Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1912 — GOOD SANITARY HOG WALLOWS [ARTICLE]

GOOD SANITARY HOG WALLOWS

Xfothlnf Is Better for All Swine During Summer Months Than Reasonably Clean W a ter.

(By JOHN H. DUNLAP.)

There are objections to the filthy mud holes that hogs often make to wallow in, but there is nothing better for hogs of all ages during the summer months than reasonably clean water. I find that my cement hog wallow is one of the most satisfactory improvements I have ever put on the farm. It is situated near a storage tank that is fed by a wind pump, and is directly over an eight-inch drain. The water is allowed to flow through the hog wallow and out into the tile, so it is always pure enough for the hogs to drink. I have never had any sickness among them in the last 14 years that I have used this method.

I find that the hogs get great satisfaction from lying down and wallowing, except in the winter, at which season they are content to drink from the sides. My cement wallow ,is ten feet long, five feet wide and twelve inches deep, inside measurements, and has a cement floor several feet wide beyond each side, so that the wallow will not get so muddy. Though the hogs manage to carry some mud to it, I find that it can be cleaned out very easily every few weeks. A wallow of this kind is very useful

in exterminating the lice on hogs; this can be done by stopping the outlet and the inlet and using any standard disinfectant or crude oil. The crude oil stays on top of the water and has the same effect as if used in a dipping tank. With the use of the disinfectant the hogs get the benefits both externally and internally. Some authorities object to giving hogs all the water they the summer months, but I have never found any ill effects from allowing hogs of all ages all thq water they can drink at all times.