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FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LITE STOCK 



this reason has not been fed or tested 

 extensively as a ration for fattening 

 steers. In Canada, spelt straw was 

 found to possess about half the feeding 

 value of ordinary hay. Straw of va- 

 rious kinds may profitably be fed with 

 leguminous forage plants and other hays 

 and grain. When mixed with legu- 

 minous hay, there may be a considerable 

 saving in the cost of the ration. The 

 feeding value of all kinds of straw, how- 

 ever, should be understood as being 

 somewhat less than that of good hay. 

 Steers ordinarily eat straw more freely 

 if allowed the liberty of a yard. Oats 

 furnish the best straw. Oat straw mixed 

 with silage in the proportion of 1 to 2 

 constitutes an excellent roughage for 

 steers. In Canada, steers made a cheaper 

 gain on a ration containing wheat straw 

 than where hay was used. 



Timothy — On account of the great de- 

 mand which almost everywhere exists 

 for timothy hay, as a feed for horses, 

 farmers can sell this material for city 

 use at a price which is really in ex- 

 cess of its feeding value for steers or 

 other animals. When this is the case, it 

 may be good farm practice to sell tim- 

 othy and feed other cheaper but equally 

 valuable rough forage to the steers. 

 In Iowa, timothy proved to be inferior 

 to corn fodder in fattening steers, but 

 somewhat better than sorghum silage. 

 For the maintenance of young steers, 

 about 20 pounds daily are required for 

 each 1,000 pounds of live weight. There 

 appears to be no difference in the feed- 

 ing value of early and late cut timothy 

 hay. In Utah, timothy proved equally 

 digestible, whether fed green or in the 

 form of dry hay. It proved, however, 

 to be inferior to wild hay. According to 

 experience in Illinois, timothy is not 

 equal to clover hay for steers and tends 

 to the production of intestinal fat. 



Vetch hat — Several varieties of vetch 

 are used as a coarse forage for all kinds 

 of farm stock. According to experi- 

 ments in Oregon, vetch hay is about 

 equal to clover hay for steers. It may 

 be fed to steers in combinations and pro- 

 portions such as have been recommended 

 for other leguminous hays. 



Miscellaneous — According to statis- 

 tics collected in Illinois, a great variety 

 of coarse fodders are used in fat- 

 tening steers. About 34 per cent of the 

 beef raisers use clover hay as roughage, 

 31 per cent corn fodder, 11 per cent hay 

 (kind not specified), 6 per cent timothy; 

 while others use corn stover, straw, blue 



grass hay, cowpea hay, alfalfa, redtop, 

 sorghum, millet, native hays, sheaf oats 

 and silage. It is obvious from the above 

 discussion of the kinds of roughage used 

 for steers that this matter may be left to 

 the discretion of the individual feeder, 

 since the market price and the conven- 

 ience of obtaining different forms of 

 coarse fodders will vary in each case. In 

 general, however, it is well to bear in 

 mind the great superiority of legumi- 

 nous hays as roughage, since these ma- 

 terials furnish protein in the cheapest 

 form in which it can be obtained, and, 

 therefore, serve to balance rations con- 

 taining corn, the cheapest grain feed 

 for steers. 



Cut vs. uncut hay — Much difference 

 of opinion prevails regarding the 

 economy of cutting hay for steers. Most 

 hays are more effective when cut than 

 when left long. The same is true for 

 many of the roots commonly fed. The 

 decision of the question of whether these 

 shall be cut or not must depend on the 

 cost of cutting in each individual case. 

 According to Canadian experience, the 

 cost of gain was 70 cents less a 100 

 pounds on cut than on uncut hay. 



Roots for steers — Many experiments 

 have shown the necessity of some form 

 of succulence in the ration for steers. 

 This may be supplied in the form of 

 roots, and all kinds of roots may be fed 

 with satisfactory results. All roots 

 should be sliced or pulped. The English 

 beef raisers make large use of roots and 

 consider them a necessary element of 

 the ration. Until recently, however, 

 feeders have paid little attention to them 

 in steer rations and many beef raisers 

 have considered them as quite unimpor- 

 tant. In Canada, sugar beets, mangels, 

 turnips and other roots are extensively 

 used and have proved satisfactory. About 

 a ton of roots, together with 500 pounds 

 of hay and 400 pounds of pea meal, are 

 necessary for the production of 100 

 pounds of beef. When roots are com- 

 pared with silage as a means of furnish- 

 ing succulence to the ration for steers, 

 the results are always in favor of silage, 

 for the reason that this material con- 

 tains grain and is therefore of a higher 

 feeding value. Roots are especially val- 

 uable in steer feeding during the early 

 part of the fattening period. Toward 

 the end of the fattening period, however, 

 the quantity should be diminished, since 

 - otherwise the meat may be less firm than 



