THE YOUNG FARMER 



they are fed from 90 to 150 days, after which 

 they are sent to market for slaughter. The 

 food consists usually of maize fodder, maize 

 stover, hay, maize (usually in the ear), a 

 little bran, linseed or cottonseed oil meal. 

 The ration per day during rapid fattening is 

 about 20 pounds of dry matter per 1,000 

 pounds of live weight, containing 16 pounds 

 of digestible substance, of which 1.25 to 1.75 

 is digestible protein. One hundred pounds 

 of increase may be obtained under average 

 conditions from 150 pounds stover, 325 

 pounds of hay, 775 pounds of maize and 75 

 pounds of cottonseed meal. 



Great variations will occur, however, 

 depending upon the condition of the ani- 

 mals at the beginning of the feeding period 

 and the degree of fatness or finish to which 

 the animals are brought before placing upon 

 the market. In any case, the food consumed 

 will cost more than the value of the increase. 

 The only way that steers can be profitably 

 fattened is by increasing the value per 

 pound of the animal. Thus an 8oo-pound 

 steer may be purchased at five cents per 

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