BULLETIN No. 133 



STEER FEEDING EXPERIMENTS 



By W. H. TOMHAVE AND C. W. HICKMAN. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



1. Corn silage at $3.50 per ton is slightly more economical 

 when used as the sole roughage for steers, than a combination of 

 mixed hay and silage in which the silage is limited to 20 pounds 

 per had daily when hay, costing $12.00 per ton, is freely fed. 



2. A ration of mixed hay and corn stover as roughage, with 

 broken ear corn, or corn and cob meal, and bran as grain, when fed 

 throughout the entire feeding period, is not economical in Pennsyl- 

 vania. The cattle fed this ration through the entire feeding period 

 produced 100 pounds of gain at an average cost of $12.97, while 

 those receiving no grain during the first 56 days except cottonseed 

 meal, and what grain was present in the silage, made 100 pounds 

 of gain at an average cost of $10.48. Wheat bran as a source of 

 protein at $25.00 per ton is much more expensive than cottonseed 

 meal at $34.00 per ton. The additional cost of grinding corn is not 

 repaid by greater gains from steers. 



3. Alfalfa hay at $15.00 per ton, when fed at the rate of 

 5 pounds per 1000 pounds live weight in combination with corn 

 silage, is not so efficient as a source of protein as 2}^ pounds 

 of cottonseed meal per 1000 pounds live weight daily at $34.00 

 per ton. The feeding of 5 pounds of alfalfa hay with 2^2 pounds of 

 cottonseed meal per 1000 pounds live weight daily as a source of 

 protein, in a ration of corn silage and corn, is not now economical. 

 Alfalfa hay, fed in combination with corn silage during the first 56 

 days with corn added to the ration for the balance of the period, 

 reduced the cost of gams, but also decreased the rate of gain, as 

 compared with the ration differing by the addition of cottonseed 

 meal. 



4. Corn silage at $3.50 per ton as the sole roughage is more 

 economical than corn silage and alfalfa hay combined, when alfalfa 

 hay costs $15.00 per ton. 



