CATTLE FEEDING. IgJ 



Sheep eat a larger quantit}' of dry substance proportionall}- to 

 their weight than do oxeu. At the beginning of the operation of 

 fattening cattle it is best to give daily from 9 to 10 kilogrammes 

 (19.8 to 22 lbs.) of nutritive elements for evei'y 500 kilogrammes 

 (1,100 lbs.) of live weight; an increase of about 10 to 12 kilos 

 (22 to 26.4 lbs.) will be observed for every 100 kilos of fodder 

 eaten, — sometimes a larger increase in the case of oxen. 



It must not be forgotten that various breeds of our domestic 

 animals have different aptitudes as regards the accumulation of fat. 

 Sheep fatten most rapidly between the ages of 1^ j'ears and 3 years. 

 Much Aounger than 1| years, they may still be economically fattened 

 and yield meat which is more water}' and less fat than when between 

 1^ to 3 3'ears old. Above 4 years old, they ma}' be fattened, but 

 then the meat is far below that of younger sheep in tenderness or 

 excellence of flavor. 



The effect of shearing sheep upon the utilization of their fodder 

 is very remarkable ; numerous experiments having shown that they 

 increase more rapidly in live weight after shearing. It is stated 

 that a ration somewhat less rich in albuminoids produced, after 

 shearing, the same increase in live weight that one richer in those 

 constituents did before. These results may be explained by the 

 fact that the appetite is somewhat increased, and that the quantity 

 of water which the sheep need is generally less than when in full 

 fleece ; the quantity of water drunk being reduced, the nutritive 

 elements of the fodder suffer decomposition less rapidly. 



For pigs that are being fattened the food may be considerably 

 poorer in albuminoids than in the cases previously mentioned, and 

 as the fattening process goes on the proportion of albuminoids can 

 be decreased until the end of the operation. This gives fat of 

 greater consistency and better quality, and the animals are less 

 liable to disease than when fed with feed richer in albuminoids. A 

 pig will devour large quantities of food, 40 kilos (88 lbs.) and over 

 of dry substance for every 1,000 kilos (2,200 lbs.) of live weight, 

 and as they increase in size the consumption of feed becomes less 

 and less, until finally it is hardly as great as in the case of fattening 

 ruminants. 



If the fattening of the pig be begun at a very early period (as 

 soon as it is weaned) , so that at the age of one year it weighs about 

 150 kilos (330 lbs.), it will, if it has an aptitude for accumulating 

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