402 



NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



TABLE 94. ESTIMATED RATE OF GAIN OF ENERGY PER DAY AND 1000 

 POUNDS LIVE WEIGHT 



It cannot be claimed that the foregoing computations are 

 particularly satisfactory. The data are scanty, and the ele- 

 ment of personal judgment unavoidably enters, especially into 

 the estimates of the energy value of a unit of increase in live 

 weight. Nevertheless, while there are very considerable 

 divergencies at certain points, there is after all a certain general 

 agreement in the results, and they may perhaps serve as a first 

 approximation towards an expression of the growth capacity 

 of farm animals in terms of energy storage. It is much to be 

 regretted that such a fundamental factor in determining the 

 feed requirements for growing animals is so imperfectly known 

 and the determination of the amount and composition of the 

 increase in growth at different ages, whether by means of com- 

 parative slaughter tests or with the aid of respiration or calori- 

 metric experiments, offers an interesting field for investigation. 

 With the smaller animals, such as pigs, lambs and particularly 

 fowls, it would appear that such determinations might be made 

 without great difficulty. 



483. Total energy requirements. The foregoing figures 

 attempt to show approximately the actual storage of energy 

 per 1000 pounds of live weight by growing animals at various 

 ages. An adequate ration for such an animal, however, must 



