452 



NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



of the animals and the skill of the feeder will permit. This 

 conclusion was reached long ago by practical feeders, so that the 

 results of experience and of investigation appear quite in har- 

 mony. Such an intensive feeding can be effected only by a 

 free use of concentrates and unless the latter are very expensive 

 as compared with roughages, it is economy to use them to the 

 largest practicable extent. 



Under these conditions it is evident that there is very little 

 significance in a feeding standard in the ordinary sense, so far 

 at least as the amount of feed is concerned. It may, it is true, 

 afford a basis for preliminary computation- of the amount 

 of feed required for a season's feeding, if this is of any impor- 

 tance, but in actual feeding the problem is to induce the animals, 

 by means of the art of the skilled feeder, to consume large 

 amounts of feed without injury to their appetites or digestive 

 capacity, and this is largely a question of the individuality of 

 the animal or lot. The one thing to be kept in mind is to see 

 that the supply of protein in the ration is sufficient to ensure the 

 normal growth of protein, tissue, since this causes a relatively 

 rapid increase in weight. 



For younger fattening animals, somewhat more definite re- 

 quirements might be formulated in the manner indicated in a 

 previous paragraph (528) on the basis of the requirements for 

 fattening and for growth as estimated in Chapters X and XI. 



The compilation by Bull and Emmett 1 of American experi- 

 ments on fattening lambs referred to in Chapter XI (487) in- 

 cluded data regarding the computed net energy content of the 

 rations. They conclude that the production of satisfactory 

 gains required the following amounts of digestible protein and 

 net energy per 1000 pounds live weight. 



TABLE 117. REQUIREMENTS OF FATTENING LAMBS PER 1000 LB. LIVE 



WEIGHT 



1 Ills. Expt. Sta., Bui. 166 (1914). 



