_ CHAPTER XVI. A PIG CALENDAR
The pig-keeper, like the gardener, seldom has to seek for employment, indeed his work may be said to be only occasionally completed. There are always many little odd jobs to do, which if neglected may result in loss, or a greatly increased amount of work at some later period. The old proverb "A stitch in time saves nine" is equally as true in connection with pig keeping as with any other form of work.
In years gone by the month of January was considered to be quite a slack time for pig-keepers, the sows and the store pigs usually found the greater part of their living in the yards where the cattle were fed on the straw which was continually being placed in the cribs as the old-man-of-the-farm threshed the corn out of it with his flail. Many of the cribs had slatted bottoms so that any kernels of corn which were left in the straw would drop through and be picked up by the pigs which found their way under the cribs. In most of the old-fashioned large yards a corner would be railed off in which the pigs would be given a few turnips, swedes, or small potatoes, and occasionally a handful or two of beans or even a sheaf of beans. Those fatting pigs which had not already been converted into bacon for consumption in the farm-house were fed mainly on meal ground at the local wind or water mill from the tail corn grown by the farmer. At the present time the most up-to-date pig-keepers so arrange that many of the older sows farrow during this month of January so that the sows have their second litter of the year late in the month of June or early in July in order that both litters of pigs obtain the greatest amount of benefit from the growing and hot season, since pigs thrive best when the days are lengthening and when the sun shines.
Of late years we appear to have had somewhat severe weather in January. This has rendered it the more necessary that care should be taken in providing water and wind-tight sties, in which the sows farrow. Warmth with free ventilation is needed. The latter is particularly necessary after the pigs are a few days old, as these do not suffer so much from cold as they do from damp and draughts. Of course whilst the sow is farrowing warmth is imperative, as the moist little pigs when first ejected very quickly become chilled in severe frost, unless they are promptly wiped with a dry cloth, allowed a draught or two of new milk from the sow, and then placed in a box or hamper three parts filled with dry wheat straw. When once the pigs become thoroughly dry the cold does not affect them very much, providing that the sow furnishes her family with a full supply of milk. The cost of heating a little water so that the sow and also the young pigs as soon as they begin to eat may have warmed food, will be slight, as there is nearly always a fire required in cottage and farm-house during the cold weather. Warm food makes a vast difference in the thrift of pigs, especially of young ones. Very slight observation will reveal the marked difference in the comfort of a pig which has had a meal of warm or of cold food. In the former case the pig will return to its nest and is soon lost in sleep, whilst the poor beggar which has had its breakfast on cold and occasionally frozen food will be the picture of misery and shaking with cold, much of its natural heat produced from its last meal being required to warm up the food ere its digestive organs can commence work. Coal and wood are at all times less expensive to warm up food than the animal fat which is burned in nature's lamp.
Provision should have been made for the supply of some kind of vegetable food which pigs require, particularly when in confinement. Kohl rabi, swedes and cabbages, of which the first named is the best, are all suitable, but the most nourishing are artichokes, which like the three former should be fed raw, and potatoes which should be cooked ere they are fed to the pigs. The difference in the feeding value between cooked and uncooked potatoes is great. It is scarcely necessary to point out that all vegetable food fed to pigs should have been protected from frost.
The operations connected with pig-keeping are very similar in February to those of the preceding month. Towards the end of the month kohl rabis will have lost much of their feeding value. On sunny days a run out for a few minutes will be of great benefit to the young pigs over a month old; as soon as they cease to gallop about they should be shut up again, as if allowed to lie down they may contract a chill which might result in "cramp" or rheumatism. Sows with litters two or three weeks old should be allowed out of the sty each morning and afternoon for a short time.
The month of March brings with it an extra amount of work for the pig-keeper, who will now think of selling the pigs born early in January unless he purposes to keep them on and have them ready for sale as fat pigs in harvest time, when there is always a good demand for medium sized fat pigs. Anyway the sow pigs intended for breeding will have been picked out and earmarked, this last should not be neglected after the others have been spayed.
This last operation has of late years been much neglected; this is a great mistake, as experiments have clearly proved that on an average sow pigs which have been spayed will make an equal gain in live weight on 5 per cent less food than will an unspayed sow pig, when both have become some five or six months old, and the periods of [oe]strum have commenced.
The sows which farrowed in January should now be weaned from their pigs, and should be ready to be mated within a few days. The sows should be carefully watched for the signs of heat or restlessness. Some sows give little indication of this unrest, which is almost certain to appear within four or five days providing the sow is in a healthy and vigorous condition. To miss the sow means a loss of three weeks of most valuable time, besides the risk of trouble in getting the sow to conceive after she had been baulked. With the passing of the month swedes and artichokes will have lost much of their nourishment; mangolds can now take their place. It is a good plan to expose the mangolds to the air for a few days prior to feeding them to the pigs; this exposure hastens their ripening and reduces the proportion of water. Of course care must be taken to prevent them becoming frozen, as in March this might be the case.
In the Southern counties tares, lucerne, and grass are sufficiently forward towards the end of April to be cut and fed to the pigs which are confined in the buildings. The pigs both fat and store will fully repay the cost of labour in the cutting and carting of these vegetable foods. Brood sows both in pig and with litters dependent on them, should be allowed their liberty in the grass fields. This will both greatly reduce the cost of keep and tend to their thrift and well doing. Young pigs over a month old should have a run out both morning and afternoon. Newly weaned pigs which have been well done are always in keen request in the months of April and May at prices higher than in any other portion of the year, owing to the demand from the cheese-makers who have a superabundance of whey, of which 12 lbs. when fed in proper combination is considered to be equal in value to 1 lb. of meal. Unfortunately, so many dairymen do not study the requirements of the pig, and imagine that it will give a good return from an excess of liquid in the form of whey. Without some concentrated food the pig will not thrive on whey. Numbers of young pigs are also required in those districts where butter-making is carried on to consume the butter milk, and in ordinary times much of the separated or skim milk. In the feeding of this again the results are not so good as they should be owing to neglect. Both foods have been rendered unbalanced owing to the extraction of the butter fat, so that although new milk may be fed alone, the others require additional food which should contain some oil or fat to be fed with them, or they cause indigestion and want of thrift, particularly in young and immature pigs.
The roots of all kinds, save potatoes and mangolds, have ceased to be of much value before April ends, vetches and lucerne will prove to be the best of substitutes. Spring cabbages are generally of more value for human consumption than can be obtained from their use as pig food. If there be any grass land available the in-pig sows and the stores, should there be such, should now find the major portion of their food out of doors.
As a rule far too little attention is paid to the growth of lucerne in this country. It is undoubtedly one of the most nutritive of our vegetable crops. It also produces a large weight of food extending over several months, and continues fruitful for many years providing attention is paid to the keeping it free from grasses. It has the additional advantage of furnishing a full supply of food when the weather is so dry that grass and some other foods produce little. It is true that in the initial stage it requires time and care, but the results from it amply repay both. One of the best seasons for sowing it is the month of May. The operation is simple, the land having been cleared the seed is sown in drills about 1 ft. apart, the quantity of seed required being at the rate of 20 lbs. per acre, say 2 oz. per pole or a drill 35 yards long. As soon as the plants are high enough the land should be hand hoed, and if kept free of weeds a light crop can generally be cut from it towards the end of August. In the following years it will produce at least three cuttings annually.
Some persons are of opinion that as lucerne is such a deep-rooted plant manure is unnecessary. It is true that the roots penetrate several feet into the soil, still an application of short manure or rotted vegetable matter applied each autumn will give a good return.
The chief point in the use of lucerne for pigs and in the production of a maximum crop is to cut it when young. The pigs will thrive on it far better in this state than when the stalks become hard and sticky. In the latter stage it is likely to cause constipation. It is best not to graze it with either horses, cattle, or pigs, but benefit to it results from folding it in the autumn with ewes or other sheep which find most of their other food on the stubbles, commons, heaths, etc.
All the sows and the yelts intended for breeding should now spend their whole time out of doors. It might be noted that lucerne will grow on almost any kind of land providing it is well drained--stagnant water destroys it.
The duties of the pig-keeper are very similar in the month of June to those of the previous month. Prior to the outbreak of war it was becoming general amongst the most practical pigmen to continue to fatten pigs all the year round. The old-fashioned idea that pork was not a suitable food during any of the months in which there was not the letter "r" had become exploded. Not only did the bacon curers require a supply of fat pigs weighing from 200 to 220 lbs. alive, but there was a good demand from the butchers for small fat pigs weighing from 80 to 140 lbs. alive.
It must not be forgotten that a smaller quantity of food is required to produce a pound of pork during the summer than during the winter months. This has been clearly proved in many experiments. The difference varies according to the temperature. In the very cold weather experienced in some portions of the United States it was found that some pigs actually made no increase in weight when well fed, the whole of the nutriment having to be utilised in keeping up the bodily warmth of the pigs.
The months of July and August see little change in the duties of the attendant on pigs. The old-fashioned plan of running the pigs on the corn stubbles has almost gone out of fashion. The improved system of harvesting the crops leaves less corn on the land, whilst the cost of labour in keeping the pigs is almost prohibitive. At one time there used to be a keen demand for young pigs in the month of August for so-called "shacking" or running on the stubbles. Experience has proved that these pigs pay less frequently under present conditions than they did under the old ones.
The scarcity of vegetable food which usually shows itself in August is now, in September, met to a considerable extent by the plan of the early digging of potatoes. Large quantities of chats, and sometimes of slightly diseased ones are now cooked and fed to the pigs with a certain proportion of meal. As a rule there is a keen demand for pork in the month of September. Towards the end of the month all pigs should be under shelter at night.
During the last three months of the year there is little variation in the management of pigs. One of the common mistakes made by farmers is to neglect their pigs in the autumn, at the very season when a little extra food is needed, and for which the pigs will give a better return than at almost any time of the year. The early portion of October is one of the best periods for mating the sows, the yelts may be left until the latter part of the month so that their pigs do not arrive until the month of February when the days are lengthening and the sun has more power. It is advisable to have many of the fat pigs ready for market ere the month of November ends, as the demand for pork is usually slack for two or three weeks prior to and after Christmas. _