FARM ANIMALS 107 



for the animals and less material required for 

 maintenance and fattening. In Kansas it has 

 been found that after the period of calf hood, above 

 described, has been passed, alfalfa hay and corn, 

 or Kafir corn, will put steers and heifers in excellent 

 market condition at two years of age. In many 

 tests of skim-milk-fed and sucking calves, it has 

 been found that the early training which skim- 

 milk calves receive in the way of constant handling 

 and in learning to eat and drink stand them in 

 good stead during the fattening period, so that the 

 total gains made by such calves are greater than 

 those made by sucking calves, while the food re- 

 quired per pound of gain is somewhat less. In the 

 production of baby beef it is necessary that the 

 feed be fresh and palatable at every feeding period 

 and that the animals should be handled in such a 

 manner as to induce them to eat all that they can 

 with safety. The best results are usually obtained 

 by feeding corn mixed with chopped roughage 

 (alfalfa hay or a similar material), since, in this 

 way the ration appears to be rendered most pala- 

 table and animals are less likely to get off their feed. 

 The production of baby beef is a specialty which 

 requires great skill in feeding and should not be 

 undertaken on a large scale until some preliminary 

 experience has been had in a small way. The kind 

 of cattle to be used for this work cannot be pre- 

 scribed rigidly for all sections . Of course, no scrubs 

 can be used, in fact, nothing but pure beef breeds 

 or good grades of these breeds. They all mature 

 fully at the age of 30 months and can be put in a 

 fine marketable condition as baby beef at the age 

 of two years. The champions of the various breeds 

 claim that each is the best, but no one will make a 

 serious mistake by selecting any one of the three. 



