STEER FEEDING EXPERIMENTS 24^ 



concentrated feed such as cottonseed meal; Fifth, to compare 

 rations in which the roughage is composed of corn silage only, corn 

 silage and mixed hay, and corn silage and alfalfa hay ; Sixth, to de- 

 termine the cost of producing a pound of gain during the first part 

 of the feeding period, when roughage alone is fed, as compared 

 with the latter part of the feeding period, when grain is added to 

 the ration. 



Description of Cattle. 



The cattle used in this experiment were of mixed breeding, 

 with beef blood predominating. They were purchased in Roane 

 County, West Virginia, and would have classed as 'fair feeders' on 

 the Pittsburgh market. They were two-year-olds, averaging a lit- 

 tle more than nine hundred pounds each at the beginning of the 

 experiment. The sixty head purchased were divided into five lots 

 of twelve head each, as equally as possible according to age, type, 

 breed, weight, quality, and general condition. The average indi- 

 vidual weight at the beginning of the experiment of the lightest lot 

 was 910 pounds, while those in the heaviest lot averaged 926 

 pounds. 



Shelter, Feed Lots, and Water Supply. 



The cattle were fed in sheds enclosed on three sides and open 

 to the south. The covered part of the sheds for each lot was 

 14 x 30 feet which provides ample protection from rain, snow, and 

 sleet, except during severe storms from the south. A pen 25 x 30 

 feet joined each shed so as to permit the cattle to exercise in the 

 open. The uncovered portions of the feed lot had concrete floors 

 which kept the cattle free from mud in rainy weather, and retained 

 all fertility until it was hauled away. A large amount of bedding 

 was required to absorb the accumulation of water during wet weather, 

 but the amount of manure produced increased in proportion. 



Open galvanized tanks filled with water were constantly kept 

 before the cattle. During cold weather the ice was broken twice 

 daily to allow the cattle to drink. 



The Rations. 



The steers in Lot I received the ration which is commonly fed 

 in Pennsylvania. It was composed of mixed hay and corn stover 

 as roughage, and chopped ear corn, or corn and cob meal, and bran 

 as concentrates. The steers received all the mixed hay they would 

 consume and four pounds of corn stover per head daily in addition. 



