468 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



728. Confinement and exercise. Trials by Day 38 and Grisdale 39 in 

 Canada show that steers fed loose in pens tend to make larger and 

 cheaper gains than if tied in stalls. Not only is there less expense for 

 equipment when this method of feeding is followed, but also less labor 

 is required. 



Too much exercise for fattening cattle will make the gains less rapid 

 and more expensive. This is shown in 3 trials by Good at the Kentucky 

 Station 40 in which steers confined in winter to a barn with a covered 

 barnyard were compared with others which had the run of a similar barn 

 and were allowed to range at will on a 20-acre blue grass pasture. Con- 

 sidering the pork produced by the hogs following the steers, the lot con- 

 fined returned $6.86 more profit per head. 



729. Heifers vs. steers. In the United States the large markets com- 

 monly discriminate against heifers, even tho well finished. Steers will 

 usually sell for 50 to 75 cents per cwt. more than open heifers equally 

 well fattened and for about 25 cents more than spayed heifers. 41 In 

 England there is no such discrimination against heifers, but on the 

 contrary a higher price is paid for heifer than for steer beef. Probably 

 the only logical objection to heifers is that they are often pregnant, which 

 lowers the dressing percentage and may affect the value of the carcass. 

 Whatever are the actual merits of the case, beef producers must shape 

 their methods according to the market demands. In experiments by 

 Wilson and Curtiss at the Iowa Station 42 steers were fattened in com- 

 parison with both open and spayed heifers. All lots yielded practically 

 the same amount of dressed carcass, and the heifers yielded about 1 per 

 ct. more in the high-priced cuts of meat. However, the steers brought 

 $1.00 per cwt. more in the first trial and $.25 per cwt. more in the second 

 trial than the heifers. But little, if any, benefit was derived from spay- 

 ing heifers. As a rule, because of the setback caused by the operation of 

 spaying, open heifers make better gains than spayed heifers, if they 

 are fed apart from steers. Therefore, spaying is justified only 

 when heifers must be fed with steers. Then, to keep the animals more 

 quiet in the feed lot, spaying may be profitable. 



730. Preparation of feed. It is pointed out in the following chapter 

 that if hogs follow the steers to get any unmasticated grain, there is 

 usually not enough saving in grinding corn for fattening cattle to justify 

 the expense. On the other hand, all the small grains should be ground 

 or crushed for cattle. In summer corn which is hard and dry may be 

 soaked to render it easier to masticate. 



Hay and other dry forage is often chopped or cut for cattle in Europe, 

 where labor is relatively cheap compared with feed. This practice has 



""Ontario Agr. Col., Rpt. 1907. 



^Ottawa Expt. Farms, Rpt. 1904. 



"Information to the authors. 



41 Vaughan, Types and Market Classes of Live Stock, 5th Ed., p. 93. 



42 Iowa Buls. 24, 33. 



