Feed and Management of Fattening Cattle. 385 



588. Turning to pasture. There are two theories in regard to 

 the proper time for turning steers to grass, each with points of 

 advantage. It is generally advocated by American writers that 

 stock be kept in the yard until the pastures furnish an abundance of 

 nutritious grass. Often when stock is turned on such pastures the 

 ration of the feed-lot is at once cut off, in which case the change 

 is so violent as to give the cattle a serious set-back. Under the 

 other system the cattle are turned to pasture as soon as the grass 

 begins to grow, and while the springing blades are still watery 

 and furnish little nutriment. The lack of feed in the pasture 

 forces the stock to rely on the feed rack to satisfy hunger. While 

 the first grass yields little nutriment, it still has an effect on the 

 digestive system and prepares the animal gradually for the change 

 from dry feed to the rich grass which soon follows. It is a well- 

 known fact that stock shrink badly when changed from feed- 

 lot to pasture, and it is possible that the practice of turning 

 early to grass, at the same time keeping up heavy feeding, is 

 better than holding cattle longer on dry food only and then shift- 

 ing at once to full pasture. In any event, let grain and some 

 dry forage be still offered the cattle when first turned to grass. 



589. Large versus small pastures. The subject of large or 

 small pastures is frequently discussed. The majority of experi- 

 enced American feeders favor a single large range rather than 

 numerous small pastures. Grasses, both in variety and quality, 

 are never quite the same over the whole of a large pasture, and 

 cattle soon detect the slight differences and satisfy their desire for 

 variety by ranging from one spot to another. In large pastures 

 the habits of the animals become regular, and it'is interesting to 

 study their movements. The herd will be found in the morning 

 on one side of the valley, feeding on the more abundant vegeta- 

 tion; later as the sun's heat increases they appear on the hill- 

 side, where there is a movement of air and where the grasses are 

 shorter but more nutritious; while at noon they are to be seen 

 resting in the shade at still another point. This regularity in 

 grazing certainly conduces to comfort and quiet and is of impor- 

 tance to profitable returns. Where the pastures are cut up into 

 several lots, the fresh bite of rank herbage which comes with each 



change leads to irregularity and unrest, thus reducing the gains, 

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