74 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



hay or silage or both may be used for supplementing pastures or better, 

 perhaps, supplementary pastures may be used. If there is a surplus 

 of pasture grass in the spring, this grass, if cut early, can be made 

 into hay or silage for use later. It is good practice to allow milking 

 cows all the hay or silage they will eat in addition to pasture through- 

 out the entire grazing season. When the grazing is good they will 

 eat but little hay ; when the grass becomes short or woody they will eat 

 more hay, and thus less grain will be required to maintain the milk 

 production and body weight of the cows than if no hay is fed. 



The grain fed early in the season or at any time during the season 

 that the grass is young and abundant need not contain more than 12 

 percent protein. As the pasture plants mature and contain less 

 protein a grain with a higher protein content should be used. 



PASTURES FOR DAIRY CALVES AND HEIFERS 



Dairy calves less than 1 year of age do not thrive on pasturage 

 alone and the younger the calf the less it can depend on pasturage. 

 Heifers more than 1 year of age do very well on a good pasture without 

 any other feed, but if the pasture becomes short the heifers may have 

 their growth checked. Apparently the older the heifer the better able 

 she is to subsist on pasturage alone. On some pastures, supplemen- 

 tary feed may have to be fed, especially to the younger animals, in 

 order to maintain normal growth. 



PASTURE FOR THE DAIRY BULL 



The dairy bull needs nutritious feed and plenty of exercise. He 

 will get both in grazing a pasture. The most healthful and economical 

 method of keeping a bull in summer is on a pasture that furnishes aU 

 the grass he can eat. So long as the grass is good he is not likely to 

 need other feed, but if short it will have to be supplemented with hay 

 or grain or both. The bull should get enough feed to keep him in 

 good condition but not fat. 



The fence is the principal problem in pasturing a bull. The usual 

 barbed-wire or light woven-wire fence will not stand the abuse of an 

 active bull. He is apt to break through unless the fence is heavy 

 and well constructed. An insulated strand of wire 2/^ feet above the 

 ground and connected to an electric-fence transformer is one method 

 of protecting a fence from butting and rubbing. 



PASTURES FOR HORSES AND MULES 



Although pasturage is the natural feed for horses and mules and is 

 often sufficient for maintenance of idle stock, it does not usually 

 furnish enough feed for animals at steady work. Perhaps the nearest 

 approach to the ideal pasture for these animals is the grasses of the 

 semiarid West, which are more like hay than grass a large part of 

 the year. On such feed, the horses used on the cattle range are main- 

 tained to a great extent with only limited quantities of supplementary 

 grain. These horses are used only half a day every 2 or 3 days. 



In the case of breeding stock, pastures supply a large portion of 

 the feed required for maintenance and reproduction, and the growth 

 of the young animals. 



