114 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



undesirable, as it rarely disappears during fattening and shipping and 

 will lessen the price paid for the finished steer on the market. Some 

 degree of paunchiness may be termed a good fault in a feeder, but the 

 best feeders have much depth and fullness of middle without being 

 objectionably paunchy. The feeder should have as much smoothness 

 as is consistent with thinness. Too great prominence of shoulders, 

 hips, and tail-head should be avoided. There should be nothing in 

 his form that will prevent a high degree of smoothness being secured 

 when he is fattened. It should be remembered that the proportions of 

 the head and neck correspond with the type of body, and in making 

 selections of young thin cattle these are dependable indicators of the 

 turn the form will take during development and finishing. 



The head demands far more attention in the feeder than in the 

 finished steer. We look for what is termed the "feeder's head," that 

 is, a head of much width between the eyes, short and clean-cut from 

 eyes to muzzle, very broad at the muzzle, but not coarse, large of 

 nostril, and strongly muscled and well developed in cheeks and jaws. 

 The eye should be large, prominent, bright, clear, and placid. Polled 

 or dehorned cattle are preferred by feeders, although this feature does 

 not affect the grading of the animal on the market. More hornless 

 cattle can be put in the feed-lot or car, and they make more rapid 

 gains on feed because of less commotion and less difficulty in getting 

 up to the feed-racks. Timid animals are much more likely to get their 

 share of the feed if all the cattle are polled or dehorned. Hornless 

 cattle shrink less in shipment, the carcasses show fewer bruises, and 

 the hides are more valuable. Gashes and punctures in hides caused 

 by goring are not uncommon. Being in greater demand, hornless 

 cattle sell at slightly higher prices. Dehorning gives cattle a setback, 

 causes wildness for a time, and is not advisable if cattle are to be put 

 on feed immediately, except in the case of calves or yearlings that are 

 to be given a long feed. ^ 



1 Light and Rothwell of the Canadian Department of Agriculture reported in 

 1922 (Pamphlet 15, New Series, Dehorn Your Commercial Cattle) that 35 steers 

 dehorned after purchase made an average gain of 31 pounds per head during the first 

 month, while 17 steers hornless at time of purchase made an average gain of 51.9 

 pounds. For the entire feeding period the average gain was 231 pounds for the horn- 

 less steers and 186.3 pounds for those dehorned after purchase. The pamphlet 

 quotes one of the largest commission firms in the United States as follows: "The 

 absence of horns on a bunch of steers usually adds 15 to 25 cents per cwt. to their 

 value. All buyers prefer dehorned steers, even for local slaughter, as the carcasses 

 are likely to be free from bruises and injuries; but the most important fact is that 

 many eastern shippers refuse to bid on horned cattle on account of the practical 

 certainty that some of them will be injured in transit. In the case of a bunch of 

 steers that except for their horns would just suit the eastern shipper, the difference 

 may amount to as much as 25 to 50 cents per cwt." A commission firm in western 

 Canada is quoted as stating that they have handled carloads of steers and heifers 

 so badly hooked that they sold at a discount of from $1 to ^2 per cwt. 



