PRINCIPLES OF STOCK FEEDING 



63 



If food is withheld from an animal, 

 the life processes continue for a time, 

 the tissues of the body being drawn upon 

 to supply energy. The fat is first used. 

 When this is exhausted, the nitrogenous 

 tissues are drawn upon, the animal be- 

 comes emaciated and death soon fol- 

 lows. With pregnant females or when 

 cows are giving milk or poultry eggs, 

 and an insufficient supply of protein is 

 furnished in the ration, the animal 

 draws upon its own tissue to produce 

 the necessary tissue of the fcetns, the 

 casein of the milk, or albumen of eggs. 



Animals require considerable food just 

 to maintain themselves and carry on the 

 necessary internal work of the body. It 

 is only the food fed in excess of this that 

 can be used for productive purposes. 



however, to the amount of flesh or fat 

 or milk which an animal will produce, 

 and any additional food supply is simply 

 consumed in the body or is excreted 

 without change. 



The limit of increase may be deter- 

 mined by the age of the animal, the 

 stage of fattening, or the period of milk 

 production. It is well known by feed- 

 ers that when animals have been on fat- 

 tening rations for a long period and 

 have reached "maturity" or "ripeness,'' 

 any further gain in weight is at the ex- 

 pense of double or quadruple the amount 

 of food required to produce a pound of 

 gain in the early stages of feeding. 



Finally, there is a limit to the amount 

 of flesh, fat or mil!: which an animal can 

 be made to produce. Heavy feeding be- 



Fig. 41 OHIO PUMPKINS READY FOR FEEDING PURPOSES 



The ration, therefore, for milk or meat 

 production or work must be liberal and 

 must contain the food nutrients for these 

 different purposes in sufficient quantities 

 and in the right proportions. A horse 

 stuffed with wheat straw cannot do 

 much work, nor a cow give much milk, 

 on swale hay. They do not contain suf- 

 ficient protein, and it takes so much 

 work to chew and digest them that noth- 

 ing is left for productive purposes. 



When the food supplied an animal is 

 increased beyond what is essential for 

 maintenance, there is an increase in the 

 amount consumed by the body for the 

 supply of energy. In addition to this 

 there may be a deposit of fat or increase 

 in milk production. There is a limit, 



yond this point is at a financial loss, and 

 nature protests by a failure of the appe- 

 tite or a lessened ability to make good 

 use of the food and in other ways. 



Animals as mere machines — Com- 

 mercially animals may be regarded pri- 

 marily as machines for the conversion of 

 the crude products of the farm, like the 

 grasses, fodders, roots and grains into 

 manufactured products like meat, milk, 

 wool and eggs. It is the part of econ- 

 omy to utilize these machines to their 

 fullest capacity, within the limits of 

 health. The more crude matter they 

 can consume, the greater will be the 

 outturn of manufactured products and 

 the greater the profits. It is as great 

 folly to begrudge the animal its full 



