Barnes, Herbert M.

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Revised, May, 1951 Extension Bulletin 234 Brood Sow Management By Herbert M. Barnes, Extension Animal Husbandman The hog producer's profit is often made or lost before pigs are born, be-cause the key to profit during most sea-sons is in the satisfactory production of his brood sows. Good production is meas-ured by the number and weight of the healthy, vigorous feeder pigs weaned. Usually five pigs sold at market time will pay all costs on the Jitter, including the sow's share. Larger litters are nec-essary for profit. Your brood sow will have certain abili-ties to produce. It is your job to feed and manage her in the way that wiJJ help to do the best possible job. Three factors influence the number and size of pigs you can raise. These are-first, the inherited ability of the sow; second, your management, or handling, of the herd; and third, the kind and amount of feeds you will use. Selecting the Sow Swine breeders and feeders have learned, through experience, that certain features of conformation or shape can be used in picking brood sows. Length, depth, and smoothness of body, breed and sex character, i;oundness, and udder de-velopment are features which indicate constitution, breeding and feeding ca-pacity, and possible carcass quality. Such an appraisal of the live gilt, how-ever, does not tell us anything of her in-herited ability to produce. To know more of the production history of the parents, some marking and record keeping must be done. A commercial producer should mark and keep records on enough litters to furnish his annual quota of replace-ment gilts. Here are points which rate "A plus" in the history of all gilts kept for brood sows: 1. Her dam raised at least eight pigs to weaning, unless the pigs were lost through herdsman's mistakes. 2. Her dam needed no assistance at farrowing time and was not cross and nervous at farrowing time. 3. Her dam always produced pigs that weighed at least 21h pounds at birth. 4. Her dam was a good milker, whose pigs averaged at least 30 pounds when weaned at 8 weeks of age. 5. Her dam was not late and irregular in settling to service. 6. Her dam was of acceptable confor-Figure 1.-"Good Luck" comes from careful selection and management. This litter of ten pigs averaged 4 pounds each at birth. mation or type. The main points in the type are: a. Sows should be smooth and free from wrinkles; deep bodies; long, roomy middle with a moderate arch of back; wide in the chest; level un-derline; and with full, deep hams. b. Sows should be feminine as shown by a trim head, neck, jowls; and with a good udder development, having 12 or more teats prominent and evenly spaced. Discard any sow with inverted or "blind" teats. c. Sows should have straight legs of medium length, strong pasterns, and an easy walk. d. Mature sows should weigh from 500 to 700 pounds when in good flesh. Very large sows are clumsy and their pigs are often late in ma-turing. Sows too small and fine-boned very often produce pigs that make slow gains. Summer Feeding Management Feeding and management greatly in-fluence the number of live pigs born, as well as their size and vigor. Recent ex-periments show that baby pigs may die 2 or 3 weeks after breeding time and be missed in counting those lost at farrow-ing. Therefore, good management and feeding for your sow herd is a constant problem. Most careful feeding during the last month of gestation will not re-pair mistakes made earlier. Summer feeding is quite simple. It is made so by the rich legume pastures that are available then. Any cropping plan that lengthens the pasture season is good for your swine enterprise. Good legume pasture is a rich, yet inexpensive, source of readily available protein, vitamin, and mineral elements. Good pasture, with ample shade and clean water, needs only to be supplemented by limited feeding of a balanced ration. Winter Feeding Management Problems of feeding and management become more complicated during the cold winter months. As a result many sows have poor litters, although in-herently the sows are good. Your job is to provide conditions as nearly identical with summertime as you can without creating high expendi-tures in money or labor. You will need to see that pregnant sows obtain plenty of exercise, as they do when on pasture in the summer. You will need to see that they receive the vitamins, minerals, and proteins that good legume pastures contain. Reasons are simple and reason-able for these precautions. A little pig is largely composed of muscle, bone, and Figure 2.-0ur best-fed sows are those that enjoy the best pasture for the longest season. These sows. shown on a ladino-grass pasture 6 weeks after weaning their litters, were hand-fed about 3 Y2 pounds of corn daily. They paid little attention to supplement and mineral mixture provided in a self-feeder. Note how well the legume is grazed. water. Protein is needed to build muscle, minerals are needed to build bone, and some of the vitamins help in the diges-tion and assimilation of the other nu-trients. In addition, there is a need fo1· some energy feeds, such as grain, to supply the energy for the sows them-selves. Importance of exercising the brood sow often is overlooked. Brood sows have a tendency to become lazy, and as the pregnancy period pai;,ses, the more lazy they become. Exercise helps elimi-nate body wastes, and a pregnant sow must not only eleminate her own wastes, but also those produced by the de-veloping fetus. If she becomes consti-pated, poisons or toxins build up to cause weak and dead pigs. For a system of winter feeding and management that has proven very good under Ohio conditions, include the fol-lowing practices: 1. Keep sows on clean winter range so that they will get plenty of exercise and, in addition, will not be so likely to be contaminated with parasites. 2. Feed alfalfa or other good legume hay. You may feed this in racks, or ground and mixed with the other feed. There is no set amount of hay required for winter rations, and amounts may vary from 12 to 40 percent of the total ration. The higher the amount, the less the need for additional protein and minerals. 3. When the amount of alfalfa hay is limited, supply additional quantities of protein and minerals. 4. It is better to feed a mixture of grains than corn alone, but this is not absolutely necessary. 5. Hand feed grain and concentrates so that sows do not become too fat. Hand feeding also permits you to work with the sows so that they do not become cross and nervous at farrowing. 6. Supply plenty of clean drinking water. This is difficult in cold weather un-less you have an automatic waterer with a heater to use. 7. Feed sows at some distance from their shelter so that they must take exercise or go hungry. 8. If sows have a tendency to become constipated, cut down on the corn and increase bulky feeds such as alfalfa, oats, or bran. Rations for the Brood Sow The ration for an animal includes the kinds and amounts of feeds necessary to provide the nutritive requirements for one day. Howe»er, the word ration also i3 widely used to include the formula for a mixture of feeds prepared in volume. Choice of feeds to be used depends largely on the types that are produced at home. Rations may vary in their grain ingred-ients and still be equally successful. 1. Summer gestation. a. High quality pasture, with grain to keep them in medium flesh. Pro-tein supplement to be fed at the rate of % pound per head per day. b. 70 pounds corn 25 pounds oats 5 pounds of a 40 percent protein supplement mixture Feed 3 to 6 pounds per head daily, de-pending on size and condition. 2. Winter Gestation. Legume hay is the foundation of the winter ration mix-ture. It is used to try to bridge the gap between pasture seasons. Little is known about the use of grass silage in this period. Some practical Ohio hog pro-ducers, however, are getting good results by feeding up to 172 pounds per head daily. They advise caution because silage wlil tend to be laxative. a. Good leafy alfalfa hay in racks free choice. 1 bushel oats + 1 bu. corn 10 pounds mixed protein supplement 1 pound of a mineral mixture b. 50 pounds corn. 25 pounds oats, or wheat middlings 14 pounds alfalfa meal 10 pounds mixed protein supplement 1 pound mineral mixture Foregoing mixtures must be handfed. Gilts need 1 %. to 2 pounds of feed daily for each 100 pounds they weigh. Sows need 1 ~ to 172 pounds of feed daily per 100 pounds body weight. Corn may be fed on the ear. To do this, grind other ingredients and feed required amount in the morning. Feed corn portion in the evening. e. 30 pounds corn 30 pounds oats 30 pounds alfalfa meal 9 pounds mixed protein supplement 1 pound mineral mixture This ration is designed for self-feeding. Not all self-feeders are satisfactory for sows, and a light bulky mixture may not feed down smoothly. Check the opera-tion of the feeders and the condition of the sows daily. Protein supplement recommendations above are based on the use of home-mixed or commercial 40 percent supplement. P1otein and mineral supplement formulas are in Bulletin 235, "Swine Feeding." Farrowing Time Management As farrowing time approaches, your chores inc1 ease. Most of your visible losses will occur at this time. Thus, your skillful handling of the sow in the far-rowing pen will pay you directly in pigs saved. Summer farrowing is much easier, be-cause you have the advantages of better weather and pasture. However, in Ohio it is profitable to farro\V and raise early spring pigs in order to have them :fin-ished to sell on the August and September high markets. This list of chores will help you to help your sows to save more pigs. 1. Know when your sows are due to farrow. If you record the breeding date, you can plan the farrowing operation. 2. Starting a week or 10 days before farrowing, put more bulky materials in the ration. Substitute ground oats, rolled oats, or bran for the corn and supple-ment in the mixture. Make these changes gradually. Do not reduce amount of feed for the sow daily. 3. Prepare the farrowing pen or indi-vidual house by scrubbing and scalding. Then make it dry and draft free and bedded lightly. 4 .. Wash the sow with soap and water. Weather and facilities may prevent a complete washing. But carefully wash the udder and hind parts at least. 5. Pen the sow 2 or 3 days before far-rowing. Watch her closely for signs of constipation. Give her plenty of water to drink. 6. If the sow is quiet at farrowing, do not disturb her unless it appears she needs help. Usually, she will be :finished in 2 or 3 hours. 7. If the sow appears to be having diffi-culty in farrowing, or fails to "give down" her milk for the pigs, consult a veterinarian. 8. Give the sow water when she gets up after farro\\ mg. If she searches for feed and acts hung1 y, feed her lightly. 9. On the day after farrowing, begin full feeding the sow. Gradually replace the corn and supplement in the ration and take out some of the bulky materials. Be cautious with the protein suplement, for a rapid increase may cause scouring, especially if you have enteritis infection in the herd. 10. At 10 days after farrowing, feed the sow all she will eat of a ration sim-ilar to this: 60 pounds cracked corn 20 pounds coarsely ground wheat or finely ground oats 20 pounds 40 percent supplement 11. Move the sow and pigs to clean pasture lots as soon as possible. One acre is enough for th1 ee sows and their litters. Usually it is best to have no more than six sows and their litters in one lot. Weaning Time Management A good brood sow may reproduce her own weight in the milk she gives during the 8 week nursing period. Her milk flow reaches its peak at the fifth week after farrowing, then declines gradually and allows weaning the litter at 8 weeks. Ohio producers find it necessary to wean at this age in order to keep on schedule with their system of two litters per year. At weaning time two problems oc-cur. These are how to dry up the sows smoothly and avoid udder troubles, and how to "filJSh" the sows so that they will come in heat and settle promptly. Most sows will dry up easily after the eighth week. Full feeding of a rich ration, such as the nursing ration, then makes the sows gain in weight and flushes them. Flushing is the practice of putting the sow in a rising condition of nutrition. This increased feeding of a balanced ration stimulates the body functions. You will want activity and efficiency in the reproductive processes at this time. Remember, too, disease and parasite problems must be avoided. The advice o:f your veterinarian on how to keep your herd healthy is as important as his help in treating a sick herd. 5/51/17M THE 0BIO STATE UNIVEIRSlTY AND TBE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUT,TURE, COOPERATING AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE, c. M. FERGUSON, Director, Columbuo. Ohio Printed and distributed in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914 

Brood sow management

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Brood sow management

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