2O 



PART III 



CLOVER HAY vs. ALFALFA HAY AS ROUGHAGE FOR 

 FATTENING STEERS 



Part III of this bulletin is a report of a trial to determine the 

 comparative value of clover hay and alfalfa hay as roughage for 

 fattening steers. Two previous trials have shown that when hay 

 furnishes the only form of roughage, clover has been the equal of 

 alfalfa hay. When silage is fed in connection with them, one 

 trial has shown superior results with clover hay and the second 

 trial has shown superior results with alfalfa hay. 



DAILY RATION. The average daily feed per steer by thirty- 

 day periods is shown in Table IX. 



Table IX shows that when hay was the only form of roughage 

 used, cattle receiving clover hay ate exactly the same quantity of 

 corn during every month in the feeding trial but slightly larger 

 amounts of hay than cattle receiving alfalfa hay as roughage. There 

 was very little difference in hay consumption during the first month 

 but during the last month the difference was considerable. There 

 was a'difference of .7 pound daily per steer in hay consumption dur- 

 ing the average of the entire period. When both hay and silage were 

 fed as roughage the cattle receiving clover hay ate more corn during 

 the last two months on feed than the cattle receiving alfalfa hay. 

 On the other hand their appetites for silage were not as keen as when 

 the alfalfa hay was used. The average of the entire feeding period 

 shows also a slightly larger hay consumption for the cattle receiving 

 clover hay. 



