272 



PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



before July, they should not be put on grass at all the second sea- 

 son, as the shrink that occurs during the first few weeks on grass 

 would reduce their weight. 



Two-year-olds are often also carried over to fall by feeding 

 fodder corn (corn with ears) after the ears have hardened and 

 when the fodder is ready to be shocked. The feeding of the corn is 

 continued for about three months until toward December, when 

 the steers will be sufficiently fat for the market. This method of 

 feeding furnishes an excellent and cheap combination of grain and 

 roughage well suited for fattening cattle. More liberal gains and 

 marketing at an earlier date may be secured by feeding, in addition 

 to fodder corn, bran and linseed meal in the proportion of 3 to 1, 



FIG. 67. Fattening steers in California. (Pacific Rural Press.) 



giving about four pounds of the mixture a day per steer. Gluten feed 

 or cotton-seed meal may also be fed to advantage in the place of 

 linseed meal, if the market price is in favor of either of these feeds. 

 Hogs Following Steers. It is a common practice to keep hogs 

 with the steers in feeding fattening steers, especially in the corn 

 belt. The hogs eat the undigested whole and broken corn in the 

 droppings of the steers, and a waste of feed is thus prevented. The 

 number of pigs per steer varies according to the kind of steers 

 and the feed they are receiving; more pigs may be put with older 

 steers than with yearlings, and more when corn is fed whole or 

 cracked than when corn meal is fed. Waters states 20 that two or 

 three pigs per steer are kept when these are fed snapped corn ; one 



20 Missouri Bulletin 76. 



