Computing Rations for Farm Animals 



I59i 



The total nutriment, 17.635 pounds, is slightly different hei e from 

 that on page 1579, because in computing Table 3 from Table 1 the fourth 

 decimal place was dropped, while in calculating the ration on page 1579 it 

 is retained. When the shorter method is used, rations may be calculated 

 very rapidly. The nutritive ratio of the ration is calculated as in the 

 first method, on page 1579. 



The above ration meets the factors which, it has been said, must be 

 considered. Other illustrative rations follow, in order to show the shorter 

 method for computing rations for all classes of stock. 



Other illustrative rations 



A ration for a horse weighing 1,000 pounds, doing medium work. — The 

 requirements for a horse doing medium work are about 24 pounds of dry 

 matter, which shall contain 2 pounds of digestible protein and 14.4 pounds 

 of total nutriment, with a nutritive ratio of 1 :6.2 (Table 2, page 1575). 

 A ration that will meet the above requirements may be computed from 

 Table 3. It is assumed that oats, corn, and timothy hay are the most 

 available foods. The ration then is: 



14.544 — 1.352 = 13.192 

 13.192 -T- 1.352 = 9.8 



Therefore the nutritive ratio is 1 : 9.8. It will be noticed that the above 

 ration is low in dry matter and protein, and therefore wider in nutritive 

 ratio than is called for by the standard. This will serve to illustrate 

 that in some cases the standard is probably too high. All men who have 

 had experience in feeding farm work-horses know that the ration suggested 

 above will yield satisfactory results. The standards given in Table 2 

 are submitted only as guides and they serve a useful purpose in this re- 

 spect; but rations must be carefully tried by feeding, after having been 

 computed. All rations, however carefully they may have been computed 

 on paper, will be changed somewhat in actual practice. 



Beef cattle ration. — A ration is desired for a 1,000-pound steer during 

 the middle of the fattening period. The requirements are 30 pounds of 



