PIG-FATTENING
If there be one task which is considered to be within the capacity of
any individual, it is that of feeding a pig. In the good old times, the
one thing needful was a good supply of barley meal, as much of this as
the pig could possibly eat was placed into its trough each day until the
pig was thought to be fat enough for slaughter. This was a very simple
and at the same time a very costly process and was looked upon as the
second of the two chief acts in the life of a pig. The first consisted
of building up a frame on which fat could be stored. Just why these two
processes were not combined has never been fully explained. One excuse
made for this uneconomical process is that our forbears must have
considered that there must be two distinct periods in the life of any
animal intended for the food of man, that in which the structure was
erected, and that in which the building was completely furnished with
the material--flesh--in a state which most nearly satisfied the
requirements or fancies of humanity. The system of first growing the
frame and then packing it with flesh was not alone followed by the
owners of pigs, as it was also adopted with cattle, which in the good
old times passed three or four years in a state of semi-starvation ere
they were placed on our best pastures to produce beef. Sheep, again,
spent two or three years in building up their frames and in the
production of a limited quantity of wool of inferior quality and
strength, before they were considered in a fit state to make mutton
economically. Another excuse which could have been offered by our
forbears, but which is not now available, is that the cattle, sheep, and
pigs of former times required age before it was possible to render them
sufficiently fat for slaughter.
The very great improvement which has taken place during the past half
century, in wellnigh every breed of pig, has deprived our present day
pig-breeders of such an excuse, yet they persist in far too many
instances in following the old-fashioned and uneconomical system of
first growing the pig and then fatting it, whereas it is not only
possible but infinitely more profitable to combine the two operations.
So many persons have been in the habit of looking upon the pig as a mere
scavenger or an animal to put out of sight certain articles containing a
small amount of nutriment which, undisposed of, would become a nuisance
or offensive to one or other of our organs. Even the pig itself has been
considered by many farmers, especially those termed gentlemen farmers,
as a necessary nuisance, whereas the pig is really a machine for the
conversion of farm produce into meat, and like all machines, its output
will depend entirely on the quantity and quality of the raw material,
and the manner in which it is supplied. If the raw material be of
inferior quality and supplied irregularly, or in too limited
quantities, the article manufactured will be more costly and of an
inferior quality. An extension in the time of manufacture means
increased cost for fuel and for labour in attendance on the machinery. A
certain quantity of fuel is being continually used in the furnace
whether the engine is running at full power or at half power. It is
exactly the same with the meat making machine, the pig every day of its
existence consumes a certain quantity of food for which it gives one
return only, its life. It has been conclusively proved that each pig
weighing 100 lbs. requires 2 lbs. of food daily to enable it to sustain
life, i.e. to replace loss of tissue, to provide heat, progression,
etc., so that if a pig lives six months longer than is actually
necessary to enable it to manufacture a certain weight of meat, it will
have eaten to waste over 3 cwt. of good food.
A pig is like unto any other machine, it will produce the manufactured
article most cheaply when it is fully supplied with the most suitable
raw material. There is not the slightest doubt that the least costly
pork is that which is produced by the pig which spends its whole time in
the object of its existence, the manufacture of pork.
There is a further point of great importance. Wellnigh all those
materials which are used in the feeding of pigs contain the constituents
necessary for the building up of the frame and for the accumulation of
fat or, as it is commonly termed, the making of meat. Evidently nature
intended that the two operations should be carried on simultaneously.
Those constituents which are required in the building up of the frame
cannot be entirely used in the formation of fat, consequently if the
frame is first built up and then an attempt is made to lay on flesh, a
considerable portion of the building up constituents are simply wasted,
since the pig has no need for them and cannot make complete use of them.
They simply pass through the pig after taxing it to digest them, and are
wasted.
Opinions and practices with regard to pig fatting have changed very much
during the past half century, and especially so since the full effect of
the fearful war has been felt. Rather before the first-mentioned period,
the late Sir John Lawes, whose researches and experiments have been of
lasting benefit to agriculturists, undertook to carry out experiments in
connection with pig-breeding, and the result which appears to have
impressed itself most upon the writers of the day was that barley meal
was the best single food for the fatting of pigs. At the time named, our
importations of maize and of many other materials now used in stock and
especially pig-breeding were not of anything the magnitude of the period
prior to the war, still, it seems to be strange to the enlightened
pig-breeder of to-day that more serious endeavours should not have been
made to determine the value of a mixed diet for pigs, since this had
been proved to be beneficial and necessary in the case of human beings
whose organs are so very similar to that of the despised pig.
Fortunately for us, and indeed for the stock-keepers in all parts of the
world, experiments in the feeding of stock have been carried out in
various countries, Denmark, Sweden, the United States, Canada,
Germany, and indeed in nearly all countries, save to any great extent in
England. In connection with pigs, the practices of a few of our more
intelligent pig-keepers have been confirmed. Amongst these ideas which
the old-fashioned ones looked upon as fads, was that of feeding pigs of
all ages and especially fatting pigs on a certain proportion of
vegetable food. Experiments have conclusively proved that the
substitution of some 10 per cent of vegetable matter in place of an
equal amount of meal or concentrated food, does not result in the
slightest reduction in the live weight gain of the fatting pig, and
further that the old idea that a limited quantity of vegetable food fed
to a fatting pig tended to render the pork soft and to waste in the
cooking was not founded on fact. Another fact which has evolved from
these experiments is that the pig will make far greater progress on an
equal amount of a mixture of foods than if fed solely on one food. This
was clearly proved in many experiments as at the Wisconsin Agricultural
Station, where one lot of pigs was fed on middlings alone, a second lot
on corn meal alone, and a third lot on a mixture of corn meal and
middlings. To make an increase of 100 lbs. in their live weight, the
pigs in Lot 1 ate 522 lbs. of middlings, those in Lot 2 ate 537 lbs. of
corn meal to make an equal increase in weight, whilst Lot 3, which were
fed on a mixture of corn meal and middlings, required only 439 lbs., or
a saving of one-fifth in the weight of food. In experiments with regard
to the food value of corn meal and middlings carried out at the
Missouri College, middlings also gave the best returns, but
unfortunately the ages of the pigs used in the trials are omitted. This
is important as middlings are considered to be of more value in the
feeding of young than of older pigs, whilst the reverse holds good of
corn or maize meal. Other trials were carried out at Wisconsin with the
use of wheat meal alone as compared with a mixture of half wheat and
half corn meal. In these the average quantity of wheat meal required for
100 lbs. increased live weight was 500 lbs., whilst only 485 lbs. of the
mixture of wheat and corn meals was needed to obtain an equal increase
or a saving of some 5 per cent was obtained by mixing the meals.
In the good old times it was considered to be the height of folly to
make a change in the food on which the pigs were being fattened, yet our
forbears would have been horrified had they been informed that it was
imperative that they themselves should have no variety of food, that day
after day the food at their various meals should be exactly similar;
surely what is good for one animal should be good for another animal
whose organs are of an exactly similar character. There is not the
slightest doubt that advantage is derived from the variation in the food
on which the pigs are being fattened. By this, it is not intended to
suggest that a complete change of food should be made at stated times in
the fatting pigs' food, as this would certainly result in a loss of time
and food, but that a slight variation in the proportions of the
different kinds of food is beneficial, or in the case where several
different kinds of food are being fed as a mixture, another kind of
food may be substituted so that the change made secures a variation
which has the effect of whetting or enticing the appetite. A long
continuance of the same kind of food has the effect of dulling the
appetite. In addition to this, it is considered that a variation in the
food tends to stimulate the digestive organs.
It is a mistake to allow too long a time to pass between feeding times;
the pig is not endowed by nature with a capacious paunch which enables
it to stow away a large quantity of food. Even the old system of feeding
twice a day might be improved upon, and the fatting pig fed three times
per day would make greater thrift, even should the actual daily quantity
of food be not increased.
Again, so many persons are apt to give to the fatting pig a greater
quantity of food than it requires or can eat with comfort to itself at
one meal. Should this be pointed out to them, their usual reply would be
that what the pig did not eat for their breakfast would be there in
readiness for the evening meal unless they ate it during the day, as
they frequently would do. This sounds plausible until the argument be
closely examined. What would the pigman think if he were treated in a
similar manner and an excessive quantity of food placed on his plate,
and then at the next meals the stale food be again placed before him
until it was finished? This certainly would not increase his appetite
nor aid his digestion. Yet the most successful pigman is he who succeeds
in so feeding his charges that they daily eat and thoroughly digest the
greatest amount of food possible. In pig fattening, as in many other
things, time is money. Further it is just as much a mistake for fatting
pigs as for human beings to be continually eating, or at irregular
intervals, small quantities of food. The two most certain indications
that a lot of fatting pigs are thriving is to find that they are asleep
and that their feeding troughs are empty. When pigs are fed a greater
quantity of food than they can eat at once they will be frequently
getting up to eat a little more of the surplus, and each time they rise
from their bed they will evacuate their bowels, and in most cases before
the major portion of the nutriment has been extracted.
Still another of the fallacies of our forbears was that the fatting pig
made the greatest increase from a given quantity of food when it was at
least approaching maturity and ripeness, or complete fatness. It was
useless to argue with them, since anyone could see that it was so. If
you suggested the use of the scales, the idea was scouted, since a
person of any experience in pig fatting must be able to notice the
increase in bulk of the pig. It is true that apparently the pig would be
making a greater increase of weight as it approached the completion of
its fatting process, since the addition to its weight and bulk would be
almost entirely composed of fat which could only be deposited on the
outside of the carcase. All the vacant space in the interior of the pig
would have been occupied, the pig would have stored fat away in its
muscles, around its kidneys, on its stomach, its bowels, and wherever it
was possible to stow it away, but these additions to the weight of the
carcase which had been proceeding in the early stages of the fatting
could not be observed, nevertheless they were proceeding, and in this
was the pig enabled in its early stage of fatting to make a profitable
return for the food consumed.
Fortunately we are not left on this point to mere conjecture; many
experiments have clearly proved that in the early stages of the life of
a pig it is enabled to manufacture pork at a far less cost than in its
later stages of life. The young pig also possesses over its older
companion the great advantage of being able to eat and utilise a greater
quantity of food in proportion to its weight or, in other words, the
young pig can convert a greater quantity of raw material into the
manufactured article than the more matured pig, in proportion to the
amount of food required for the mere upkeep of the machinery.
Experiments which most clearly prove this have been duplicated in
Denmark, in the United States, etc. At Copenhagen nearly seventy
different experiments were carried out with pigs of varying weights,
with the result that pigs weighing about 275 lbs. live weight were found
to require nearly twice as much food to make an increase in their live
weight as did pigs weighing from 35 to 75 lbs. That this was not an
exceptional case is clearly proved by the fact that the increase in the
amount of food required to enable them to make an increase in their live
weight was gradual, and shown in every stage; thus pigs of from 35 to 75
lbs. consumed 376 lbs. of food for each 100 lbs. increase; pigs of 75 to
115 lbs., 435 lbs.; pigs of 115 to 155 lbs., 466 lbs.; pigs of 155 lbs.
to 195 lbs., 513 lbs.; pigs of 195 lbs. to 235 lbs., 540 lbs.; pigs of
235 lbs. to 275 lbs., 614 lbs.; and pigs of 275 lbs. to 315 lbs., 639
lbs.
Even if this series of experiments stood alone they surely would prove
most conclusively that the common belief in old and nearly fat pigs
giving the best return from the food consumed is founded on fiction, but
similar tests were made at many of the American Experiment Stations,
these tests together numbering some hundred. The results are given in
tabulated form in Henry's _Feeds and Feeding_, where the various points
are so clearly brought out that we have taken the liberty of lifting the
whole of the notes relating to "weight, gain, and feed consumed" by
pigs. "At many of our stations, records of weights and gains of pigs and
feed consumed by them have been so reported as to permit of studies
concerning the influence of increased size and weight of the animal on
the consumption of food.
"All of the available data from trials of this character conducted in
this country" (the United States) "up to the time of going to press,
enter into the composition of the table given below. In compiling this
table, six pounds of skim milk or twelve pounds of whey are calculated
as equal to one pound of grain, according to the Danish valuation of
these articles. For convenience of study, the data are presented for
each period covering fifty pounds of growth, the actual average weight
of the pigs, however, being given for each division:
DATA RELATIVE TO FEED, WEIGHT, AND GAIN OF PIGS--
MANY AMERICAN STATIONS
-------------+-----------+------------+----------+---------+
| | | | |
Weight of | Actual | No. of | Total | No. of |
pigs in | Average | stations | No. of | animals |
pounds. | weight. | reporting. | trials. | fed. |
| | | | |
-------------+-----------+------------+----------+---------+
| lbs. | | | |
15 to 50 | 38 | 9 | 41 | 174 |
50 " 100 | 78 | 13 | 100 | 417 |
100 " 150 | 128 | 13 | 119 | 495 |
150 " 200 | 174 | 11 | 107 | 489 |
200 " 250 | 226 | 12 | 72 | 300 |
250 " 300 | 271 | 8 | 46 | 223 |
300 " 350 | 320 | 3 | 19 | 105 |
-------------+-----------+------------+----------+---------+
350 " 400 | 378 | 1 | 5 | 36 |
400 " 450 | 429 | 1 | 5 | 36 |
450 " 500 | 471 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
-------------+-----------+------------+----------+---------+
-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------
| Average | Feed | |
Weight of | feed | eaten per | Average | Feed for
pigs in | eaten | 100 lbs. | gain per | 100 lbs.
pounds. | per day. | weight. | day. | gain.
| | | |
-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------
| lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs.
15 to 50 | 2.23 | 5.95 | .76 | 293
50 " 100 | 3.35 | 4.32 | .83 | 400
100 " 150 | 4.79 | 3.75 | 1.10 | 437
150 " 200 | 5.91 | 3.43 | 1.24 | 482
200 " 250 | 6.57 | 2.91 | 1.33 | 498
250 " 300 | 7.40 | 2.74 | 1.46 | 511
300 " 350 | 7.50 | 2.35 | 1.40 | 535
-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------
350 " 400 | 8.52 | 2.25 | 1.98 | 431
400 " 450 | 8.18 | 1.91 | 1.71 | 479
450 " 500 | 10.00 | 2.12 | 1.77 | 562
-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------
"In the above table the large number of trials reported for pigs
weighing up to 350 lbs. each furnishes reliable data. After this point
is reached the number of animals is too small to give reliable averages.
The heavy weight hogs reported in the last three lines of the table were
fed by the writer (Professor Henry). They were mature specimens, with
large frames and in lean flesh when feeding began, having been summered
on pasture without grain. The figures are introduced to show what may be
accomplished with mature hogs when they are in thin flesh at the
beginning of fattening.
"We learn from the main portion of the table that from 105 to 435 pigs
were employed in calculating each line of data. The number of trials
furnishing the data varied from 19 to 119, and were conducted by from 3
to 13 experiment stations.
"Amount of food consumed daily by the pig. The sixth column of the table
shows the average amount of feed consumed daily by pigs of different
weights. From it we learn that pigs weighing less than 50 lbs. each,
averaging 38 lbs., consumed on the average 2.23 lbs. of grain or grain
equivalent, daily. As the animal increased in weight there was a gradual
increase in the amount of food consumed, until we find the 450 lbs. hog
eating 10 lbs. of grain daily, or more than four times as much as the 50
lbs. pig.
"Feed per 100 lbs. live weight: In the seventh column it is shown that
pigs weighing 38 lbs. consumed 5.95 lbs. of feed for each 100 lbs. of
live weight. This is about 6 per cent of their live weight. As the pigs
grew larger they consumed less feed for 100 lbs. of live weight, until
with the heaviest hogs the feed consumed was little more than 2 per cent
of their live weight. Here was a decrease of about two-thirds in the
feed consumption per 100 lbs. between early weight and maturity.
"Average daily gain: In the next column are presented data concerning
the daily gain of the pig. It is shown that the 38 lb. pig gained .76 of
a lb., or 2 per cent of its own weight daily. As it increased in size
the pig made larger daily gains, the maximum being reached with those
weighing 271 lbs., which made a daily gain of 1.46 lb. With large thin
hogs the gain reached 1.98 lb., or practically 2 lbs. per day, but these
animals, because of their mature frames and thin flesh, were fed under
exceptional circumstances.
"Feed for 100 lbs. of gain: The last column is of interest to all,
especially the practical feeder, for it teaches a most interesting and
important lesson concerning the feed requirements of pigs. Those which
average 38 lbs. each made 100 lbs. of gain from 293 lbs. of feed. This
exceedingly small allowance of feed for gain was probably due in part to
the fact that the young pigs used in these trials received much milk,
which was practically all digestible, the other feed being also more
highly digestible than that usually supplied older animals. With pigs
weighing 78 lbs., 400 lbs. of feed were required for 100 lbs. of gain.
There was a gradual increase of feed requirements for 100 lbs. of gain,
until the hog weighing 320 lbs. required 525 lbs. for each 100 lbs. of
gain. This is 135 lbs. or 33 per cent more feed than was required by the
78 lbs. pig."
These tables prove most conclusively that the idea which is almost
universally prevalent that the fatting pig gives the greatest increase
for the food which it consumes when it becomes matured and nearly fat is
an entirely mistaken one, and that the young and growing pig, if well
kept, not only eats more in proportion to its weight, but gives a better
return for the food it consumes, besides requiring a smaller amount of
food to keep life within itself, and to replace the certain loss
sustained by movement, etc. There is still another point on which the
young pig scores: its carcase realises a higher price per lb. on a
majority of the markets. The fatting pig which pays best is one which
has a short life and a merry one, never having to seek or wait for its
food.
Amongst the many other questions which have been compelled attention
owing to the shortage and the high value of pig food, is that of the
advisability or the reverse of cooking the food given to pigs. When the
practice of showing stock became fashionable every possible means of
forcing the exhibits was practised, since early maturity was of so great
importance, especially in the classes for the younger animals. The
cooking of the stronger kinds of food such as old beans for horses had
been found beneficial, as the risk of fever in the feet and other
ailments had been greatly reduced by this practice. The stock man
naturally concluded that the cooking or steaming of beans having proved
to be of advantage, similar good results would follow the steaming of
the other kinds of food. In this fanciful theory they would have been
able to find ample support in many of the books on stock feeding which
were published in the first half of the last century and even later.
Like many other novelties, the steaming or boiling of almost all kinds
of food for animals was followed in the establishments of well-to-do
persons where cost was studied less than success in the show yards.
Then, as now, the Germans took little for granted, they proceeded to
test the much belauded new plan by attempting to discover the fact as to
whether steaming rendered hay more digestible when fed to cattle, with
the result that it was clearly proved that when the hay was fed dry 46
per cent of the protein was digested by the cattle while only 30 per
cent was digested from the steamed hay. But as our present business is
with pig-feeding, we will confine our remarks to the results of
experiments carried out to test the effects of cooking the food of pigs.
Perhaps the best summary of these is to be found in the most valuable
work, _Feeds and Feeding_, by Professor Henry, who wrote _Experiments
with Cooked Feed for Pigs_.
These have been so numerous that all cannot be here presented. Those
given are selected because they are strictly representative, covering a
wide range of country foods and conditions.
"At the Kansas Agricultural College, Shelton fed one lot of five pigs on
cooked shelled corn, while a second lot of four, similar in all
respects, was given uncooked shelled corn, the trial lasting ninety
days. In cooking, the corn was placed in a barrel and water poured over
it; into this mass a pipe carried steam, at a pressure ranging from 30
to 60 lbs. The kernels were cooked until they were sufficiently soft
to be easily mashed between the thumb and finger.
"At the Iowa Agricultural College, Stalker conducted trials for 120 days
in summer with cooked and uncooked shelled corn fed to Berkshire pigs.
"At the Dominion (Canada) Station, Robertson fed grade Chester Whites, a
mixture of ground peas, barley, and rye, the trials beginning in
December and lasting 141 days.
"At the Ohio Station, Devol fed pure bred Poland Chinas and Berkshires
for 112 days in winter. One lot of three pigs received the meal cooked,
while to the second lot it was given dry and uncooked.
"At the Wisconsin Station, the writer (Henry) has conducted many trials
with cooked and uncooked feed for pigs. Only the later ones are here
reported. These trials lasted from 56 to 84 days each, the kinds of feed
experimented being given in the table.
"The five trials reported from the Wisconsin Station, as will be seen by
consulting the table, are slightly in favour of cooked food, the
difference being very small, however. These are the only feeding trials
reported from any experiment station, so far as known to the writer,
where the results are favourable to cooking. Ten other trials by the
writer with cooked and uncooked feed for swine all gave results
unfavourable to cooking these, and a number of trials at other stations
with cooked and uncooked feed for swine are not included for want of
space."
A table showing the stations at which the various experiments were
carried out, the numbers and weights of the pigs, the varieties of
foods, the duration of the different trials, the daily gain, the weights
of cooked and uncooked food consumed, the manner of cooking, the total
increases in weight and the quantities of cooked and uncooked food
required for increases of 100 lbs. in the live weights of the pigs are
given. Professor Henry sums these up and writes: "Including all the
trials then, so far as is known, that have been favourable to cooking
feed and omitting many for lack of space, that are unfavourable to that
operation, the average shows that 476 lbs. of uncooked meal or grain
were required for 100 lbs. of gain with pigs, while after it was cooked
505 lbs. were required. This shows a loss of 6 per cent of the feeding
value of these substances through cooking."
Some thirty-five years since the present writer made some small
experiments in the feeding of cooked and uncooked whole maize; in each
case it was found that the pigs ate a greater quantity of uncooked than
cooked maize, and made a greater proportionate increase in weight from
the food consumed. Only one opinion appears to be possible, and this is
that the cooking of food for pigs, save potatoes, entails a loss of
time, an increase in cost, and a reduced return.