

NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

1. =Feeding the pigs.= About the first thought in connection with raising

pigs is that they eat. It is important that every pig in the litter get

its stomach full of the first milk of the sow. The young pigs will learn

to eat when about three weeks of age. If the pigs can be fed separately

from the sow, better results will be obtained. In one corner of the pen

place a small trough for the pigs and fence it off from the sow. At least

twice a day give the pigs as much sweet skim-milk as they will clean up.

Do not leave any milk to sour in the trough. Then a few days after they

begin to nibble grass and drink milk, a gruel of oats and wheat middlings

may be made with the milk. Later a small amount of corn soaked for

twenty-four hours may be placed in the trough. Do not feed more than they

will clean up. Young pigs may be weaned at from eight to ten weeks.

2. =Some standard rations for growing pigs.=

(a) Fresh skim-milk as the base for a slop of oat middlings

and wheat middlings, to which add a small amount of corn.

(Feed three times daily.) As the pigs grow older the corn and

middlings may be increased, but the corn should not be fed

alone.

(b) With corn and skim-milk or buttermilk, one part by weight

of corn to three parts of milk is satisfactory after weaning.

Gradually increase the amount of corn so that the 175-pound

pigs get about one part of corn to two parts of skim-milk or

buttermilk.

8 to 1 by weight for pigs weighing between 40 and 90 pounds

10 to 1 for weights between 90 and 125 pounds

12 to 1 for weights between 125 and 175 pounds

14 to 1 for weights between 175 and 225 pounds

16 to 1 for market hogs above 225 pounds

(d) Garbage from the kitchen is usually valuable for hogs.

The value depends largely upon the amount and kind of solid

material which it contains. Where it is thin enough to pour

readily from the bucket, but not watery, it may be fed in about

the same proportion with corn as was recommended for milk.

(e) To furnish minerals as recommended for the sow, keep the

following before the pigs at all times:

Slack coal or coal screenings 2 parts by weight

Air-slacked lime 1 part by weight

Salt 1 part by weight

(f) A good pasture is always an excellent supplement to

any ration and lessens the amount of other feeds required.

Pasture-fed pigs are thriftier and make cheaper gains than

those fed in dry lots. In general feed from 3 to 5 pounds of

concentrates,[2] such as corn, other grains, meals, tankage,

etc., per 100 pounds live weight, according to age. For pigs

in a dry lot at weaning time (weighing about 40 pounds) feed

5 pounds concentrates per 100 pounds live weight, or 4 pounds

concentrates per day per 100 pounds live weight in access

to forage or pasture. No two herds of hogs feed just alike;

therefore it is the problem of the feeder to study the needs of

his hogs and try to supply them. Regularity in time of feeding,

dry, comfortable quarters, and sanitary conditions in pen and

lot are necessary to secure satisfactory gains.

3. =Housing the pigs.= Perhaps the main reason for housing the pigs is to

furnish a dry bed, and since hogs do not shed their hair for warmer coats

or thicken it up as horses do, provision should be made to shelter the

hogs from the cold of winter as well as from the extreme heat of summer.

Reference has already been made to the house for the sow and her litter

of pigs. It is not necessary to have expensive buildings, especially in

the beginning. Even a pen covered with boards and fresh straw may meet

all the requirements.

For the pig club boys and girls starting in to raise two litters in a

year, a good, cheap and easily constructed pen is described as follows in

Lippincott’s “Productive Swine Husbandry”;

“The pen is sixteen feet long and eight feet wide. It is seven feet high

in front and three and one-half feet high at the rear. It is boarded

with cheap lumber, but all cracks are securely battened. It should be

practically wind and rain proof. The opening should be a small door in

the southeast corner, as the house faces the south. Plenty of bedding

should be supplied, and the pen should be banked up outside with fresh

horse manure to a depth of about two feet in order to prevent drafts

about the floor.”

4. =Records.= During the winter months do not fail to make all records

and keep all accounts of operations, work, expenses, results, etc., that

are called for on the record pages of this book.

5. =Reference reading and study.= Read your texts, the farm papers, and

any reference books available on the problems of feeding, housing, care

and management of growing pigs. Consult experienced swine breeders and

feeders and learn all you can from them that will help you to succeed

with your pigs.

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY

1. =Breeding the sow for the second litter.= If an April litter of pigs

is desired, the sow should be bred during the month of December or early

January. Breed to a pure-bred boar if possible. Keep record of dates.

2. =Feeding continued.= Just as we use lumber, brick, cement, shingles,

nails, etc. in the proper form and proportion in building a house, so

must we use milk, corn, oats, grass or other feeds in the building of the

body of the hog or any other animal. Each feed is made up of different

food nutrients, and each food nutrient serves a definite purpose in the

body. Some of the food nutrients are used in the animal body to make

bone, others for fat, and still others for the manufacture of active

muscular tissue. Development will be incomplete if any class of food

material is neglected; hence the necessity of a balanced ration.

Follow carefully the feeding standards and rations suggested for November

and December.

3. =Keeping the pigs healthy.= It is much easier to keep pigs healthy

than it is to cure sick ones. Clean, dry quarters, proper feed, plenty of

sunlight and ventilation, and disinfection of houses will help to keep

pigs healthy.

Go over your pig pen this month, and as often thereafter as is necessary,

and clean out all filth from cracks and corners, floors and feeding

troughs. Apply the following disinfectant:

5 parts crude carbolic acid in

100 parts water

Once a year the pig house should be whitewashed. (See discussion in Part

III.) If possible, supply “hog wallows and dips” for your pigs. (See Part

III.)

MARCH AND APRIL

1. =Starting the pig project at this time.= If it is desired to start

the pig project at this time instead of in September, the club may be

organized, a pure-bred gilt to farrow in April purchased by each member

of the club, and the work started as suggested for September and October.

2. =See the September and October calendar.= In all essential points the

members of the class beginning the pig project at this time should follow

every detail outlined for September and October.

3. =The October pigs.= Continue the feeding rations of the October pigs

as suggested for other months, according to weights and gains, and make

larger use of the pasture as a supplement as the spring advances.

Alfalfa pasture has proven by many tests to be one of the best for

growing pigs. After the first season for alfalfa, an acre should pasture

two sows and their litters throughout the season. The corn rations may be

cut one-half with alfalfa as a pasture. “Pigs in clover” are contented

and happy. An acre of good clover should pasture one sow and her litter.

A Missouri bulletin recommends feeding shoats about a pound of corn per

head per day when on good clover pasture.

4. =The second litter.= If the second litter of pigs for the sow for the

year is farrowed in April, as was recommended at the beginning of this

project, quarters separate from the October pigs should be provided for

them for at least eight weeks, or until the second litter is weaned. See

directions for the care and management of the sow and pigs as given for

September and October.

5. =Records and study.= Continue to make all records called for in the

project. Read and study texts and reference books relating to the work

you are doing each month.

MAY AND JUNE

1. =Summer feeding and pasture.= An acre of cow peas or soy beans sown

in May will furnish excellent pasture for the spring pigs, especially

when the pods are formed about September. Rape is a good pasture crop for

hogs. It may be sown from April to June and will be ready for pasture

in about six weeks. Six to eight pounds of seed will suffice for an

acre when sown broadcast. An acre of rape should pasture a sow and her

October and spring litters. Corn and shorts may be used to supplement

rape pasture. Continue the feeding rations according to age and weight

recommended for former months.

2. =Breeding for October pigs.= During the third or fourth week of June

breed the sow for the October litter of pigs. Breed to a pure-bred sire

if possible. Keep record of all dates.

3. =Shelter for the pigs.= During the summer it may be necessary to

provide a shelter from the direct rays of the sun. A frame of poles

covered with straw or corn-stalks will serve this purpose.

4. =Hog wallows.= Since pigs do not perspire they often suffer during

the extreme heat of the summer. They naturally seek the coolest wallow

even though it be a filthy mud hole. It would be humane as well as good

business to provide a concrete wallow and keep it filled with eight or

ten inches of water. Coal-tar or crude oil added to the water will help

to rid the pigs of lice.

5. =Sanitary conditions.= During the summer months continue to care for

the cleanliness of all the pens and house as suggested for the winter

season. Seek the advice of successful hog raisers and veterinarians upon

the slightest evidence of unhealthy pigs. See discussion on worms and

cholera in Part III.

6. =Ringing the pigs.= One ring should not be placed in the center of the

pig’s nose, but if ringed at all, use two rings, one on either side of

the center of the nose, close to the tendons running down to the pig’s

snout.

JULY AND AUGUST

1. =Getting ready for an exhibit.= If there is to be a local, county,

or state fair, club members will arrange through their leader to have

an exhibit of their pigs at the fair. Follow carefully and honestly all

directions and rules laid down by your state club leader in entering the

contest and exhibiting your pigs. If there is no fair or exhibit for you

to attend, make one at your local school. Your state club leader will

send full directions for all contests and exhibits.

2. =Preparing the pig for exhibition.=[3] The first thing to do toward

getting the pig ready for a show is to wash his body thoroughly with warm

rain water, and a good lathery soap. Use a stiff brush so that dirt and

dust will be removed. A little disinfectant in the wash water would be a

good thing. Thoroughly rinse the soap out of the hair after washing and

allow the pig to dry in a clean, dry stall.

=His coat.= When all the moisture has disappeared from the hair and skin,

a light application of sweet oil may well be made, taking particular

care to rub the oil well into the skin. The oil will keep the hair and

hide soft and will give the pig a shiny coat, thereby improving his

appearance. The use of too much oil is objectionable, both because it

is apt to become “gummed” in the hair and make the animal “sticky”,

and because it will soil the fingers of the people who will probably

stroke and pet the pig when he is taken to the show. If sweet oil is not

available, raw linseed oil may be used instead, but a somewhat lighter

application of linseed oil should be made. Oil is seldom used on white

pigs.

=The feet.= Frequently the pig’s feet will require some attention. If the

toes are too long or are broken off so that they are rough, they should

be trimmed with a good sharp jackknife. This can be done best when the

animal is lying down. If the boy has taken care of his animal properly,

the pig will submit to such handling without any objection. In fact he

will like to be played with and will enjoy having his master work with

him.

After the pig has been properly groomed he should be kept in a dry stall

that is bedded deep with clean straw. If he shows an inclination to root

down into the dirt and soil himself by digging beneath his bedding, rings

should be placed in his nose. If not absolutely necessary, however, it is

better not to ring hogs intended for show.

=Make your pig gentle.= An hour a day should be spent teaching the pig

to stand still while being examined. While it is not customary at big

shows to hold pigs while they are being judged, yet at a contest of this

kind the best trained pig will be looked upon with special favor, since

such a pig will signify to the judges that his master has done everything

possible “to bring him out.”

3. =Marketing the pigs.= The October pigs will be ready for the market

this summer, probably as early as July. Study carefully the market

classes and grades described in Part III. Determine to which classes and

grades your pigs should belong. Watch carefully the daily market reports

in the papers. Seek the best advice you can get on the important business

of marketing your pigs.

4. =Concluding work.= Finish all records called for in Part IV.

Achievement, as one boy puts it, is “getting into the game, sticking to

it, and finishing the job.” Here is your chance to achieve not only a

successful and profitable piece of work for yourself, but a man’s service

in adding to the food supply of your country.