384 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



good gains can be obtained with bay 

 alone. 



In a furtber test of tbis matter, tbe 

 same investigators used rations of 6 

 pounds of mixed grain in the winter, 

 with hay and pasture in summer for one 

 lot of calves ; a similar regimen with only 

 3 pounds of grain for a second lot, and 

 no grain for a third lot of calves. The 

 results from this experiment showed 

 that the cost of producing meat in calves 

 during winter is least when tbe grain 

 ration is of considerable size. All indi- 

 cations pointed to the economy of feed- 

 ing grain during the winter. If the 



spring, about tbe time when tbe milk 

 is omitted from the ration. If this sys- 

 tem is adopted, there is little check in 

 the regular growth of the calves. In 

 some respects, however, this system is 

 less convenient to operate on the farm 

 than the ordinary, and what appears 

 more natural, one of having the calves 

 come at the usual spring season. 



Feeding calves for dairy and stock 

 purposes — I n the above discussion of 

 calf feeding, particular attention has 

 been given to feeding calves which are 

 intended for baby beef. A number of 

 the calves produced on the farm, how- 



Fig. 262 — WELL FED STEERS WORTH $6.15 PER HUNDREDWEIGHT, FROM ILLINOIS 

 EXPERIMENT STATION 



whole year is taken into consideration 

 and the system adopted in which no 

 grain is fed while the animals are on 

 pasture, it appears that a grain ration 

 one-third of the full size is most eco- 

 nomical. 



Season for calf production — The 

 majority of farmers in Illinois prefer 

 the spring season for calves and this 

 may be considered as tbe usual farm 

 practice throughout the country. There 

 is considerable to be said in favor of 

 having the calves come in the fall, par- 

 ticularly since if they are fed on skim 

 milk and a moderate grain ration dur- 

 ing the winter, they are in excellent 

 condition to turn out to pasture in the 



ever, must be raised to full maturity for 

 use in tbe dairy, for breeding cows, and 

 for tbe production of mature beef. Ex- 

 actly the same methods should be 

 adopted in feeding these calves up to 

 the time when the milk ration is 

 stopped. After that period, calves which 

 are to be allowed to grow to full ma- 

 turity should be kept on moderate grow- 

 ing rations which will merely keep them 

 in good, vigorous condition and produce 

 moderate gains. It is always desirable 

 to prevent any check in the growth, or 

 loss of weight; but calves which are to 

 be kept for stock purposes should not 

 be made overfat during their early life 

 by forced feeding. 



