262 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



foals, young horses or brood mares that are pregnant or 

 while nursing their foals, because of its low protein and ash 

 content. 



Broom corn seed. The seed of broom corn has fre- 

 quently been wasted under the impression that it was not 

 possessed of any considerable feeding value. This view 

 may rest upon the fact that broom corn may be most prof- 

 itably harvested when a little short of maturity. Neverthe- 

 less, under such conditions, the value of the seed is consid- 

 erable, since it is usually allowed to reach the dough stage 

 before it is harvested, and in some instances to go beyond it. 

 Its feeding value is, of course, much affected by the degree 

 of the maturity when harvested, but under almost any con- 

 ditions, the value of the seed for feeding is much more than 

 the cost involved in it. Where the seed is allowed to mature 

 before the brush is cut, as much as a ton is frequently ob- 

 tained per acre. As the feeding value is much the same as 

 that of Kafir corn, food from such a source should not be 

 underrated. 



In some instances it has been reported that the seed not 

 fully matured has been drawn into a pasture as soon as ob- 

 tained, where horses, cattle, sheep and swine were allowed 

 to eat of it at will, except that for a few days at the first, 

 they were accustomed to it gradually by allowing them to 

 take increasing quantities from day to day. The wisdom of 

 feeding it thus is to be questioned, as under such condi- 

 tions, unnecessarily large quantities will be consumed. It 

 may be fed much the same as Kafir corn (see p. 255), re- 

 membering that, as the immaturity in the seed is increased, 

 the relative quantity fed should also be increased. There is 

 probably no way in which immature seed may be fed more 

 profitably than by feeding it to sheep or fowls in the un- 

 ground form. Much broom corn seed is lost by throwing it 

 in heaps and allowing it to ferment, a result that will 

 quickly follow when it is treated thus. 



Millet seed. Millet may be grown in many states and 

 provinces of Canada, but the prairie states of the northwest 



