. Bulletin. Agriculture -- Ontario. 50 Sows which Eat their Pigs.—Occasionally a sow will be found which will eat her pigs. It is claimed by some that the tendency to eat their young is sometimes caused by allowing sows to eat their afterbirth. As a precautionary measure, the afterbirth should be promptly removed from the pen. There is little doubt that the trouble is generally caused by a fevered condition in the sow, often induced by injudicious feeding before farrowing, or even after farrowing. A remedy that has been suggested is to feed the sow salt pork, but the danger is that once the so
. Bulletin. Agriculture -- Ontario. 50 Sows which Eat their Pigs.—Occasionally a sow will be found which will eat her pigs. It is claimed by some that the tendency to eat their young is sometimes caused by allowing sows to eat their afterbirth. As a precautionary measure, the afterbirth should be promptly removed from the pen. There is little doubt that the trouble is generally caused by a fevered condition in the sow, often induced by injudicious feeding before farrowing, or even after farrowing. A remedy that has been suggested is to feed the sow salt pork, but the danger is that once the sow has eaten her pigs she acquires the habit and is likely to do it again. Unless she is a very valuable sow, it is safer not to give her a second opportunity, but to turn her into the feed lot and fatten her for the butcher. The Young Pigs. Feeding and Management before Weaning.—When the pigs are born, the attendant should be on hand to see that everything goes well. If the pigs. Fig. 17.—Group of young Large Yorkshire sows. Note the uniformity of type and the excellent quality throughout. are strong and the sow lies quiet, it is better not to interfere. Sows that have been properly fed and given sufficient exercise seldom have difficulty in farrowing. If the pigs seem somewhat weak, or if the sow is very restless, it is safer to place the pigs in a well-bedded box or basket to keep them out of the way until all are born. If the pen is chilly, a bottle of hot water placed in the bottom of the basket and covered with a blanket, with another blanket over the top of the basket, will help keep up the vitality of the pigs. The pigs should be placed to the teat to suck as soon as possible. The weaker the pigs, or the colder the pen, the more important an early drink of the mother's milk becomes. If parturition is not unduly protracted, and if the pigs are strong, lively, and comfortable, they may wait for their first drink until all are born, but in such matters the attendant m
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