284 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



versa. Usually not more than 4 or 5 pounds per ani- 

 mal are fed daily at any stage of the fattening to a mature 

 cattle beast. In some instances in the South, large numbers 

 of cattle are fattened at the mills on cotton seed and hulls. 

 At first, they are not fed more than 3 or 4 pounds of 

 the meal daily, which is gradually increased to 6 to 10 

 pounds according to the capacity of the animals. They are 

 given in addition all the hulls that they will consume, and 

 in 90 to 1 20 days are ready for the shambles. 



Cottonseed meal has proved a very satisfactory food 

 for dairy cows. In certain trials made, it has been found 

 superior even to wheat bran, pound for pound, in sustaining 

 the milk flow, at least for a limited period. As much as 6 

 pounds per day may be fed for short periods of feeding, 

 but not more than 4 pounds per day should be given in 

 prolonged feeding for milk or butter production, and 3 

 pounds would probably be a safer amount. It is a strong 

 concentrate, and if fed in excess, deranged digestion will 

 certainly follow. It has been claimed that cottonseed meal 

 should be fed with a prudent caution to cows within two or 

 three months of calving, and for three or four weeks sub- 

 sequently. It feeds well along with ground oats, as the 

 oats furnish the necessary bulk. From the standpoint of 

 nutrients, cottonseed meal and corn make an excellent com- 

 bination, and cotton seed and rye or barley are suitable, but 

 the addition of some bran to add to the bulk will improve 

 the ration. Cottonseed meal adds to the firmness of butter, 

 a fact of no little importance in warm climates. 



For sheep, cottonseed meal judiciously used is quite 

 helpful. Fed along with oats it makes a good concentrate 

 for breeding ewes, more especially when the fodder is car- 

 bonaceous. One part of cottonseed meal and three parts of 

 oats, or one and two parts of each when a small amount is 

 fed, should prove satisfactory. At all times, however, it 

 should be fed with a prudent caution to pregnant ewes, 

 lest it should cause abortion. If the roughage were 

 leguminous, corn could be fed instead of oats. For sheep 



