The Stock-Feeder's Manual Part 8

Wheat 1 0 Barley 0 10 Oats 1 0 Maize 0 10 Oil-cake 1 4-1/4 Rape-cake 0 9

_Sheep Feeding._--In Ireland sheep are often exclusively fed on gra.s.s; but in most cases the addition of other food is desirable, and more especially is it necessary during winter. When confined to roots, sheep, on an average, consume about 26 lbs. daily, unless when under shelter, which diminishes the quant.i.ty by from five to ten per cent. Some sheep on which Dr. Voelcker experimented were fed as follows:--

lbs. ounces.

Mangel wurtzel 19 8 Chopped clover hay 1 3/10 Linseed cake 0 4-8/100 -------------- Total 20 15-38/100

On this diet four sheep were maintained from the 22nd of March until the 10th of May, a period of forty-seven days. The weights were as follows:--

22nd Mar. 10th May. Gain.

No. 1 153 170-1/2 17-1/2 No. 2 134 151-1/2 17-1/2 No. 3 170 187 17-1/2 No. 4 136 155 19

This experiment shows that the sheep can increase in weight on a daily allowance of food, much less than is usually given to them; but it will be found that growing sheep will usually consume a greater quant.i.ty of food than that used by Dr. Voelcker's fattening animals.

Sheep was.h.i.+ng is performed before the animal is shorn. It is a process which should never be neglected, as dirty wool is certain to bring a less price than the same quality would if clean. After being washed, sheep should be kept in dry pasture for about ten days in order to allow the loss of yolk removed by the was.h.i.+ng to be repaired; they will then be in proper condition for the shearer.

_Sheep Dips_ are used for the purpose of removing parasites from the animal's skin. They often contain a.r.s.enic, or b.i.+.c.hloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), which are very objectionable ingredients. The glycerine sheep dip, prepared by Messrs. Hendrick and Guerin, of London, is a safe mixture, as it is free from mineral poisons, whilst the tar substances which it includes, act as a powerful cleanser of the skin, without injuriously affecting the yolk of the wool.

SECTION III.

THE PIG.

In the breeding of pigs, as in the breeding of other kinds of stock, great care should be taken in the selection of both sire and dam. A good pig should have a small head, short nose, plump cheek, a compact body, short neck, and thin but very hairy skin, and short legs. The black breed is considered to be more hardy than the white; and pure--all black or all white--colors as a rule indicate the purest blood.

The sow should not be bred from until she is a year old, and the boar especially should not be employed at an earlier age. Although one boar is sometimes left with forty pigs and even a greater number, he will not be able to serve more than a dozen about the same time, if vigorous progeny be expected. The sow's regular period of gestation is 113 days; she can have two litters a year, and in each there are from five to fourteen young. Moderate sized litters are the best, the young of very numerous ones being often weakly. The best time to rear young pigs is during the warm or mild parts of the year.

During gestation the sow should be liberally fed, but not with excessive amounts. The food at this time should rather excel in quality than in quant.i.ty; but so soon as she begins to nurse, her allowance must be increased, and may be rendered more stimulating. For a week or so before farrowing, the sow ought to be kept alone. Its sty should not be too small--not less than 8 or 10 feet square--for pigs require good air in abundance as well as other animals.

The straw used for litter should neither be too abundant nor too long; in the latter case some of the young might be covered by it, and escaping the notice of the sow, might unconsciously be crushed by the latter. If the young are very feeble, it may become necessary to hand-feed them. Some sows eat their young: and when they have this habit, the better plan is to cease breeding from them; for it appears to be incurable. After parturition some bran and liquid or semi-liquid food should be given to the sow.

_Young Pigs_ subsist exclusively on their mother's milk but for a short time. In two or three weeks they may receive skimmed or b.u.t.ter-milk from the dairy. At a month old such of them as are not designed for breeding purposes may be subjected to the usual mutilations; and at from five to six weeks old the young are weaned, and converted into _stores_.

_Store Pigs_, when young, are best fed upon skimmed milk, oatmeal, and potatoes, in a cooked state. When they are approaching three months old, they may be supplied with raw food, if the weather be warm; but in winter, cooked and warm food will be found the more economical.

Cabbages, roots, potatoes, and all kinds of grain that are cheap are used in pig feeding. The number of meals varies from six or seven in the case of very young animals, to three in the case of those nearly ready for fattening. Store pigs should be allowed a few hours' exercise daily in a paddock, or field, or at least in a large yard.

The dietaries of store pigs vary greatly, for these animals being omnivorous readily eat almost every kind of food. Mr. Baldwin, of Bredon House, near Birmingham, an extensive pig breeder, gave (in 1862) stores the following allowance:--At three months old, a quart of peas, Egyptian beans, or Indian corn. He considered English beans to be too _heating_ for young pigs. The animals were allowed the _run_ of a gra.s.s field.

On this diet the stores were kept until they were eight months old (increasing at the average rate of five pounds per week), after which they were allowed an extra half-pint of corn. He calculated the weekly cost as follows:--Dry food, 1s.; gra.s.s, 2d.; man's time, 1d.; total, 1s.

3d. These results yielded a profit of 1s. per week per pig, pork being at the time 6d. per lb. Some feeders give young store pigs half-a-pint of peas, mixed with pulped mangel, and the quantum of peas is gradually increased to one pint per diem. All kinds of food-refuse from the house are welcomed by the pig. Skins, dripping, damaged potatoes, cabbage, &c., may be given to them; but they should not be altogether subst.i.tuted for the ordinary food-stuffs. Coal-dust, cinders, mortar rubbish, and similar substances are often swallowed by pigs, and sometimes even given to them by the feeder. In certain cases Lawes and Gilbert found that superphosphate of lime was a useful addition to the food of pigs.

A little salt should invariably be given, more especially if mangels (which are rich in salt) do not enter into the animals' dietary.

_Fattening Pigs._--For some time before store pigs are put up to be fattened, the quality and quant.i.ty of their food should be increased, for it is not economy to put a rather lean animal suddenly upon a very fattening diet. The sty should be well supplied with clean litter, and should be darkened. Three feeds per diem will be a sufficient number, and the remains (if any) of one should be removed from the trough before the fresh feed is put into it. The feeding trough (which should be made of iron) should be so constructed that the animals cannot place their fore feet in it. The pig is naturally a clean animal, and therefore it should be washed occasionally, as there is every reason to believe that such a procedure will tend to promote the animal's health. It should be supplied with clean water.

In Stephen's "Book of the Farm," it is stated that two pecks of steamed potatoes, and 9 lbs. of barley-meal, given every day to a pig weighing from 24 to 28 stones, will fatten it perfectly in nine weeks.

Barley-meal is largely used in England as food for pigs. It is given generally in the form of a thin paste, and in large quant.i.ties. Lawes and Gilbert found that 1 cwt. of barley-meal given to pigs increased their weight by 22-1/2 lbs. Indian meal is fully equal, if it is not superior to barley-meal, as food for pigs; and for this purpose it is far more extensively employed in Ireland. Every kind of grain given to pigs should be ground and cooked. In Scotland pigs are often fattened solely on from 28 to 35 lbs. of barley-meal weekly, and mangels or turnips _ad libitum_. Pollard is a good food for pigs, being rich in muscle-forming materials; it is a good addition to very fatty or starchy food. A mixture of pollard and palm-nut meal is an excellent fattening food. Potatoes are now so dear, that they are seldom--unless the very worst and diseased kinds--used in pig feeding. They should never be given raw. The more inferior feeding-stuffs should be used up first in the fattening of pigs, and the more valuable and concentrated kinds during the latter part of the process.

SECTION IV.

THE HORSE.

The horse is subject to many diseases, not a few of which arise from the defective state of his stable. The best kinds of stables are large and lofty, well ventilated and drained, smoothly paved, and well provided with means for admitting the direct sunlight. The walls should be whitewashed occasionally, and for disinfecting and general sanitary purposes, four ounces of chloride of lime (bleaching powder) mixed with each bucket of whitewash, will be found extremely useful.

Farm horses are kept in stalls, which should not be less than six feet wide, and (exclusive of rack and rere pa.s.sage) 10 feet long. For hunters and thorough-breds, _loose boxes_ are now generally used.

The mare commences to breed at four years, and the period of gestation is 340 days. She may be worked until within a fortnight of the time at which parturition is expected to occur. After foaling, the mare should be turned into a gra.s.s field (unless the weather is severe) and kept there idly for three or four weeks.

_Foals_ are kept with their mothers until they are about five or six months old: after weaning, their food must be tender and nutritious--well bruised oats, cut hay, bean or oatmeal mashes; carrots are very suitable.

Working horses are fed chiefly upon oats and hay, which undoubtedly are the best foods for these animals, both being rich in muscle-forming materials. Bruised oats are far more economical than the whole grains: and if the animals eat too rapidly, that habit is easily overcome by mixing chopped straw or hay with the grain.

According to Playfair, a horse not working can subsist and remain in fair condition on a daily allowance of 12 lbs. of hay and 5 lbs. of oats. According to the same authority, a working horse should receive 14 lbs. of hay, 12 lbs. of oats, and 2 lbs. of beans.

Beans are a very concentrated food, rich in flesh-formers, and are, therefore, well adapted for sustaining hard-working horses. They are rather _binding_; but this property is easily neutralised by combining the beans with some laxative food. Turnips, carrots, furze, and various other foods are given to the horse, often in large quant.i.ties. The following are some among the many dietaries on which this animal is kept:--

Professor Low's formula is, 30 to 35 lbs. of a mixture of equal parts of chopped straw, chopped hay, bruised grain, and steamed potatoes.

The daily rations of horses of the London Omnibus Company, are 16 lbs.

of bruised oats, 7-1/2 lbs. of cut hay, and 2-1/2 lbs. of chopped straw.

Stage coach-horses in the United States receive daily about 19 lbs. of Indian meal and 13 lbs. of cut hay.

Mr. Robertson, of Clandeboye, near Belfast, gives the following information on the subject of horse-keeping:--

The year we divide into three periods--October, November to May inclusive, June to September inclusive. During the first period, the horses get about 18 lb. of chaff and 12 lb. of crushed oats and beans; "10-1/2 oats and 1-1/2 beans" per head per day. During the second period they get about 15 lb. of hay chaff, 12 lb. of crushed oats and beans, and about 3 gallons of boiled turnips per head per day. During the third period they were turned out to graze during the night. In the day time, whilst in the stable, each animal is allowed about 50 lb. of cut clover, and about 12 lb. of crushed oats and beans per day. The feeding is all under the charge of one person. He uses his own discretion in feeding the animals, though he is not allowed to exceed the quant.i.ties named. The horses to which I allude are the same on which the experiments commenced two years ago--six cart horses, one cart pony, and one riding horse. From Sept. 1, 1865, to and including August 31, 1866, the cost of maintaining these horses in good working condition; keeping the carts, harness, &c., in repair; shoeing, c., was as follows:--

Oats, 14 tons, at 16s. per cwt. 112 0 0 Beans, 2 tons, at 18s. per cwt. 18 0 0 Hay, 13 tons, at 30s. per ton 19 10 0 Green Clover 15 0 0 Turnips 5 0 0 Night grazing 18 0 0 Engine, cutting chaff, crus.h.i.+ng oats, &c. 7 4 0 Attendance 26 0 0 Blacksmith 12 0 0 Saddler 12 0 0 Carpenter 10 0 0 Five per cent. interest on value, 110 5 10 0 Depreciation in value 10 per cent. 11 0 0 ------------ 271 4 0 Deduct cost of riding horse 35 0 0 ------------ 236 4 0

33 11s. 10d. per head; if we suppose the available working days to be 300, allowing 13 for wet days, holidays, &c., the daily cost will be 2s. 2-1/2d.; to this if we add 1s. 8d., the wages of the driver, we shall have a total of 3s. 10-1/2d.

as the cost of a horse, cart, and driver per day. I would only add, in conclusion, that the horses are kept in good working condition; and, as a proof of their good health under this system, I may state that during the past two years we have not had occasion to require the services of a veterinary surgeon.

Musty hay or straw should not be given to horses. Furze is said to be a heating food; but it is very nutritious, and when young, may be given as _part_ of the food of the horse.

Boiled turnips and mangels are often given in winter; but they are not sufficiently nutritious to const.i.tute a substantial portion of the animal's diet. Oil-cake is occasionally given to horses; but seldom in larger quant.i.ties than 1-1/2 lbs. per diem. On the whole, experience is in favor of occasionally giving cooked food to horses; and the practice meets with the full approval of the veterinarian. To most kinds of food for horses, the addition of one or two ounces of salt is necessary.

In the _Agricultural Gazette_ for November 25, 1865, the following instructive tables are given:--

STABLE FEEDING DURING AUTUMN.

---+-------------------------+---------+---------+------+-----------+------ Name and Address Clover, Weekly No. of Authorities. Hay. Oats. Beans. &c. Cost.

---+-------------------------+---------+---------+------+-----------+------ lb. lb. lb. s. d.

1 W. Gater, Botley 168 63* 32* ... 12 0 2 W. C. Spooner 112 84 24 ... 11 0 3 T. Aitken, Spalding. ... 37-1/2 ... ad lib. 7 6?

4 " " ... 37-1/2 35 ad lib. 10 O?

5 T. P. Dods, Hexham. ... 105 ... ad lib. 10 6?

6 " " ad lib. 105 ... ... 10 6?