OCR Text |
Show PROPER AGE FOR BREEDING Pigs From Old Sows' Weigh More Than Those From Gilts More Bone and Growth Secured. (By A. O. CHOATE.) If we breed and raise our own sows we always have to have a young sow before we can have an old one, but as a rule I breed from old sows and if I hr.ve any that have not proven satisfactory satis-factory I cull them out and select thu young gilts to take their places. I find that the pigs from my old sows always weigh from 25 to 50 pounds more at ten months old than the pigs from the young sows. They teem to have more bone and are more growthy. This is my reason for breeding breed-ing from old sows. There is one rule which I alwaya follow and that is, never to breed a gilt so that she will have pigs until she is at least a year old and I always let them run with the rest of the shoats until about two months before I expect to sell the bunch and then separate them. As a rule this is about breeding time when they will weigh about 175 pounds and not be fat, just in good breeding order. My reason for keeping old breeding sows is I can get more bone and more growth on the litter and two litters a year. |