208 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



Buttermilk is the by-product obtained in the manufacture of 

 butter. It is used especially as a feed for growing and fattening 

 pigs. It contains, on the average, somewhat less than 10 per cent 

 solids, viz., 0.5 per cent fat, 4 per cent casein and albumen, 4.4 per 

 cent milk-sugar, and 0.7 per cent ash. It does not, therefore, differ 

 materially from skim milk in composition, and extensive com- 

 parative feeding experiments conducted by the Copenhagen station 

 and elsewhere have shown that buttermilk is very nearly of the 

 same value as skim milk for feeding pigs. It can also be fed to 

 calves with good results, if special care is taken to feed it in fresh 

 condition and in small amounts at the start, so as to gradually 



FIG. 39. Holstein skim-milk calves promising stock for the dairy herd. 



accustom the stomach of the young animals to it. Unless it can 

 be fed in the manner suggested and with the most scrupulous 

 cleanliness, the attempt had better not be made to feed buttermilk 

 to calves, as disastrous results are likely to follow in such cases. 



Whey is obtained as a by-product at cheese factories, and is 

 supplied to patrons in large quantities. It contains only about 

 6.6 per cent solids, viz., 0.3 per cent fat, 0.85 per cent albumen 

 (with a little casein in suspension), 4.8 per cent milk-sugar, and 

 0.65 per cent ash. Whey is a more dilute and more carbonaceous 

 feed than either skim milk or buttermilk (nutritive ratio, 1 : 9, 

 against about 1 : 1.5 for skim milk and buttermilk) ; hence it may 

 be better supplemented by protein feeds than these, like wheat 

 bran, small grains, and oil meal. Whey is fed to pigs almost en- 



