268 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



carried out first of all with twenty fat sheep which 

 weighed together 1160-5 kg. at the end of the 

 fattening time. They each received for 2\ months 

 a daily ration of 1-25-1-50 kg. aftermath hay, and 

 later 1-5 kg. meadow hay. During this time they 

 lost no weight, and after the 2^ months' feeding 

 with hay they weighed 1166-5 kg. ; nor when they 

 were killed did they seem to have lost any of 

 their fat. Similar results were got when two fat 

 oxen were fed for 47 days on hay alone. More 

 exact investigations with the respiration chamber 

 have shown that fat oxen can be maintained in 

 their fat condition when for each 1000 Ibs. live 

 weight only 1-1-5 Ibs. digestible protein and a 

 starch equivalent of 7-9 Ibs. are given. 



If fat animals have to be kept for some time 

 before they can be sold, the fattening ration should 

 be very gradually broken off and the above main- 

 tenance ration substituted. Here, as also during 

 the fattening period, it is of great advantage to 

 weigh the animals regularly. 



(2) The fattening of grown pigs. 



At the age of i-ij years, pigs of the more quickly 

 growing breeds which are then practically full- 

 grown and have ceased to put on flesh, require, 

 as do full-grown ruminants, only a moderate supply 

 of protein. This fact, which has often been ob- 

 served in practice, received full confirmation from 



