RAISING BEEP CATTLE 517 



beef. As is pointed out later, these should be fattened as they grow by 

 feeding a liberal ration. It is not economical to feed other calves so 

 heavily that they will become fat, for winter gains are expensive, compared 

 with pasture gains. Furthermore, if cattle carry too much flesh when 

 turned to pasture without grain the following summer, they will make 

 much smaller gains on grass. As calves are increasing rapidly in protein 

 tissues and skeleton, it is important that their rations contain plenty of 

 protein, calcium, and phosphorus. 



In the West where alfalfa hay is cheap in price, it is a standard ration 

 for wintering steers, being commonly fed without any grain. In trials 

 by Potter and Withycombe of the Oregon Station 23 steer calves fed 20 

 Ibs. alfalfa hay a head daily, gained 1.14 Ibs. and the next winter their 

 daily gain was 1.21 Ibs. on 26 Ibs. of hay a day. Steer calves fed only 

 10.3 Ibs. alfalfa hay a day at the Kansas Station 24 in trials by McCamp- 

 bell and "Winchester were carried thru the winter in satisfactory con- 

 dition, gaining 0.45 Ib. a day. As yearlings they gained 0.47 Ib. a day 

 on a ration of 22.1 Ibs. alfalfa hay. Similar results can be secured with 

 hay from other legumes. 



If fed as the only roughage, hay from the grasses or dry corn or 

 sorghum fodder or stover is decidedly inferior to legume hay. For ex- 

 ample, in a trial by Snyder at the North Platte, Nebraska, Station 25 calves 

 fed alfalfa hay with 2 Ibs. per head daily of a mixture of corn and oats 

 gained 1.08 Ibs. while others fed prairie or sorghum hay in place of 

 alfalfa gained less than half as much. However, such carbonaceous dry 

 roughages are satisfactory when combined with legume hay. In these 

 trials calves gained practically as fast when fed half prairie or sorghum 

 hay and half alfalfa, as when alfalfa was fed as the only roughage. By 

 thus substituting cheaper roughages for part of the more expensive 

 legume hay, the cost of raising steers can often be materially lessened. 



Quite commonly silage from corn or the sorghums is one of the cheap- 

 est roughages for wintering steers. In the trials by Potter and Withy- 

 combe when silage was added to a ration of alfalfa hay alone for winter- 

 ing calves or yearlings, it was worth $5 a ton with alfalfa at $8 a ton. 

 Calves fed 10 Ibs. silage and 16 Ibs. alfalfa hay made the excellent gain 

 of 1.30 Ibs. per head daily, and yearlings fed 15 Ibs. silage and 23 Ibs. 

 alfalfa hay gained 1.39 Ibs. 



In trials covering 3 years on a West Virginia farm by Sheets and 

 Tuckwiller 26 a winter ration of 12.3 Ibs. corn silage and 4.9 Ibs. clover 

 hay produced satisfactory gains on steer calves. Including both the 

 winter gains and the gains on pasture the following summer, this ration 

 made nearly as large and considerably cheaper gains than 9.2 Ibs. mixed 

 clover and timothy hay plus 2.6 Ibs. of concentrates. 



When legume hay is not available or is high in price compared with 

 other roughages, silage may be used as the only roughage or it may be 



^Ore. Bui. 182. ^Nebr. Buls. 105, 117. 



"Kan. Cir. 92. *U. S. D. A. Bui. 1,042. 



