STOCK FEEDING 297 



By consulting Table 1, Appendix, it will be found that this is 

 the nutritive ratio for a horse when only light work is required 

 of it. Would the amount of the ration required be greater for a 

 horse weighing fifteen hundred pounds ? Why ? 



General Suggestions on Feeding. The careful feeder will 

 take pains to see that his stock are neither overfed nor underfed. 

 In order to do this he must know the composition of the various 

 feeding stuffs and their relative values. Stock should have all 

 the feed that they can digest well, but this does not mean neces- 

 sarily that they should have all that they will eat. Especially is 

 this true of the feeding stuffs known as concentrates. Horses and 

 cattle both are frequently foundered by eating too much corn 

 when a very heavy feed is given them on this alone. Generally 

 a balanced ration will give the best and most satisfactory results. 

 Cattle and sheep should have a ration consisting of two thirds 

 roughage and one third concentrates; for horses the amount 

 should be one half roughage to one half concentrates; while for 

 pigs, hogs, and poultry the proportion of concentrates should be 

 much larger. During the winter months a large amount of dry 

 feed is given stock, and in the spring, when green feed is to be 

 given, the change must be made gradually ; and the same rule is to 

 be observed in the fall when stock are changed from green feed 

 to dry feed. Carelessness in this matter is sure to cause trouble. 

 Experience has shown that a certain amount of variety in food 

 is just as essential for animals as for people. There i-s some 

 difference of opinion as to the number of feeds that should be 

 given stock each day, but whatever is given should always be 

 given at regular intervals. Work horses are generally fed three 

 times per day, but cattle, hogs, and fattening stock are generally 

 not fed oftener than twice a day. 



In feeding stock for fattening purposes a number of things 

 must be considered in order to secure the best results. Bulletin 

 No. 76, issued by the Missouri Experiment Station in December, 

 1907, gives a number of fruitful suggestions in reference to the 

 fattening of cattle and hogs. 



In the matter of the most favorable season for fattening cattle 

 a majority of the feeders showed a decided preference for summer 

 or some other season rather than winter. A majority of the 



