FEEDS FOR BEEF CATTLE 317 



Value of corn silage ivhen added to an already excellent ration 



Feed for 100 lbs. gain Feed cost 



Daily Concen- of 100 



Average ration gain trates Hay Silage lbs. gain 



Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Dollars 

 Lot I 



Legume hay, 10.7 lbs. 

 Shelled corn, IS.O lbs. 

 Supplement, 2.8 lbs 2.47 849 435 ... 11.56 



Lot II 



Corn silage, 23.6 lbs. 

 Legume hay, 3.8 lbs. 



Shelled corn, 15.0 lbs. 



Supplement, 2.9 lbs 2.51 716 152 952 10.18 



The steers in Lot II, given a heavy allowance of silage, consumed 

 23.6 lbs. per head daily and ate 3 lbs. less corn and 6.9 lbs. less legume 

 hay than those in Lot I. The silage ration did not produce ap- 

 preciably larger gains than did legume hay fed as the sole roughage. 

 The principal advantage from feeding silage is shown in the feed 

 required per 100 lbs. gain and in the feed cost of the gains. The 

 saving in concentrates and hay made by feeding silage reduced the 

 feed cost of the gains $1.38 per 100 lbs., a sum which often repre- 

 sents the difference betw^een a loss and a fair profit. The silage-fed 

 steers were slightly better finished on the average and sold for 3 cents 

 more per 100 lbs. than those fed no silage. 



Supplement needed with unlimited silage allowance. — We have 

 seen earlier in this chapter that when steers are fed corn with clover 

 or alfalfa hay as the only roughage, they eat sufficient of such pro- 

 tein-rich hay to balance their ration fairly well. Hence, adding a 

 supplement, such as cottonseed or linseed meal, does not greatly in- 

 crease the gains. However, if the steers are given all the corn silage 

 they will eat in addition to corn and legume hay, owing to the palata- 

 bility of the silage, they will then generally eat but 3 to 6 lbs of hay 

 per head daily. Trials at the Indiana Station ^^ show that when clover 

 hay is fed, the small amount eaten is not sufficient to balance the 

 ration properly and that about 2.5 lbs. of cottonseed meal or the 

 equivalent of other protein-rich supplements should be fed. Other 

 trials show that there is less advantage in adding a supplement to a 

 ration of alfalfa hay, com silage and com, doubtless due to the rich- 

 ness of this hay in protein.^® 



Silage as the sole roughage. — AVhether steers fed corn silage only 

 for roughage will make as large gains as those supplied some other 

 dry roughage in addition is important to the cattle feeder. In each 



17 Skinner, Cochel, and King, Ind. Buls. 129, 153, 167, 178. 



18 Bliss and Lee, Nebr. Bui. 151 and information to the authors; Rusk, III. 

 Station, Breeder's Gaz., 61, 1912, p. 1041. 



