CHAPTER XXIV. 

 PREPARATION OF FEED. 



Cooking and Steaming. Years ago there was a popular 

 belief that cooking or steaming feed increased its digestibility, 

 and hence its feeding value. The work of experiment stations 

 and private investigators has thoroughly exploded this idea, 

 and indicates that digestibility may be decreased rather than 

 increased by cooking in the case of many feeds. There are 

 some feeds which are rendered more palatable by cooking, such 

 as potatoes and beans, but in the case of feeds which are eaten 

 readily without cooking, it may be taken as settled that cooking 

 or steaming is poor economy. Instead of being a commend- 

 able practice, cooking is something which should be avoided as 

 far as circumstances will permit, and employed only when feeds 

 are not acceptable in the raw state. Where economy is no object, 

 one may secure larger gains in weight by cooking portions of the 

 feed to make the ration more palatable, thus stimulating the 

 appetite, but such gains usually come at comparatively high cost. 



Grinding. The question of grinding was discussed under 

 corn, and it was shown that, so far as corn is concerned, the 

 gain from grinding is comparatively small. Numerous experi- 

 ments have been made with other grains to determine the effect 

 of grinding, it being generally supposed that grinding would be 

 more effective in the case of small grains than it would be with 

 corn. It is out of the question to review experimental work in 

 detail in regard to this point, but it may be said that grinding 

 small grains, such as peas, barley, oats, and rye, has almost 

 invariably proved beneficial. Sometimes the advantage of the 

 ground grain has been very slight, and sometimes very marked, 

 but the general evidence indicates that it is advisable, when 

 practicable, to grind such grains. When the cost of grinding is 

 excessively high, the practice may not be advisable, but, under 



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