CHAPTER XI.
We now approach one of the most difficult and important divisions of our subject—breeding.
The object of the farmer or breeder is to produce and retain such an animal as will be best adapted to the purpose he has in view, be that the consumption of certain matters which could not be otherwise so well disposed of; the converting into hams, bacon and pork; or the raising of sucking-pigs and porkers for the market. Almost all farmers, nay, we might almost say, every cottager who has a bit of ground, keep one or more pigs to devour the offal and refuse which would otherwise be wasted; and the farmer finds a sufficiency for their keep, while the cottager begs wash and other matters, or turns the beast out into the lanes to forage for himself. But this is a matter totally distinct from "breeding swine." In the former case the animal or animals are purchased young, for a small price (each person buying as many as he considers he shall have food enough for,) and then sold to the butcher when in proper condition to be killed; and thus a certain degree of profit is realised. In the latter many contingencies must be taken into calculation, viz., the available means of feeding them; whether or not that food might be more profitably disposed of; the facilities afforded by railways, by the vicinity of towns, or large markets, &c. for disposing of them.
And the rapid growth of railways is now affording these facilities to all parts of the United Kingdom. Formerly the inhabitants of remote localities had no means of conveying their swine to a favorable market except the tedious one of driving them, or the expensive one of conveying them in carts.
Agricultural writers seem to be very much divided in their opinion's as to the relative advantages of breeding or buying, but all allow that the keeping of swine is one of the most profitable parts of the business of a farm. Whoever determines upon breeding must make up his mind in the first place what is the shape and what the qualities he wishes to obtain, and then steadily bear this in mind as he pursues his object; not with wavering caprice, now selecting a cross of one sort, now one of another, but adhering to a system well laid down, and then he will find his efforts attended with success. The great desideratum in almost all establishments is an animal that will grow rapidly, and attain to the earliest maturity and greatest weight in the shortest period, and on the smallest and most economical amount of food.
It is a generally admitted fact in the principles of breeding, that the offspring usually inherit the bodily and constitutional qualities of one or both parents; and in swine it is the boar whose qualities chiefly predominate in the offspring; hence it will be necessary most carefully to select the male animal. Thäer, in his admirable work, says:—
CHOICE OF THE BOAR AND SOW.
"In the breeding of swine, as much as in that of any other live stock, it is important to pay great attention not only to the breed, but also to the choice of individuals. The sow should produce a great number of young ones, and she must be well fed to enable her to support them. Some sows bring forth ten, twelve or even fifteen pigs at a birth, but eight or nine is the usual number, and sows which produce fewer than this must be rejected. It is, however, probable that fecundity depends also on the boar; he should therefore be chosen from a race which multiplies quickly.
"Good one-year bacon-hogs being much in request, we must do all we can to obtain a breed well adapted for producing them. Swine of such a breed may be known by their long bodies, low bellies, and short legs. Long pendulous ears are usually coupled with these qualities, and attract purchasers. If, however, as is often advisable in large dairies and cheese factories, hogs are to be sold at all seasons to the butchers, great attention must be paid to quickness of growth and facility of gaining flesh, so that the animals may attain their full growth and be ready for killing before they are a year old. This quality is particularly prominent in the Chinese and African breeds; but among our ordinary varieties, hogs are often met with which are better adapted for this purpose than for producing large quantities of bacon and lard.
"The boar should be selected from a breed well suited to these several purposes; he must be sound and free from hereditary blemishes; and should be kept separate from the sows till he is about a year old, and has finished his growth, or he will begin to leap too early. He is usually castrated before completing his third year, otherwise his flesh becomes uneatable. If, however, he is of a peculiarly excellent breed, one which cannot be easily replaced, his flesh may be sacrificed for the sake of preserving him for breeding from a few years longer.
"A boar left on the pasture at liberty, with the sows, might suffice for thirty or forty of them; but as he is usually shut up, and allowed to leap at stated times only, so that the young ones may be born nearly at the same time, it is usual to keep one boar for ten or twelve sows. Full-grown boars being often savage, and diffcult to tame, and attacking men and animals, must be deprived of their tusks.
"The sow must be chosen from a breed of proper size and shape, sound and free from blemishes and defects. She should have at least twelve teats; for it is observed that each pig selects a teat for himself and keeps to it, so that a pig not having one belonging to him would be starved. A good sow should produce a great number of pigs, all of equal vigor. She must be very careful of them, and not crush them by her weight; above all, she must not be addicted to eating the after-birth, and what may often follow, her own young ones. If a sow is tainted with these bad habits, or if she has difficult labors, or brings forth dead pigs, she must be castrated forthwith. It is therefore proper to bring up several young sows at once, so as to keep those only which are free from defects. Breeding sows and boars should never be raised from defective animals."
According to Varro and Columella, the ancients considered the distinguishing marks of a good boar to be—a small head, short legs, a long body, large thighs and neck, and this latter part thickly covered with strong erect bristles.
Our most experienced breeders prefer an animal with a long cylindrical body, small bones, well-developed muscles, a wide chest—which denotes strength of constitution, a broad straight back, short head and fine snout, brilliant eyes, a short thick neck, broad well-developed shoulders, a loose mellow skin, fine bright long hair, and few bristles, and small legs and hoofs. Some give the preference to long flapping ears; this is the case especially in several of our western counties, but experience seems to demonstrate that those animals are best which have short, fine, erect ears. The boar should always be vigorous and masculine in appearance.
That quaint old writer Lisle in his "Husbandrie," gives the following advice on this subject advice more suited to swine "as they were," than to the improved breeds which are now so generally replacing the heavy old races, but still worthy of some degree of attention:—
"In all kinds of four-footed beasts, the shape and form of the male is chosen with great care, because the progeny is frequently more like the father than the mother; wherefore, in swine-cattle also, certain of them must be approved, which are choice and singular for the largeness of their whole body, and such as are rather square (than those that are long and round), with a hanging-down belly, vast buttocks, but not so long legs and hoofs, of a large and glandulous neck, with short snouts, and turned upwards; and especially, which is more to the purpose, the males must be exceedingly salacious, and such as are proper for gendering from the age of one year till they come to their fourth year; nevertheless, they can also impregnate the female when they are six months old. Sows of the longest size and make are approved, provided they be, in the rest of their members, like the boars which have been already described.
"If the country is cold, and liable to hoar-frost, the herd must be chosen of an exceeding hard, thick, and black bristle. If it be temperate, and lie exposed to the sun, the cattle that is smooth and has no bristles, or even that which is white, and proper for the mill and the bakehouse, may be fed."
But although the chief care must be bestowed on the selection of the male animal, we must not be led to imagine that the female may be chosen at random. One of good form and breed, free from constitutional defects, and from disease of any kind; not addicted to vice, and especially not to feeding on flesh or carrion, or destroying rabbits, or poultry, should be chosen. Also those which produce the finest and most numerous progeny should be kept for breeding, especially if at the same time they are good nurses; and the comparatively barren animals spayed and fattened. Sows that have very low bellies almost touching the ground, seldom produce large or fine litters. A good-sized sow is generally considered more likely to prove a good breeder and nurse, and to farrow more easily and safely, than a small delicate animal. Few of our domesticated animals suffer so much from being bred in-and-in as swine. Where this system is pursued, the number of young ones is decreased at every litter, until the sows become, in a manner, barren. As soon as the slightest tendency to this degeneracy is observed, the breed should be crossed from time to time, keeping sight, however, while so doing, of the aim in view. The Chinese and Siamese pigs will generally be found to be the best which can be used for this purpose, as a single, and even two crosses, with one of these animals, will seldom do harm, but often effect considerable improvement. The best formed of the progeny resulting from this cross must be selected as breeders, and with them the old original stock crossed back again.
"Selection, with judicious and cautious admixture, is the true secret of forming and improving the breed," says an old and well-established axiom; and so it is. Repeated and indiscriminate crosses are as injurious as an obstinate adherence to one particular breed, and as much to be avoided; and of this most persons seem to be fully aware, for a systematic alteration is extending itself throughout all our English breeds of swine; the large, heavy, coarse breeds are almost extinct, and a smaller race of animals—more apt to fatten, less expensive to keep, attaining earlier to maturity, and furnishing a far more delicious and delicate meat—have taken their place.
It would be useless to point out certain breeds as being the most profitable or advantageous, so much depends upon the object for which the animals are raised; and besides, each breeder of any experience has in general his own pet stock breed, frequently one that has been "made," if we may be allowed the expression, by himself or his progenitors. This will be found to be the case in all great pig-breeding localities, and it frequently happens that the actual stock from which some of the present choicest races of swine sprang cannot be traced farther back than some ancestor or ancestress celebrated for the number of prizes he or she, or their immediate descendants, have won. At least we have found this to be the case in almost every instance in which we have endeavored to arrive at a knowledge of the actual parent stock of some of the most perfect and valuable animals we have met with or heard of. The Berkshire, the Improved Essex, and the New Suffolk and Bedfordshire breeds may, however, with the Chinese and Neapolitan, be instanced as the best stocks from which to raise a small-boned, thriving, profitable race, adapted for almost every purpose.
A sow is capable of conceiving at the age of from seven to ten months, but it is always better not to let her commence breeding too early, as it tends to weaken her when she does. From ten to twelve months old will be about the best age. Thäer says, "Sows are almost always in heat until they have received the boar; this state commences even as early as at the age of four or five months, but they are usually a year old before they are allowed to be put to the boar."
The boar should be at least a twelvemonth old before he is employed for the purpose of propagating his species, and during that time should have been well and regularly fed and exercised. On boar may be allowed to serve from six to ten sows, but on no account more. The best plan is to shut up the boar and sow in a sty together; for when turned in among several females, he is apt to "ride" them so often, that he exhausts himself without effect.
The period of gestation averages from seventeen to twenty weeks, according to the age, constitution, &c., of the mother; young or weakly sows farrow earlier than those of more mature age or stronger constitutions. It is commonly asserted that three months, three weeks, and three days, is the period of gestation; but, from M. Tessier's observations on twenty-five sows, it appears that it varies from 109 to 123 days.
A good breeding sow will produce two if not three litters in a year, but two should be the outside number; for where she is suffered to have more, the pigs are not so fine or so many in number, nor can she suckle them so well. How many years they would continue to breed is scarcely known, as it is generally considered to be most advantageous to spay them in their second, or at any rate early in their third year, and then fatten them for the butcher, especially where there is always a stock of young sows to replace them; for after the just-mentioned period the litters are seldom so fine, and the animal herself deteriorates in value. Some breeders, indeed, only suffer a young sow to have one litter, and then immediately spay and fatten her, as the bacon is then supposed to be equally as good as that of an animal spayed in the very onset. This is mainly a question of choice or economy. An agricultural author of some repute states that "a sow is fit for pigging up to her seventh year, and many will continue to be so even longer. The more prolific, however, the animal is, the sooner does she grow old and her fruitfulness decay."
But they doubtless would go on farrowing for many years, for there are instances on record of sows that have produced as many as eight or ten pigs at a litter when in their eighth and tenth years. Selbourne, in his "Natural History," gives an account of a half-bred bantam sow, kept by a friend of his, more from curiosity than with any view to profit, "who was as thick as she was long, and whose belly swept on the ground, till she was advanced to her seventeenth year; at which period she showed some tokens of age by the decay of her teeth and the decline of her fertility.
"For about ten years this prolific mother produced two litters in the year, of about ten at a time, and once above twenty at a litter; but, as there were near double the number of pigs to that of teats, many died. From long experience in the world, this female was grown very sagacious and artful. When she found occasion to converse with a boar, she used to open all the intervening gates, and march, by herself, up to a distant farm where one was kept, and, when her purpose was served, would return by the same means At the age of about fifteen, her litters began to be reduced to four or five; and such a litter she exhibited when in her fatting-pen. She proved, when fat, good bacon, juicy and tender; the rind or sward was remarkably thin. At a moderate computation she was allowed to have been the fruitful parent of three hundred pigs—a prodigious instance of fecundity in so large a quadruped. She was killed in the spring of 1775."
Although we should by no means advise the keeping of an animal to such an age, still, notwithstanding that it is the fashion or custom to do otherwise, we would advise every breeder never to part with a sow while she continues to bring forth a numerous and fine progeny, which many will do for years, and to be a good nurse; and in general these animals become better nurses the oftener they farrow: her value he knows; the value of the young animal that he intends should succeed her, has yet to be tested; and if one of the two must be fattened for the butcher, we should decidedly recommend that it were the untried one. Varro states that we may judge of the fruitfulness of a sow from her first litter, the subsequent ones being generally all of about the same number.
A sow that brings forth less than eight pigs at a birth the third or fourth time she farrows is worth little as a breeder, the sooner she is fattened the better; but a young sow that produces a great number at her first farrowing cannot be too highly valued.
Whenever it is practicable, it should always be so arranged that the animals shall farrow early in the spring, and at the latter end of the summer or quite the beginning of the autumn. In the former case the young pigs will have the run of the early pastures, which will be a benefit to them and a saving to their owners; and there will also be more whey, milk, and other dairy produce which can be spared for them by the time they are ready to be weaned. And in the second case there will be sufficient time for the young to have grown and acquired strength before the cold weather comes on, which is always very injurious to sucking pigs.
Martin says: "None of the pachydermata are, as a general rule, remarkable for fertility. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, &c., appear to produce only a single offspring at a birth, and that after a long period of gestation; for example, the gestation of the elephant is said to extend to twenty months and eighteen days. It is then not until after a considerable lapse of time that she again becomes pregnant, and she produces only a single young one. The hog-like peccaries produce, according to Azara, only two at a birth. To this rule the swine is an exception; it may be that the wild species are less prolific than the ordinary domestic variety of the genus sus, yet they are fertile, but in the ordinary hog this fertility is at a maximum. Ordinarily, a healthy sow produces eight, ten, of twelve young ones twice a year. The period of gestation is what variable: Cuvier says, "quatre mois;" others give it as three months, three weeks, and three days; that is. 108 days. According to Mr. Tossier, out of fifteen sows, one littered in 109 days, and one in 123 days, the latitude being fourteen days; according to others, the range of gestation extends from seventeen weeks, or 119 days, to twenty weeks, or 140 days. According to Desmarest, the wild sow goes with young four months and a few days, and produces from three to nine at a birth, suckling them from three to four months. It would appear, then, from these observations, that the period of gestation in the domestic sow varies according to age, constitution, food, and the peculiarities or idiosyncrasies of the peculiar breed. Young and weakly sows not only produce fewer pigs, but farrow earlier than those of more mature age and sounder constitution; and moreover, as might be expected, their offspring are deficient in vigor, often indeed puny and feeble. Here, having trenched upon the subject, we may advert to the principles upon which the breeding of swine should be conducted. Two great objects are in view, fertility and early fattening. With respect to fertility, we rather advocate moderation than excess, both on account of the strength and health of the mother, and the improvement of her progeny from a full supply of nutriment. How long a sow should be kept for breeding depends on circumstances; generally speaking, however, after three or four years the most fruitful sows, exhausted in their reproductive energies, evince a great falling off both in the number and vigor of their young. There are, however, exceptions, … Generally speaking, it is most advantageous to allow the sow to breed only two or three years, and her successors being ready, to fatten her off for the knife.
"A leading principle in breeding this animal,—and it applies equally to the horse, the sheep, the ox, the dog,—is to make a cautious selection of the male by whom the female is destined to conceive her first progeny, for that male stamps a character upon every subsequent produce (whether for good or bad) by other males; 'the subsequent progeny of the mother will always partake more or less of the character of the father of the first offspring.' This law is mysterious, but it has been abundantly proved (See Giles, in Philosophical Transactions for 1821,) and need not be here further insisted on; the fact is established. The selection of the male, then, is of primary importance; of whatever breed he may be, he should be as perfect as possible in the good qualities of his race; he should be free from all blemishes, and be, moreover, the offspring of parents in all points unexceptionable. A young boar intended for breeding from, should be kept separate from the sows until about a year old, when his physical energies will be fairly developed. Form is of more importance than size; in this latter respect the breeds differ, as they do also in the size of the ears, which in some breeds are flapping, especially in those which incline to the old stock. Good pigs, it is true, may show such ears, but small sharp erect ears accompany what may be called blood. In a well-formed boar the barrels should be rather long and cylindrical, the limbs should be small in the bone, the hoofs neat and compact, the skin should be rather loose and mellow, with the bristles fine but scanty; the snout should be short and sharp, the forehead rise boldly between the ears and merge into an arched neck; the back should be straight and broad; the hams rounded and ample; the chest should be wide, indicative of the amplitude and vigor of the vital organs. The tail should be slender, the eyes should be lively, the temper or disposition cheerful, without moroseness. As to color, some breeds are black, others are white; but we think black pigs are thinner in the skin, and are moreover less subject to cutaneous affections.
"Equal care should be taken in the selection of a breeding sow as of a boar; she should be of good stature and form, sound, healthy, and free from defects; she should have twelve teats at least; for, as may be observed, each little pig selects its own teat, and keeps to it, so that a pig not having one belonging to it would in all probability be starved. A sow not pregnant, whose belly hangs low, almost touching the ground, seldom produces large litters or fine pigs; the pendulous condition of the abdomen is the result of weakness and relaxation from ill-feeding and ill-breeding, neglect, with other causes, and is generally accompanied with flat sides, a long snout, and a raw-boned, unthrifty carcass, yielding coarse meat, which will not repay the outlay of feeding.
"Early breeding not only weakens the sow, but, as her physical powers are not yet fully developed, results in the production of undersized weakly pigs, and perhaps incomplete as to number; and these, perhaps, she will scarcely be able to nourish. A young sow of good stock, who produces a large litter at her first parturition of pigs, all of equal size, and proves a good nurse, is valuable; she promises well, for her first litter may be taken as an example of those to succeed. As long as such a sow continues to return to the breeder such litters twice a year, he will do well to keep her, more especially, if he finds upon trial that her progeny fatten kindly, whether as porkers or bacon hogs. Some persons, after obtaining one or two litters from a sow, have her spayed, and then fattened off as quickly as possible for bacon. Some keep to their second or even third year of breeding; but if the last litter was good, and the sow continues vigorous, it becomes a question how far it may not be more advantageous to keep her still longer, even until the diminished number of pigs produced indicates a decline in fruitfulness.
"Cold sleety weather, with keen winds, is very detrimental to young pigs, and not favorable to their mother; hence, early in the spring, and late in the summer or early in the autumn, are the best periods of the year for the production of the litter. In the spring, the fields and paddocks offer fresh grass and various vegetables, and a run upon the pastures will be not only a saving to the farmer, but of benefit to the young pigs; besides which, at this season of the year, whey and buttermilk are abundant, and so continue to be during the greater part of summer. An autumnal litter, again, will have sufficient time to grow and acquire strength before the severities of midwinter; besides, the refuse of the potato crop, and the carrot beds, of the garden generally, and of the mill, is now at hand in abundance.
"A breeding sow should never be overfed; not that she should be starved—on the contrary, she should be kept by a judicious allowance of food, in good condition and perfect health, but not fat. A sow when fat is not likely to be fertile, and, moreover, her parturition is sure to be more difficult and dangerous, and her milk in insufficient quantity, perhaps even of inferior quality, while her unwieldiness renders her more liable to overlay her young. When with pig she should have a commodious and clean sty to herself, and be supplied with sufficient straw to render her comfortable. She should be sufficiently fed, and all her wants supplied. All sources of irritation or annoyance should be avoided, and especially as the time of parturition approaches. From these causes—sometimes, perhaps, from craving hunger—a sow will devour her young; it is said also, that if she be allowed to devour the after-birth, a morbid appetite, leading her to fall upon her litter, will be engendered. For these reasons the sow should be carefully watched and fed, especially if the parturition be her first; and not for these reasons only, but lest her parturition should prove dangerous or in any way difficult.
"On no account should two pregnant sows be placed in one sty, however commodious. They will assault each other, and at last, perhaps, destroy each other's young.
"'Selection, with judicious and cautious admixture, is the true secret of forming a breed.' It is thus that all our improved breeds of domestic animals have been produced, those of the hog not excepted. Hence the old, coarse, large-boned swine have now almost disappeared, and given place to small-boned breeds, apt to fatten, mature at an earlier age, affording more delicate meat, less expensive to keep, and, therefore, altogether more profitable breeds. Such are rapidly extending themselves, and improvements are going on. Many landed proprietors pride themselves on the possession of a particular breed of their own establishment, and remarkable for good qualities of every kind. In the establishment of such a stock, indiscriminate selection, and a repetition of crosses, with no definite object, must be avoided; while, at the same time, a pertinacious adherence to the plan of breeding in and in from the same stock, however excellent, will ultimately result in its degeneracy. Comparatively speaking, it is only within a few years that the improved breeds of pigs have risen up to reward the skill of the breeder. The Chinese or Siamese, the Neapolitan, and the African varieties have greatly contributed to their creation, and continue to modify those in which a farther cross is desirable. After one or two crosses, the best progeny is generally selected to inter-breed again with the original stock, and thus is its improvement effected. Among the numerous admirable breeds which now exist, it would be difficult to say which has the superiority, or which it is most profitable and advantageous to rear. As in the case of cattle and sheep, much depends on contingent circumstances, on locality, and the kind of food most readily obtainable. No doubt each breeder prefers his own strain. Berkshire and Essex boast of their respective races; Yorkshire, Suffolk, Sussex, and Bedfordshire put in their claims for praise."
"The following rules for the selection of the best stock of hogs will apply to all breeds:—
"Fertility.—The strain from which the farmer or breeder selects ought to be noted for fertility. In a breeding sow this quality is essential, and it is one which is inherited. The same observation applies to other domestic animals. But besides this, she should be a careful mother, and with a sufficient number of dugs for a family of twelve at a single litter. A young untried sow will generally display in her tendencies those which have predominated in the race from which she has descended, and the number of teats can be counted. Both boar and sow should be sound, healthy, and in fair but not over fat condition, and the former should be from, a stock in which fertility is a characteristic.
"Form.—It may be that the farmer has a breed which he wishes to perpetuate; it is highly improved, and he sees no reason for immediate crossing. But, on the other hand, he may have an excellent breed, with certain defects, as too long in the limb, or too heavy in the bone. Here, we should say, the sire to be chosen, whether of a pure or cross breed, should exhibit the opposite qualities, even to an extreme, and be, withal, one of a strain noted for early and rapid fattening.
"But what is meant by form, as applied to a pig? A development of those points connected with the profit of the owner. In these points high or low blood is demonstrated. The head should be small, high at the forehead, short and sharp in the snout, with eyes animated and lively, and thin, sharp, upright ears; the jowl, or cheek, should be deep and full; the neck should be thick and deep, arch gracefully from the back of the head, and merge gradually into a broad breast; the shoulders should be set well apart at the clavicular joint; the body should be deep, round, well-barrelled, with an ample chest, broad loins, and a straight, flat, broad back; the tail should be slender; the hams should be round, full and well developed; the limbs, fine-boned, with clean small joints; and with small compact hoofs, set closely together, with a straight bearing upon the ground. If in perfect health, young store hogs, or young stock selected for breeding, will be lively, animated, hold up the head, and move freely and nimbly.
"Bristles.—These should be fine and scanty, so as to show the skin smooth and glossy; coarse, wiry, rough bristles usually accompany heavy bones, large spreading hoofs, and flapping ears, and thus become one of the indications of a thick skinned and low breed.
"Color.—Different breeds of high excellence have their own colors: white, black, parti-coloured, black and white, sandy, mottled with large marks of black, are the most prevalent. A black skin, with short scanty bristles, and small stature, demonstrate the prevalence of the Neapolitan strain, or the black Chinese, or perhaps an admixture of both. Many prefer white; and in sucking pigs destined for the table, and for porkers, this color has its advantages, and the skin looks more attractive; nevertheless, we think that the skin of black hogs is in general thinner than that of white hogs, and less subject to eruptive diseases."—Martin.
TREATMENT OF SOWS DURING PREGNANCY.
Sows with pig should be well and judiciously fed; that is to say, they should have a sufficiency of wholesome nutritious food to maintain their strength and keep them in good condition, but should by no means be allowed to get fat, as when they are in high condition the dangers of parturition are enhanced, the animal is more awkward and liable to smother or crush her young, and besides, never has as much or as good milk as a leaner sow. She should also have a separate sty: for swine are prone to lie so close together, that if she were amongst others her young would be in great danger; and this sty should be perfectly clean and comfortably littered, but not so thickly as to admit of the young being able to bury themselves in the straw.
As the time of her farrowing approaches she should be well supplied with food, especially if she be a young sow, and this is her first litter, and also carefully watched in order to prevent her from devouring the after-birth, and thus engendering a morbid appetite which will next lead her to fall upon her own young. A sow that has once done this is never afterwards to be depended upon. Hunger, thirst, or irritation of any kind, will often induce this unnatural conduct; and this is another reason why a sow about to farrow should have a sty to herself, and be carefully attended to, and have all her wants supplied.
ABORTION.
This accident is by no means of so common occurrence in the sow as in many of our other domesticated animals. There are various causes which will tend to produce it; insufficiency of food, eating too much succulent vegetable food, or unwholesome unsubstantial diet; blows and falls will also induce it; and one very prevalent cause arises from this animal's habit of rubbing itself against hard bodies in order to allay the irritation produced by the vermin or cutaneous eruptions to which swine are subject.
Reiterated copulation does not appear to produce abortion in the sow, at least to the extent it does in other animals.
The symptoms indicative of approaching abortion are similar to those of parturition, only more intense. There is generally restlessness, irritation, and shiverings: and the cries of the animal testify the presence of severe labor-pains. Sometimes the rectum, vagina, or uterus becomes relaxed, and one or the other protrudes, and often becomes inverted at the moment of the expulsion of the fœtus, preceded by the placenta, which presents itself foremost.
Nothing can be done to prevent abortion at the last hour; all that we can do is, from the first to remove every predisposing cause. The treatment will depend upon circumstances. Where the animal is young, vigorous, and in high condition, bleeding will be beneficial, not a copious blood-letting, but small quantities taken at different times; purgatives may also be administered. If, when abortion has taken place, the whole of the litter are not born, emollient injections may be resorted to with considerable benefit; otherwise the after treatment should be much the same as in parturition, and the animal should be kept warm, and quiet, and clean, and allowed a certain degree of liberty.
Whenever one sow has aborted, the breeder should immediately look about for the causes likely to have induced this accident, and endeavor, by removing them, to secure the rest of the inhabitants of his piggery from a similar fate.
In cases of abortion, the fœtus is seldom born alive, and often has been dead for some days; where this is the case—and whether it is so or not will be easily detected by a peculiarly unpleasant putrid exhalation, and the discharge of a fetid liquid from the vagina—the parts should be washed with a diluted solution of chloride of lime, in the proportions of one part chloride to three parts water, and a portion of this lotion may be gently injected into the uterus if the animal will submit to the doing so. Mild doses of Epsom salts, tincture of gentian, and ginger will also act beneficially in such cases, and with attention to diet, soon restore the animal.
PARTURITION.
The approach of the period of farrowing is marked by the immense size of the belly, by a depression of the back, and by the distension of the teats. The animal gives evident symptoms of acute suffering, and wanders restlessly about, collecting straw, and carrying it to her sty, grunting piteously the while.
As soon as this is observed, she should be enticed into a separate sty and carefully watched. On no account should several sows be permitted to farrow in the same place, as they will inevitably irritate each other, and devour their own or one another's young.
The young ones should be taken away as soon as they are born, and deposited in a warm spot, for the sow being a clumsy animal, is not unlikely, in her struggles, to overlay them; nor should they be returned to her until all is over, and the afterbirth has been removed, which should always be done the moment it passes from her; for young sows, especially, will invariably devour the afterbirth if permitted, and then, the young being wet with a similar fluid and smelling the same, will eat them one after another. Some persons advise washing the backs of the young pigs with a decoction of aloes, colocynth, or some other nauseous substance, as a remedy for this; but the simplest and easiest one is to remove the little ones until all is over and the mother begins to recover herself and seeks about for them, on which they should be put near her.
It has been frequently observed that each little pig has its own peculiar teat, and will not willingly suck from any other; therefore, as the front teats yield most milk, the smallest pigs should be placed to them. If more young are farrowed than the mother has teats, the most weakly-looking must be destroyed, unless it should so happen that there is another sow at hand which has fewer pigs than teats, in which case they may be put to her, if this can be done without her knowledge; though some writers affirm that a sow will give her teats indifferently to her own offspring or to that of a stranger.
It does not, however, always happen that the parturition is effected with such ease. Cases of false presentation, of enlarged fœtus, of debility in the mother, often render it difficult and dangerous. The womb will occasionally become protruded and inverted in consequence of the forcing pains of difficult parturition, and even the bladder has been known to come away. These parts must be returned as soon as may be; and if the womb has come in contact with the dung or litter and acquired any dirt, it must be first washed in luke-warm water, and then returned and confined in its place by means of a suture passed through the lips of the orifice. Some foreign veterinarians place a pessary high up the vagina, and secure it in its situation by means of an iron ring or wire; but this is a complicated operation, and could not be performed without great difficulty on so obstinate an animal. The easiest and perhaps the best way is not to return the protruded parts at all, but merely tie a ligature around them and leave them to slough off, which they will do in the course of a few days, without effusion of blood or further injury to the animal. No sow that has once suffered from protrusion of the womb should be allowed to breed again.
Mr. Ramsden, of Ripon, gives the following account of a case of difficult parturition:—
"About the middle of August, 1840, I was called in and requested to assist a sow that was in labor, could not rise, and seemed to be in great suffering. I relieved her of one, gave her some gruel, and hoped that she would be able to effect the parturition of the remaining ones without aid.
"On my return she was perfectly senseless. The young pig was endeavoring to suck. The parturition had not in the least degree advanced. I pressed with my left hand over the diaphragm, which recalled in a slight degree the pains, and empounded my right hand gradually. I then drew out a second pig; it lay about four inches anterior to the pelvis. The stupor of the mother was a little removed, and at length I got the whole litter of ten pigs, and also the placental membrane. This was the first case of the kind that ever came under my notice."—The Veterinarian, vol. xiv.
Another and still more interesting case is given by Mr. Cartwright, veterinary surgeon:—
"On the llth of July, 1839, I was requested to attend a sow, the property of a farmer near this town. The poor animal had been in labor six days. During the last three days she was not able to stand, nor had she taken any food, and her death was expected every hour. She was a very fat animal, and the owner informed me that she was about ten days past her time of pigging, and that he was confident the pigs were dead. I was of the same opinion; and, after a minute examination, felt confident that nothing short of the Cæsarean operation could save her; at the same time informing the owner that she might die in consequence of, or during, the operation.
"The operation was consented to; and I proceeded first to secure her legs, and to have them firmly extended their full length, and retained there by assistants. I next placed a bundle of straw underneath her, which gave the belly a round and prominent position, rendering it more tense and firm, and at the same time giving me considerable advantage in operating.
"My first proceeding was to clear away the hair in the direction of my intended incision, in which I, at the onset, had made up my mind to follow the theory taught in operative surgery, viz. always to make the incisions in the same direction as the muscular fibres, and, above all, never to sever a muscle if it could be avoided. The hair being removed, I was about to make the incisions lengthways, in the course of the linea alba, when it suddenly occurred to me that I should not, in this case, be able to keep the lips of the wound approximated by sutures or bandages, on account of the depending state of the abdomen and its contents. I therefore determined to make the incisions more on the side, and across the oblique externus abdominis. I accordingly cut freely through the integuments for about eight inches in length, which I accomplished with a common scalpel. Next I penetrated through the adipose or fatty matter underneath, of which there was no lack; and then cut down on the muscle, at the superior part of the incision, quite through, and exposing the peritoneum. I now introduced my forefingers as directors, and with the curved bistoury laid the abdomen freely open.
"The lips of the incision or wound of course receded from each other to a great distance, and a slight arterial hemorrhage ensued, which I thought proceeded from the circumflex artery of the ileum. If the incision had been made longitudinally, this might have been prevented, but as the hemorrhage soon ceased, it was of little con- sequence. The intestines were much inflated with gas, and protruded as far as the wound of the peritoneum extended.
"I now introduced my right hand, and distinctly felt the situation of the uterus, when the animal made a desperate struggle, and some of the small intestines escaped. I found it necessary for an assistant to introduce his hand, to prevent a repetition of this. The bladder was distended with urine, which proved somewhat troublesome, and I had no catheter at hand. I was now about to make a second attempt to open the uterus, when I accidently felt the pulsation of a large artery. Had I divided the uterus in the same direction as the incision in the abdomen I should have cut the artery. Was it the uterine or vaginal artery? I placed my hand inferior to the vessel, and felt a young one. Next, with a scalpel in my right hand, guarded at the point with my forefinger, fearing that the sow might struggle and the instrument wound some of the intestines, I cut through the uterus, introduced my finger guarding the scalpel, and effected an opening into it about six inches in length. I then introduced my hand, laid hold of one of the fœtal pigs, and drew it out. In this way I proceeded until I removed the whole number, which amounted to seven.
"The operation being thus far completed, her legs were drawn towards each other, which brought the lips of the wound into approximation, and I retained them there by strong adhesive plasters, over which I placed a roller passing three times round her body. I now proceeded to examine my patient: she was, as might be expected, in a very weak state; and when her head was raised, it fell again upon my hand as if she was dead. As she lay in this exhausted state, not a muscle except the involuntary ones moving, I gave her a little brandy and water, and then closed the door and left her. The general opinion of the by-standers was, that in a few minutes she would be dead: this was about 4 p.m. Indispensable business prevented me from seeing her until 10 o'clock, when I was glad to find my patient somewhat revived. I gave more brandy and beef-tea, and left her for the night.
"At 6 a.m. there was a decided improvement; the extremities were warm, the respiration tranquil, with an occasional grunt and pricking or moving of the ears; some fæces had passed during the night. I doubted whether the bladder had been emptied, and therefore introduced a small catheter which I use for sheep, &c., and took away a great quantity of water. I ordered more weak brandy and water and broth.
"At 6 p.m. the symptoms were improving, excepting that the side surrounding the incision was a little swelled; I therefore ordered fomentations to be applied, using hot cloths, with but little water.
"18th.—Doing well; the secretions regular; and she for the first time voluntarily took a little milk, with a drachm of brandy, of which she appeared fond. From this time she continued to improve daily; and on the fifth day from the operation she was able to stand, and fed well. The roller round her body was not removed for a month, and the plaster remained for nearly three months. When it came away the wound was beautifully healed. This animal has attracted considerable attention in the neighborhood, and she is now as fat as she can be, and a fine specimen of the short-eared breed."
MONSTROSITIES.
Monstrosities are often farrowed by swine. It would be difficult to assign any cause for this, did we admit, with most persons, that these are peculiarly stupid and unimaginative animals; but as in Chapter III. we have already declared our opinion to be a contrary one, the inexplicability of the matter is done away with.
Mr. Ellis, V. S., of Liverpool, gives an account of six sows belonging to one person which all produced blind young ones, the greater part of which were without the least semblance of an eye, the orbit being quite empty. Some of them had four ears each. Only four out of the whole lot lived; they were either brought forth dead or died immediately after birth.
One of the sows could not farrow any of her young ones, they being three times the proper size, and in a state of decomposition. The Cæsarean operation was therefore performed, as the only means of saving her; but it had been delayed too long; she only lived three hours after it.
These pigs were all got by one boar, but the sows were of different breeds.
TREATMENT OF THE SOWS WHILE SUCKLING.
More depends upon this than many persons seem to have the least idea of, both as regards the mother and the young; and many a fine sow and promising litter have been ruined for want of proper and judicious care at this period.
Immediately after farrowing, many sows are apt to be feverish; where this is the case, a light and sparing diet only should be given them for the first day or two, as gruel, oatmeal-porridge, whey, and such-like. Others, again, are very much debilitated, and require strengthening; for them strong soup, bread steeped in wine or in a mixture of brandy and sweet spirits of nitre, administered in small quantities, will often prove highly beneficial.
Gradually the rations must be increased and given more frequently; and they must be composed of wholesome, nutritious, and succulent matters. All kinds of roots—carrots, turnips, potatoes, and beet-root—well steamed or boiled, may be given, but never raw; bran, barley and oatmeal, bean-flower, Indian corn, whey, sour, skim, and butter-milk, all are perfectly well adapted for this period; and, should the animal appear to require it, grain well bruised and macerated may also be added. Bean-flour is considered by many persons to create an abundance of milk; and there are many who deem barleymeal too stimulating, and advise that it should never be used alone, but always one-third oatmeal to two-thirds of the barleymeal. Whenever it is possible, the sow should be turned out for an hour each day, to graze in a meadow or clover-field, as the fresh air and exercise and herbage, will do her an infinity of good. The young pigs must be shut up for the first ten days or a fortnight, after which they will be old enough to follow her and take their share of the benefit.
The rations should be given regularly at certain hours; small and often-repeated meals are far preferable to large ones, for indigestion or any disarrangement of the functions of the stomach vitiates the milk, and produces diarrhoea and other similar affections in the young.
The mother should always be well, but not over-fed; the better and more carefully she is fed, the more abundant and nutritious will her milk be, the better will the sucking-pigs thrive, and the less will she be pulled down by suckling them.
When a sow is weakly, and has not a sufficiency of milk, the young pigs must be taught to feed as early as possible. A kind of gruel, made with skim-milk and bran, or oatmeal, will be the best thing for this purpose; or a soup composed of potatoes, boiled, and then mashed in milk or whey, with or without the addition of a little bran or oatmeal.
Towards the period when the pigs are to be weaned the sow must be less plentifully fed, otherwise the secretion of milk will be as great as ever; and it will accumulate, and there will be hardness, and perhaps inflammation of the teats. Should it appear requisite, a dose of physic may be given to assist in carrying off the milk; but in general a little judicious management in the feeding and weaning will be all that is requisite.
Martin says: "From some ill-understood cause, several domestic animals, as the rabbit, and sometimes the cat, seem to forget all instinctive ties, and turning upon their offspring, ravenously and unnaturally devour them. This is not unfrequently the case with the sow; and it is remarkable, that when this revolting act has been once committed, its re-occurrence may be expected. This disposition is not always or necessarily connected with general ferocity, nor even with the fierce anxiety which the sow, with other animals, displays in the protection of her young; it may be that the animal is ordinarily mild and gentle, and yet at this juncture becomes madly ferocious. We are not aware whether or not such tragic scenes take place among animals in a state of natural independence; most probably they never do, or but very rarely. Yet in early ages the sow was evidently subject to this morbid propensity; for among the regulations respecting swine, laid down by Hoel Dha, one of the good qualities of a sow expressly noticed is, that she do not devour her young ones. The less the sow, after bringing forth her young, is meddled with, the more comfortable her bedding, the more regularly and gently she has been previously managed and treated, the less likely is she to violate one of the great laws of nature.
"The wild boar, as we have said, is a dangerous animal; and so indeed, to a certain extent, is the domestic boar of some of the larger breeds. Instances are not unfrequent of boars turning furiously upon their keepers, especially if interfered with when in company with the female, or if constrained to quit her society.
"It is not, however, only at certain times and under certain circumstances that the boar is dangerous: a boar, especially one of the large old breeds, is by no means a safe animal to venture near at any time, and we have more than once seen sows almost equally savage; this, however, is not generally the case."
TREATMENT OF THE YOUNG WHILE SUCKING.
For the first ten days or a fortnight, the mother will generally be able to support her litter without assistance, unless, as has been already observed, she is weakly, or they are too many in number; in either of which cases they must be fed from the first. When the young pigs are about a fortnight old, warm milk should be given to them. In another week, this may be thickened with some species of farina; and afterwards, as they gain strength and increase in size, boiled roots and vegetables may be added. As soon as they begin to eat, an open frame or railing should be placed in the sty, under which the little pigs can run, and on the other side of this should be the small troughs containing their food; for it never answers to let them eat out of the same trough with the mother, both because the food set before her is generally too strong and stimulating for them, and besides, the chances are they would not get a mouthful. Those intended to be killed for "sucking-pigs" should not be above, four weeks old; most persons kill them for this purpose on the twenty-first or twenty-second day. The others, excepting those which are kept for the purpose of breeding, should be castrated at the same time.
WEANING.
The age at which pigs may be weaned with the greatest advantage is when they are about eight or ten weeks old; many persons, however, wean them as early as six weeks, but then they seldom turn out so well. They should not be taken from the sow at once, but gradually weaned. At first they should be removed from her for a certain number of hours each day, and accustomed to be driven by hunger to eat from the trough; then they may be turned out for an hour without her, and afterwards shut up while she is turned out also by herself. Subsequently they must only be allowed to suck so often in twenty-four hours; perhaps six times at first, then four, then twice, and at last only once; and meanwhile they must be proportionally better and more plentifully fed, and the mother's diet in a like manner diminished; thus will the weaning be accomplished without danger or evil consequences to either. Some persons have advised that the whole litter should not be weaned at once; we do not, however, agree with them, unless it should happen that one or two of the young ones are much weaker and smaller than the others; in such case, if the sow remains in tolerable condition, they might be suffered to suck for a week longer; but such a mode of proceeding should be an exception, not a general rule.
Pigs are more easily weaned than almost any other animals, because they learn to feed sooner; but nevertheless this is always a somewhat critical period, and great attention must be paid to them if we would have them grow up strong, healthy animals. Their styes must be warm, dry, clean, well ventilated, and weather-tight. They should have the run of a grass meadow or paddock for an hour or two every fine day, in the spring and summer, or be turned into the farm-yard among the cattle in the winter, as fresh air and exercise tend to prevent them from becoming rickety or crooked in the legs.
Butter-milk, whey, and the refuse of the dairy, with boiled or steamed potatoes, pollard, and oat or barleymeal, may be given as food; also boiled cabbage and lettuce, macerated and bruised oats, barley, and even wheat; in short, the most nutritious and succulent food that circumstances will permit of, and a daily run at grass wherever it is possible. At first their food should all be given to them warm, and be tolerably soft, in order better to assimilate with the state of the digestive functions; gradually and soon they must be accustomed to take it cold, it being far better for them so when once they are used to it; and they must also learn to masticate their food.
Newly-weaned pigs require five or six meals in the twenty-four hours. In about ten days one may be omitted; in another week, a second; and then they must do with three regular meals each day.
But let it be understood that, while we would enforce the necessity of good and ample feeding, we highly deprecate all excess, and all stimulating, heating diet, such tending to vitiate the animal powers, often to lay the foundation of disease, and never to produce good, sound, well-flavored flesh.
A little sulphur mingled with the food, or a small quantity of Epsom or Glauber's salts disolved in the water, will frequently prove beneficial.
A plentiful supply of clear cold water should always be within their reach; the food left in the trough after the animals have done eating, should be removed, and the trough thoroughly rinsed out before any more is put into it. Strict attention should be paid to cleanliness; indeed, many persons assert that there is no comparison in point of thriving between an animal well cleaned and repeatedly brushed and another that is left to itself; although both shall be in feeding and all other respects treated exactly the same, the latter will not weigh so much as the former by many pounds.
This treatment will bring them on to the time when the owner must separate those he intends for breeders from those which are to be fattened for the market. The boars and sows should be kept apart from the period of weaning.
The question of which is most profitable to breed swine, or to buy young pigs and fatten them will best be determined by the individuals who have to study it, for they know best what resources they can command, and what chance of profits each of these separate branches offers.
There was an interesting paper published some little time since in the Farmer's Magazine, calculating the number of pigs which, in the course of ten years, may be raised from two one year old sows, We give it verbatim, as many of our readers have probably never entered into such a calculation, or formed the least idea of the amazing quantity of animal food which may be derived from this kind of stock:
"I am indebted to a worthy and sensible friend, and a friend also of the poor, for the following estimate of what I shall term 'pig population,' and set it in array against the increasing demands of the home population, which goes on at the rate of not quite 112 per cent, per annum—nay, little more than 114 by the last ten years' census. I think, with the assistance of my above-mentioned friend, I can feed the supernumeraries well, and in this way, at all events, save their bacon. Would you credit the assertion that in ten years—ten short years—and from two breeding sows, many millions can be produced? Would you suppose (for I certainly had no conception of the fact) that more than the present or even anticipated population of the country for ten years to come is not equal to the number of pigs to be thus born and bred in the same period, if we choose? But I shall proceed to proof and give the figures, which are unanswerable arguments when well founded. His calculation, then, is as follows, viz.: that in one year two sows (one year old) will breed ten each, of which we shall assume that one-half are females, and so proceed on that assumed equality.
| "The first year there will be males and females | 20 |
| From which take the males | 10 |
| And we have the result as breeders | 10 |
| At the second year, then, we may fairly take the same ratio of ten to each, viz.: | 10 |
| 2)100 | |
| And it gives us a hundred males and females, leaving, consequently, for the third year, breeders | 50 |
| I shall now drop the text, and merely give the figures, the same principle applying throughout | 10 |
| Third year | 2)500 |
| 250 | |
| 10 | |
| Fourth year | 2)2,500 |
| 1,250 | |
| 10 | |
| Fifth year | 2)12,500 |
| 6,250 | |
| 10 | |
| 62.500 | |
| Sixth year | 2)62,500 |
| 31,250 | |
| 10 | |
| 156,250 | |
| 10 | |
| 781,250 | |
| 10 | |
| 3,906,250 | |
| 10 |
"I hope my friend has brought his pigs to a good market; but to equalize the supply, I shall, for the present purpose, take only the male half of the pig population for food, leaving the breeders to go on. In this way we can kill and eat ten the first year—no bad increase from two sows, recollect; the second year, 50; the third, 250; the fourth, 1250; the fifth, 6250; the sixth, 31,250 (pork in abundance now); the seventh. 156,250 (still more abundant); the eighth, 781,250; the ninth, 3,906,250; and the tenth, when divided in like manner, the enormous number of 19,531,250 for food, without interfering with the breeders, who, I presume, by this time will probably require killing also. Now, I am not aware that much commentary is required on this prolific subject; every man who reads this short paper will at once draw his own conclusions from the facts. They are, however, of a very cheering description, and drawn from the breeding of one domestic animal only, and amply prove what abundant stores nature and the God of nature have provided for human subsistence. I shall close this paper with the sensible practical observation of my friend in reference to this subject, as, after all, it is in practice only that the benefits open to all are to be received by any. In the county of Kent, he informs me, there are 31,000 agricultural families or farmers. It is a very easy matter for each to keep two breeding-sows, which in three years would produce in round numbers 15,000,000 of pigs.
"In the fifty-two counties of England, he also adds, the number of agricultural families is 760,000; so that, by the same mode of calculation as for Kent, every farmer keeping two sows, the produce would be, in the like period, 380,000,000 pigs. One good breeding sow to each would consequently produce 15,000,000. As I have said, and say again, is this all true? for if so, what prevents the immediate use of the same beneficial proceeding to every one, not even omitting the allotment tenant? What more easy and practicable than to breed on a small scale, or to join two or three families together, and thus diminish expense and increase profits? I throw out the hint, and hope that good may arise from a due consideration of the prominent facts already stated."
With the following valuable remarks by that well-known practical agriculturist and grazier, Arthur Young, we will conclude this chapter:—
"The breeding of swine being one of the most profitable articles in the whole business of a farm, the husbandman cannot pay too much attention to it. I shall, in as few words as the subject will admit, give an account of the best system to be pursued in this branch of his business. The farmer who would make a considerable profit by hogs must determine to keep a proper number of sows in order to breed many pigs; but this resolution ought to be preceded by the most careful determination to prepare crops proper for supporting this stock. The proper ones for that purpose are barley, buck, beans, peas, clover, potatoes or carrots. In the common management, a farmer keeps only a sow or two because his dairy will do no more; but in the system of planting crops purposely for swine, a different conduct must necessarily be pursued. Potatoes, carrots, Swedish turnips, and cabbages, must be provided for the sows and stores from October till the end of May, by which time clover, chicory, or lucerne should be ready to receive them, which will carry them till the stubbles are cleared; so that the whole year is filled up with these plants, and the common offal of the barn-door and the corn-fields. When the sows pig, meal must be provided to make wash by mixing it with water. This in summer will be good enough for their support, and in winter it must be mixed with boiled roots, oats, and pea-soup, for the young pigs. If cows are kept, then the dairy-wash is to be used in the above mixtures.
"Upon this system, a farmer may proportion his swine to his crops, or his crops to his swine; and he will find that for the whole year he should have about an equal quantity of roots and grass, and half as much corn as potatoes. For carrying the profit to the highest advantage, the sows should pig but twice a-year, that is, in April and August, by which means there will never be a long and expensive season for rearing pigs before they are put to the staple food of clover or potatoes, &c.; but this circumstance is much removed by the provision of crops raised expressly for the swine.
"Upon this plan the annual sale of lean hogs should be in October, the litters of April sold then as stores, and those of August kept till October twelvemonth to sell for baconers, if the farmer feeds none himself. The stock upon hand this month will therefore be the sows, and the pigs littered in the preceding August, all which should have roots from the store, and run at the same time in the farm-yard, for shacking the straw of the barn-doors. In proportion to what they find in this, you must supply them with roots, giving enough to keep them in growth."