172 PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



corn or barle^^ and some nitrogenous concentrate, as linseed 

 meal or bran. For foals, oats should be ground or crushed. 

 They should make up a large part of the concentrates of 

 colts and young horses. Ground oats with the hulls sifted 

 out may be fed to young pigs, but are not much used for 

 that purpose as cheaper rations will usually produce better 

 results. Ground oats with the hulls sifted out are especially 

 good for very young lambs. The whole grain is also very 

 good for lambs that are to be kept for breeding purposes. 



For Fattening Stock. — Owing to their small amount of 

 nitrogen-free extract and their low energy value, oats are 

 much inferior to corn, wheat, and barley for fattening, and 

 should not be used for this purpose unless they are very 

 cheap in price. 



If their cost permits, they may be used for cattle in the 

 early part of the fattening period to the extent of one-fourth 

 or one-half the concentrates of the ration. After the cattle 

 are on full-feed, a more fattening concentrate should be 

 substituted for them. Although it is thought by many cattle 

 feeders that oats are essential to the successful production 

 of baby beef, it has been found by Rusk at the IlUnois 

 Experiment Station ^ that this is not true. In fact, the use 

 of oats considerably increased the cost of gains. They may 

 be of value, however, in getting the calves on full-feed, but 

 are not essential for this purpose. 



For Breeding Stock. — Owing to their large amount of 

 ash, their relatively large amount of protein, and their 

 physical structure, oats are an excellent feed for breeding 

 animals, although they are usually quite expensive. The 

 use of oats in the rations of breeding cows, brood mares, 



1 Unpublished data. 



