CHAPTER VII 

 THE COMPOUNDING OF RATIONS 



Most of us will agree that the rations of our farm animals 

 should be regulated, both in character and in quantity. 

 This is necessary both from the standpoint of the physical 

 well-being of the animal and from the financial well-being 

 of the farmer. The appetite of the animal cannot be accepted 

 as an accurate or practicable index of its feed requirements. 

 If the farm animal, with the possible exception of the hog, 

 is given free access to a number of different feedingstuffs 

 and allowed to formulate its own ration, the result often- 

 times will not only be disastrous from the financial stand- 

 point, but, in many cases, it will mean permanent injury 

 or even death to the animal. Thus the careful feeder al- 

 ways selects the feeds and usually regulates the amounts 

 eaten. 



Before taking up in detail the specific feed requirements of 

 farm animals in terms of digestible nutrients and net energy, 

 it may be well to mention some of the general guides that 

 are followed more or less closely by practical feeders. A 

 man cannot be a successful feeder unless he is thoroughly 

 famihar with the practical as well as the scientific side of 

 feeding. Of course, the only way to acquire a thorough 

 knowledge of the practical side of stockfeeding is by actual 

 experience, but in lieu of this experience, a knowledge of 



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