138 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 



Requirements for given steers at different periods of fattening 



Owing to the greater weight of the cattle in the last periods, tho they 

 require less total digestible nutrients per 1,000 Ibs. live weight, the 

 requirements per steer are slightly greater. 



Let us now formulate rations to meet these requirements. The steers 

 are to be fed all the well-matured corn silage and good clover hay they 

 will clean up, morning and night, and shelled corn is to be fed as the 

 chief concentrate, with choice cottonseed meal if needed to balance the 

 ration. As shown later (774), 2-year-old steers full fed on corn will eat 

 30 to 40 Ibs. of corn silage during the first period of fattening and 

 gradually less as fattening progresses. Owing to the palatability of the 

 silage they will usually eat only 3 to 6 Ibs. of clover hay. For a trial 

 ration during the first period let us therefore take 35 Ibs. of corn silage, 

 4 Ibs. of clover hay, and enough shelled corn to bring the amount of 

 total digestible nutrients up to the standard. As shown in the following 

 table, this will require 11 Ibs. of corn: 



Trial ration for fattening 2-yr.-old steers f first period 



This ration furnishes sufficient total digestible nutrients and agrees 

 with the standard in dry matter, but falls far short in protein. Let 

 us, therefore, replace some of the corn with cottonseed meal. As we 

 wish these steers to make maximum gains, we will supply somewhat more 

 protein than called for by the lower figure in the standard. Substitut- 

 ing 2.0 Ibs. of choice cottonseed meal for the same weight of corn, we 

 will have the ration shown in the first division of the following table. 

 This agrees well with the standard and should produce rapid gains 

 when fed to thrifty feeders. 



In the same manner we will formulate rations for the middle and the 

 last periods of fattening, bearing in mind that steers on full feed will 

 eat less roughage and more concentrates as they fatten. Since we wish 

 these steers to reach a high finish, we will increase the protein supply 



