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Show Value Demonstrated in Recent Experiments at Beltsville. PLAN IS VERY PRACTICABLE Grade Berkshires, Uniform in Size, Averaging 93 Pounds Were Used Ample Room for Exercise Was Given Animals. (From the United States Department of Agriculture.) The value of the self-feeder method of fattening pigs was demonstrated in an experiment recently carried out at the experimental farm of the bureau of animal industry at Beltsville, Md. The object was to determine the value of this system as compared with the ordinary or-dinary method of hand feeding. The pigs used in the experiment were grade Berkshires farrowed in the fall of 1013. They averaged 93 pounds per head when the experiment started. The hand-fed lot were fed three times daily, the amount being governed by the appetites. The ration given the hand-fed hogs was composed of 5 parts cornmeal, 4 parts middlings and 1 part tankage. The cornmeal and supplements supple-ments were mixed dry. Just before feeding, the amount to be' fed was weighed and then mixed into a thick i ; i Inexpensive Self-Feeder. slop, enough water being used to make the slop pour out of the bucket without with-out sticking. The feeding was done at 7 and 11:30 o'clock In the forenoon and 4:30 o'clock in the afternoon. The self-fed lot had free access at all times to cornmeal, middlings and tankage in separate compartments of a self-feeder. Close watch was kept on the feeder, and a supply of each feed maintained. Both lots of pigs were kept in dry lots a quarter of an acre in size. The pigs were given ample room for exercise exer-cise and sufficient shelter. The pigs in both lots had access to a mineral mixture composed of : Charcoal, bushel J Hardwood ashes, bushel 1 Salt, pounds 8 Air-slaker lime, pounds 8 Sulphur, pounds 4 Pulverized copperas, pounds 2 Summary of Results. Feeding period, Feb. 22 to May 2, 1916 70 days. Hand-fed Self-feeder lot. lot.x Number of pigs 9 9 Average initial weight pounds 94.00 92.00 Average final weight, pounds 1G7.50 205.00 Average gain per pig, pounds 73.50 113.00 Average dally gain, pounds 1.04 1.61 Feed oaten daily by pig: Corn meal, pnujids 2.13 6.46 Middlings, poa'nds 1.70 .SI rlankage. pounds 42 ,2S Average daily ration, pounds 4.25 6.55 Pounds of feed per 100 pounds gain 410.00 405.00 Cost of lou pounds gain. $6.24 $5.67 Ration: 5 parts corn meal, 4 parts middlings, mid-dlings, 1 part tankage. xRatlon: Cornmeal, middlings, tankage. The cost per ton of feed used in the experiments was as follows: Cornmeal, $27; middlings, ?30 ; tankage, $50. All the pigs in the self-feeder lot maintained keen appetites (luring the 70 days of feeding. The hand-fed pigs averaged 94 pounds per head and the self-fed pigs 92 pounds per head at the beginning of the test. At the end of 70 days the hand-fed pigs averaged 1G7.5 pounds and the self-fed pigs 205 pnnnrts, 37.5 pounds more than the hand-fed pigs. The self-fed pigs consumed con-sumed a greater quantity of feed per head during the test than the hand-fed pigs, but it took only 405 pounds of feed to produce 100 pounds at a cost of $5.07, while the hand-fed pigs produced pro-duced 100 pounds of gain at a cost of $0.24. The self-fed pigs made a bettor show- ... :- :. . .: ; .'v kv;: f r r i,.s... K .;?:.'.:;.;& -'i ' , V-i - . ) v S :K : : -mi ' i Self-Feeding Hay Rack. ing, surpassing the hand-fed lot in both rate and economy of gains. The results re-sults of the experiment clearly show that for quick fattening the self-feeder is very practicable. |