338 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



being- careful to have them as near of an age as possible. If we were 

 aiming for beef alone and did not expect to use the milk, we should al- 

 low the calves to run with the dam during the summer on grass, or where 

 they are early fall calves, allow them to follow the dam until cold 

 weather, being very careful to teach them to eat oats and a little chop 

 before cold weather, and still allow them to run to the dam two or 

 three times a day, being careful also to provide them a good warm place 

 during the winter. 



It is a common question to hear asked, ""How long were they fed?" 

 The proper answer is and should be, "All their lives." The animal that 

 makes the best "baby" beef, and that makes the best profit was never 

 hungry. At the age of six months, as near as circumstances would per- 

 mit, we should take them from the dam, being careful to have them on 

 a good feed so that the change would scarcely be noticeable or in any 

 way set them back. 



As to the feed, in the early age of the calf we should feed largely on 

 oats, adding a little shelled corn, or, better yet, ground corn; gradually 

 increasing the corn and diminishing the oats, and when not on grass, 

 all the timothy and clover hay, with corn stover for roughness, they will 

 eat. 



We M'ill not enter into the balanced ration feed, yet would urge the 

 beginner to study all these methods carefully. When the finishing 

 period arrives corn should be the bulk of the feed, with a little oats and 

 cotton seed meal or gluten meal. Care should be taken to at all times 

 have plenty of good pure water at an even temperature. 



Keep the cattle as quiet as possible, and the more gentle they are 

 the better they will do. Experience will teach the feeder to carefully note 

 the droppings, the hair and general appearance of the animal to be sure 

 he is properly assimilating his food and in a thriving condition. 



Where weighing can be done once a m^onth without too much annoy- 

 ance to the animal, it is of much benefit to the feeder. 



It will be found from these methods that baby beef may be marketed 

 at from eighteen to thirty months old, owing to the early maturing qual- 

 ities and the success the feeder may have had. We also find that the 

 weights will run from an average of nine hundred and fifty to twelve 

 hundred pounds, more often, however, around one thousand to eleven 

 hundred pounds, and at almost any season of the year will bring a price 

 up near the top of the market. 



Our experience is, that any feeder Avill find some of his calves will 

 go forward and make a much more rapid growth and gain than others. 

 This usually can be traced to the breeding and the milking qualities of 

 the dam, therefore we should urge that a careful pruning out be made 

 each year of the poorest cows, adding new and better ones as it is possi- 

 ble to do so. 



At the present prices of all pure bred cattle, we think it advisable 

 for the farmer to purchase in a small way a few good registered cows, 

 as anyone starting in a small way can in a few years have quite a herd 

 of registered cattle. They eat no more, cost but little more, and are 

 surely a joy and satisfaction to any lover of good cattle. After getting 



