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Show HOGS "ON EAR CORN Result of Experiments Conducted by Professors W. J. Kennedy and E. T. Robbins, at Iowa State College Agriculture Experiment Station -rn ym tim v-- is ,. ; T11EKE are a number of different ways of feeding corn to hogs, hut there Is only one way to do It at least cost for returns received In Increased production of pork. In order to determine what Is the best method of feeding corn to hogs the Iowa state college agricultural experiment station recently completed experiments on 312 hogs of all ages, fed In thirty-two lots, testing six forms of corn dry ear corn, soaked shelled corn, dry cornmcul. soaked cornmeal, dry corn and cob me-il and soaked corn and cob meal. Tho experiments, summed up, are. as follows: Lry ear coin is highly relished by hogs and Is decidedly the most convenient to feed. Soaking and grinding necessitates Increased labor and expense, and the use of troughs, tlghi receptacles for currying feed and more Judgment in feeding. Corn of the last c Top was used each year, Cormm-al and corn and cob meal were finely ground. The cost of shelling wus 1 cent per bushel; .shelling and grinding, 3 cents; grinding grind-ing corn and cob meal, 6 cents. All the lots In each experiment were given exactly the- same kind of quarter and treatment treat-ment except for the one difference the kind of preparation given the corn. Careful tests -re made to show exactly the amount of shelled corn to which the ear corn was equivalent, ami the weights for shelled corn are given so as to show Just the amount of grain actually eaten by all the lots. Dry car corn was fed with the least wast" and In 11)07 made the fastest gain. The pigs ate It more slowly than soaked corn or corn-meal corn-meal owing to the greater time required to masticate IL In 1907, 1 no pounds of dry ear corn made as much pork os 112 pounds of shelled corn 'soaked twenty-four hours, or 122 pounds of cornmeal soak.-d twe lve hours. All the other forms of corn were still less efficient. Whether fed dry or soaked, a, bushel of corn ground without the cob made more pork than a bushel of corn ground with the cob. A bushel of cur corn made as much gain as one and one-third bushels ground lnte corn ami cedi meal at an expense of fi cent a bushel. In lyeis shelled corn soaked twelve hours made slightly the fastest gains. Shelled corn soaked twelve hours was more palatable to young hogs and gave better bet-ter results than corn soaked twenty-four hours. It gave slightly more rapid gains, but required fully as much feed for each 100 pounds gain as dry ear coin for spring pigs during their lii-sl summer and fall. In 1908 the spring pigs getting cornmeal required 15 to 1? per cent more feed for each pound of pork prod need than those getting ear corn. The average results for two years show that for spring pigs during their llriU summer and fall then- was a saving of over t; per cent of the corn by feeding It In the ear Instead of shi lling and soaking it. and a saving ef IS to 24 per cent by feeding it In the ear instead rf shelling and grinding It. For hogs weighing 100 jxunds at the start and fed 110 days, j per cent of the corn was saved by shilling and eoaking twelve hours; for bogs weighing 200 pounds at the start, fed Si days, the staving by this preparation was l per cent of tho corn, for 200-pound ! made the most economical gains of all th forms In which corn was fid. I'roNssor W. J. Kennedy ami E. T. nob-bins, nob-bins, after weighing the results of the experiment ex-periment car. fully In mind, make the follow fol-low inc eoiiclusion : 1. Hogs under 20') pounds In we-lght make the most t-conomical gains when their corn Is fed In the form of dry ear corn, although shelled corn soaked lu water twelve hours makes slightly fuMer g.iin. 2. Hogs over 2 (at pound In weight make-more make-more eccnomical gains on sh l!e-d corn so.i'.te-d in water twelve hours than on dry ear corn or c-crnnioal in any form, and at the funic time the gains on soaked slo lb .1 corn are nearly as rapid as on any of tho other forms j In width corn was fed. The amount of corn saved by shelling and soaking for hops of this size. varies from 1.1 per cent to 7.1 per cent for dllTerint lots, being the highest for hogs on pasture. 3. Hogs fed on dry ear coin rc-epjlre a longer lime to eat than those fed aoaked corn or cornmeal, owing lo the more thorough thor-ough mastication of the dry ear corn. Young hogs and pigs reduce the dry kernels from the ear corn to a liner slate of division than do the older hogs. I. Shelled corn soaked twelve hours Is more palatable and produces foster and more economical gains than shellej corn scaked twenty-four hours. "i. With hogs over 2a0 pounds In weight the soaking of corn Is of greate-r advantage to those running on pasture than to those conllued In dry. yards. 6. It is useless to grind corn for hogs of any age when the weather Is warm enough to permit poaklng. In every case where grinding grind-ing shows a saving of corn, simple soaking twelve hours in water shows a still greater saving. 7. Soaking cornmeal adds nothing to Us feeding value for hogs that relish dry cornmeal corn-meal sufllclently to eat It readily In that condition. con-dition. Young pigs do not relish dry cornmeal corn-meal so well ns do older hogs. S. Hogs of all ages relish soaked cornmeal and usually eat larger quantities of It than of corn in any other form. While tho gains on this ration ore among (he best for young hogs, and as a rule better than with any other form of corn for hogs over 200 pounds in weight, these gains are also among the most expensive produced by any form of corn fed In these experiments. 9. Hogs ranging upward from 200 pounds In weight eat dry cornmeal readily. Thoy make more rapid gains on it and a littlo more pork from each bushel of corn than on dry ear corn but afler paying 3 cents per bushel for shelling and grinding the gains are more expensive with dry cornmeal than w ith dry ear corn except for the oldest hogs with corn above to cents per bushel In price. 10. In general, hogs that are accustomed to corn prepared In some form receive, at least a temporary cheek In rate and econeuny of gains when for any reason a change Is made to dry ear corn. When the gains arc very rapid on the soaked op ground corn this effect Is more marker! and In some cases onset any beneficial effect of the preparation of the e.orn. Do Tuo Lit ten a Year Pay.' If is the opinion of practical farmers that it is profitable to raise two litters of pis a jcar when suitable, warm quarters can be proviileu. Some say much depends de-pends upon whether or not there is plenty of froh milk on the farm for feeding purposes. hogs fed on pasture the sewing was 7.1 por cent, and lor old thin sows fed In dry yards the saving was !.S p' r cent of the torn by shelling ll and soaking It twelve hours. Tiro small pavings of corn by grinding are Insignificant because In every case where there was any saing by grinding a still greater saving was effected by s Imply. soaking soak-ing the shelled coin twelve hours In water. Hogs changed from soaked corn or cornmeal to dry ear corn for even a few days fell quit kly behind In gains, so that any advantage advan-tage rrom prepared corn might thus bo easily lort. In general the fastest and most economical econom-ical gains are secured b feeding dry ear corn until the hogs are close to 2a0 pounds , jn weight. For hogs above 200 pounds in weight, soaked shellr, corn, while a trlfl-t slower in rale of gain than soaked cornmeal. |
