SCALES — A VALUABLE TOOL IN SWINE PRODUCTION
R. Hollandbeck and V. C. Bell Department of Animal Husbandry
Purdue University Agricultural Extension Service Lafayette, Ind.
Annually the true value of much livestock is lost or misjudged in Indiana when no scales are used on livestock farms# Check weighing as a part of any breeding, selection, feeding or marketing program will result in reducing this loss.
In the past we thought that elaborate scales had to be used on hog farms# Fortunately, this is not true# Any workable scale can be used to good advantage# We cannot ”out-guess” the scales in determining birth weights, weaning weights, growth weights and market weights# The use of scales to determine these weights accurately cannot be over evaluated#
A# Birth Weight
The birth weight of individual pigs can be obtained by using any small capacity scale, having a half-pound or less break# Some people have used baby scales, no longer needed at the housej others use poultry scales; still others, small, hand spring scales; etc.
Pigs can be weighed quickly on a set of bathroom scales at weaning time.
The birth weight of the individual pigs within the litter is a measure of a combination of the genetic and management influences which have made themselves felt on brood sow productivity# Light-weight pigs at this time will therefore indicate either a poor sow from the standpoint of brood sow productivity or that you, as the manager, have not properly fed and cared for the sow during pregnancy.
B.	Weaning Weight
Weaning weights can be taken by using any one of a host of types of scales having capacities varying from 30 to 1000 pounds# Generally, a portable scale is most handy. Many people use bathroom scales by holding each pig separately - their own weight in this case is a tare- weight# Milk scales with a bucket or live poultry scoop hooked beneath are frequently used# Platform scales are widely used when weighing the litter collectively#
The weaning weight is another valuable measure which can be used in guiding the culling of old sows and the selection of replacement gilts. The 21- and 35-day weaning weights give us the measure of the milking ability of the brood sow# The 56-day weaning weight is a measure of the combination of the milking ability of the sow and the creep feed consumption rate of the pigs. Gold Medal
Mimeo A.H. 217
August 1957