90 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



variety in the ration, tho this does not imply changes in the ration from 

 day to day. Indeed, sudden changes in kinds of feed are to be avoided. 

 At least for horses and fattening animals, a simple ration, providing 

 it is well-balanced and palatable, is as satisfactory as one containing a 

 large variety of feeds. For example, oats and timothy hay for the 

 horse, and corn and skim milk for the fattening pig, furnish rations 

 which can scarcely be improved from the standpoint of production and 

 health, tho other combinations may perhaps be cheaper. 



Cost of the ration. — Most important of all, for the farmer who 

 depends on the profits from his stock for his income, is the cost of the 

 ration. In devising cheap, yet efficient rations, lies a great opportunity 

 for exercising foresight and business judgment on every farm where 

 animals are fed. The wise farmer-feeder will consider the nutrient 

 requirements of his animals in planning his crop rotations. Thru the 

 use of grain from corn or the sorghums, combined with legume hay and 

 such cheap succulence as corn or sorghum silage, it is possible in most 

 sections of the country to go far toward solving the problem of pro- 

 viding a well-balanced, economical ration. 



Feeding standards only approximate guides. — In Chapter III it 

 has been shown that the composition of a given feeding stuff is not 

 fixed, but is materially influenced by such factors as climate, stage of 

 maturity when harvested, etc. Furthermore, individual animals differ 

 in their ability to digest and utilize their feed. It should therefore be 

 borne in mind that tables of digestible nutrients and likewise feeding 

 standards are averages and approximations — something quite different 

 from the multiplication table. While feeding standards are not to be 

 followed blindly, they are exceedingly valuable guides when supple- 

 mented by business judgment and a practical knowledge of feeds and 

 animals. 



The allowance of protein set forth in the various standards is the 

 minimum recommended by the scientists. Where protein-rich feeds 

 are lower in price than those carbonaceous in character, as is alfalfa in 

 the great alfalfa districts of the West and cottonseed meal in the cotton 

 belt, it is often economical to furnish more protein than called for by 

 the standards. Except with very young animals, it is, however, not 

 advisable to feed rations having a nutritive ratio narrower than 1 : 4 

 or 1 : 4.5. Where protein-rich feeds are high in price it may be eco- 

 nomical to feed a wider ration than advised even by the more modern 

 standards, tho it is rarely wise to depart far from them. 



Maintenance ration for steers. — Having discussed the general fac- 

 tors which should be considered in computing rations for farm animals, 

 let us now calculate the feed required, according to the Wolff-Lehmann 

 standard, to maintain a 1,000-lb. ox at rest in his stall when neither 



