RIGHT FEEDING 



II. Practical Feeding 



TWO CLASSES Feeds for farm animals are considered in two classes, 



concentrates and roughage. 



Concentrates are the grains, bran, oil meal, and such highly nutritious 

 condensed feeding stuffs. Roughage is the more bulky, coarse-material 

 feed, such as hay, corn fodder, forage, silage, roots, straw, etc. 



BULK NEEDED All animals, man included, need bulk as well as con- 

 centrated nourishment. But the needs of different 



animals vary greatly. All do not have the same capacity for bulky food. 

 The horse, for instance, has a stomach that holds about 19 quarts. But 

 the ox has room for about 200 quarts,* the sheep 31 quarts; and the hog 

 only about &*/2 quarts, on the average. Now the ox and the sheep are 

 cud-chewers, with large capacity for storing food during the process of 

 digesting. But the horse and the hog can more quickly get their food out 

 of their stomach and into the intestines, thus making room for more. Of 

 all the farm animals the pig is the least suited to bulky feed, because of 

 its small stomach. The horse manages very well; but to insure digestion, 

 his morning and noon feeds should always be light and the bulk feed 

 should never be fed right after the grain, for the grain would then be 

 crowded out of the stomach before the poor animal had time to fully 

 digest it. He should have his water first, then a little hay, and then the 

 grain. 



Bulk distends the walls of the intestines, and thus helps those tissues 

 to absorb the food elements. It also keeps the concentrated feed from 

 passing too quickly through the intestines, so that it can not be fully 

 digested, i. e., put in solution, for the walls to absorb it, but hurries out and 

 is wasted. 



Some good rules for feeding bulk are here given, but with any rule 

 we must make allowance for varied working conditions. These are general: 



For the work-horse... 1 part concentrate to 1 part roughage. 

 " beef steer ....... 1 '1 



" dairy cow ....... 2 " " 3 " 



" sheep ........... 1 " "2 



" Swine ............. Feed concentrates almost entirely. 



For practical purposes compare here the rations given (for horse) 

 page 48 (dairy cow) page 38, (beef steer) page 42, (sheep) page 49, (swine) 

 page 55. 



As a rule it is more economical to raise the roughage and buy the 

 concentrates, if buying is necessary. Select your feeding crop and then 

 compare it with the table, page 29, for its feeding value, and see what 

 concentrates would best combine with it. Compare a number of concen- 

 trates together, and then make final choice of the ones you can get the 

 easiest and cheapest. Remember in this table what each element will do 

 for you; especially 



Protein Makes and repairs lean tissues, hair, hoof, casein in milk, etc. 

 THIS IS USUALLY AN EXPENSIVE ELEMENT. 



Carbohydrates and fats Keep body warm, supply working power, 

 make surplus fat. THESE ARE USUALLY FAIRLY CHEAP ELE- 

 MENTS. 



*Compare Strangeway's Anatomy. 



