Feeding Farm Animals 295 



sickness or death. The keeping of feed boxes clean is a good 

 way to increase the palatability of the ration. 



160. Effect of feed on the digestion. Another factor that 

 must be considered is the effect of the feed on the digestive 

 system of the animal. Some feeds are laxative in character; 

 others are constipating. Succulent feeds are laxative, so also 

 are linseed meal and wheat bran ; corn stover and timothy hay 

 are somewhat constipating to cattle and for this reason dairy- 

 men often avoid them; cottonseed meal is also constipating 

 if fed in too large quantities. 



161. Cost of feed. If the farmer is a good business man, 

 he will consider the cost item carefully. As a rule home- 

 grown feeds are cheaper than purchased ones and progressive 

 farmers make use of them whenever possible. Growing a 

 leguminous hay and including it in the ration will often make 

 it possible to cut down on the quantity of by-product con- 

 centrates necessary. At times it may pay to sell certain feeds 

 and buy others to take their places. In figuring the cost of 

 feeds, the cost of the protein determines largely the choice of 

 feeds. This is especially true in the West. 



162. Suiting the feed to the animal. Timothy hay is very 

 good for horses, but is not suited to dairy cattle. Red clover 

 hay, although richer in protein than timothy, is not so often 

 fed to horses, as it is likely to be dusty. Dairy cattle, on the 

 other hand, are fed red clover hay in preference to timothy. 



163. Digestibility of feed. A part of the food that is taken 

 into the alimentary tract is not digested and passes from the 

 body as waste matter. The proportion of the food digested 

 depends on the kind, the class of the animal, and the condition 

 of health of the animal. The value of a feed when eaten by 

 an animal depends on how much of it is digested. The term 

 digestible nutrients is used to indicate the portion of the food 

 materials that is digested and absorbed by the animal. Ex- 

 periments have been made with each kind of feed to determine 

 the proportion of digestible nutrients. The results are not 



