FISH MEAL IN ANIMAL FEEDING 



381 



The followin<j^ is quoted from pages 652 and 053 of Henry and 

 Morrison (1923) : 



Though fish meal has for years been fed to stock in Europe, only recently has^ 

 it been thus used in the United States. The composition of the better grades of 

 fish meul is quite similar to that of digester tankage. Fish meal from various 

 sources varies more or less in composition and quite probably in feeding value. 

 liecent experiments have shown clearly that high-grade iish meal is even 

 superior to tankage as a sujiplement to tlie grains in swine feeding. The 

 following table summarizes the results of 11 trials in which fish meal has been 

 compared with tankage as supplement to corn for pigs in dry lot. The fish 

 meal was in most cases the by-product of oil extraction from menhaden herring 

 caught off the Atlantic coast. A total of 145 pigs, averaging 77 pounds in 

 initial weight were fed for an average of 80 days in these trials. 



Fish meal vs. tankage as supplement to corn for piffs^ 



Average ration 



Lot I, fish meal, 0.48 lb.; corn, 5.7 lbs. 

 Lot II, tankage, 0.49 lb.; corn, 5.6 Ibs. 



Daily gain 



Pounds 

 1.58 

 1.42 



Feed for 100 lbs. gain 



Corn 



Pounds 

 370 

 403 



Fish meal 

 or tankage 



1 Ilostetler, N. C. Station (information to the authors); Morrison and Bohstedt, Wis. Station (unpub- 

 lished data); Robison (Ohio Bui. 349); Starkey, S. C. Station (Information to the authors); Vestal, Ind. 

 Station (information to the authors); Wilson and Kuhlman (S. D. Bui. 192); Ala. and Tenn. Stations 

 (Data from U. S. D. A.). 



In 10 out of the 11 trials fish meal produced larger and more economical 

 gains than tankage. On the average the pigs fed fish meal gained 1.58 pounds 

 a head daily and required only 370 pounds corn and 33 pounds fish meal for 

 100 pounds gain, while those fed tankage gained 1.42 pounds and consumed 

 403 pounds corn and 37 pounds tankage for each 100 pounds gain. In the 

 majority of otlier trials in which fish meal has been compared w,th tankage 

 in various rations, it has also proven superior, but in a few instances tankage 

 has been the more valuable. 



In experiments at the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment 

 Station in which protein supplements were studied for fattening 

 purposes, pigs hand-fed a combination of fish meal and soybean 

 meal as a protein supplement made an average daily gain of 1.81 

 pounds per head at a feed cost of $7.42 per 100 pounds of gain, while 

 a combination of fish meal and cottonseed meal fed in the same 

 manner produced a gain of 1.76 pounds per head at a cost of $7.71 

 per 100 pounds. When the cottonseed meal combination was self- 

 fed free-choice, faster and more economical gains were obtained 

 than with the soybean-meal mixture. In a comparison of hand and 

 free-choice feeding of corn and fish meal in dry lot and on forage, 

 the most rapid and economical gains were obtained by the use of the 

 free-choice method. Forage increased the daily gains per head from 

 1.56 to 1.75 pounds, and reduced the cost of 100 pounds of gain from 

 $7.88 to $7.09. 



As an illustration of the growing interest in fish meal for feeding 

 farm animals, the following is quoted from Feedstuffs (1930) : 



The value of fish meal as a feed for swine was stressed by W. L. Robison, 

 of the Ohio experiment station, when he discussed feeding experiments carried 

 on at the station during the past yeai-. Mr. Ilobison's talk was a part of the 

 program of Livestock Day, held at Wooster, Ohio, on April 25. A feature of 

 the meeting was the presence of many feed dealers in addition to several 



