62 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



swine, the quantity prescribed would be propor- 

 tionately decreased. A sheep, for instance, weighing 

 100 pounds would be fed one-tenth the quantity called 

 for in the standard. An animal weighing more than 

 1,000 pounds would require a proportionate increase. 



Feeding Standard Only a Guide. No one should 

 rely absolutely on the feeding standard as his sole 

 aid in feeding any class of animals. Standards are 

 to be taken as guides only and are to be varied or 

 modified as circumstances require. In fattening 

 farm stock it is clearly the best sense to supply the 

 largest amount of food that the stock fed can make 

 profitable use of. In feeding dairy cows, so long as 

 hay, fodder, and silage are home-raised and abun- 

 dant, the cows may safely be given as much as they 

 can be tempted to eat, provided of course, the con- 

 centrated feeds are not denied proper places in the 

 ration. Those responding in heavy milk yields are 

 entitled to the largest amounts of the concentrates, 

 while those that are milking little will not require 

 much, if any, food of a grain or concentrate nature. 



Not only the object sought but the food also will 

 govern. So does the season of the year exert its 

 influence. Then too, and not the least either, the 

 size of the animal affects the food consumption in 

 respect to the general results. A great part of the 

 demand for food is determined by the surface of the 

 animal rather than by its weight. With these cir- 

 cumstances in mind as examples of various factors 

 that must be considered, the feeding standard may 

 well be used as a starting point in the practical feed- 

 ing of the farm live stock. 



