Average ration gain Concentrates Hay Silage ratio 



570 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



Adding a supplement to a ration of corn, corn silage, and clover hay 



Daily Feed for 100 Ibs. gain Nutritive 



icentratea Hay Silage 

 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 



Lot /, supplement 

 Cottonseed meal, 0.16 Ib. 

 Shelled corn, 1.1 Ibs. 



Corn silage, 1.3 Ibs. 



Clover hay, 1.0 Ib 0.355 348 287 368 1:6 .8 



Lot II. no supplement 

 Shelled corn, 1.2 Ibs. 

 Corn silage, 1.2 Ibs. 

 Clover hay, 1.0 Ib 0. 331 360 299 379 1:8 .8 



Adding the protein-rich cottonseed meal to the shelled corn, corn 

 silage, and clover hay, increased the gains and slightly lessened the 

 amount of feed required for 100 Ibs. gain. This shows that the ration 

 of shelled corn, corn silage, and clover hay, which had a nutritive ratio of 

 1 :8.8, was too wide for maximum gains with fattening lambs. In these 

 trials 100 Ibs. of cottonseed meal saved on the average a total of 127 Ibs. 

 shelled corn, 27 Ibs. clover hay, and 11 Ibs. corn silage. Also, on the 

 average the lambs fed cottonseed meal reached a slightly higher finish 

 than those fed no supplement and sold for 5 cents more per 100 Ibs. 



In 6 similar trials at the Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska Stations 70 the 

 addition of linseed meal to a ration of shelled corn, corn silage, and 

 alfalfa hay increased the average daily gain of lambs from 0.278 Ib. per 

 head daily to 0.320 Ib. In these experiments 100 Ibs. of linseed meal 

 saved on the average a total of 120 Ibs. shelled corn, 163 Ibs. corn silage, 

 and 122 Ibs. of alfalfa hay. The average cost of feed per 100 Ibs. gain 

 was 78 cents less for the lambs fed linseed meal, the average selling price 

 per cwt. 32 cents higher, and the average profit per head 42 cents more. 

 It was therefore profitable under usual conditions to add the supplement 

 to the ration of corn, corn silage, and alfalfa hay. 



When linseed meal, cottonseed meal, and other supplements are un- 

 usually high in price compared with grain, it may be most profitable to 

 omit the supplement, for, if good quality legume hay is fed, the lambs 

 will make quite satisfactory gains on only corn, legume hay, and silage. 



Skinner and King found in other trials that with clover hay and corn 

 silage for roughage, fattening lambs made almost as rapid gains when 

 fed 1 part of cottonseed meal to 7 parts of corn, which gave a nutritive 

 ratio of 1 : 6.8, as they did when fed 1 part of cottonseed meal to 4 parts 

 of corn, which gave a nutritive ratio of 1 : 6.1. Furthermore, the gains 

 were usually cheaper when the smaller allowance of cottonseed meal 

 was fed. This indicates that for fattening lambs a ration having a 

 nutritive ratio of 1 : 6.8 is about as satisfactory as the narrower ratio of 

 1 : 6.1. When legume hay does not form part of the roughage, the pro- 



T0 1 trial, Dunn and Evvard, Iowa Bui. 185; 2 trials, Paterson and Winchester, 

 Kan. Cirs. 79 and 88; 3 trials, Savin, information to the authors. 



