416 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



the value of the animals was less from 

 the standpoint of the butcher. It is 

 recommended, therefore, that the south- 

 ern beef raisers improve the quality of 

 their animals by the use of pure-bred 

 sires. 



Age to breed beef heifers — The tend- 

 ency to secure as early maturity as possi- 

 ble is becoming more and more pro- 

 nounced and this leads to a desire to get 

 rid of animals before they reach too high 

 an age. In some instances this may work 

 to a disadvantage, since cows which 

 have shown themselves to be excellent 

 breeders may as well be kept for this 

 purpose as long as they produce a vigor- 

 ous calf every year. In some in- 

 stances a tendency is seen toward breed- 

 ing heifers rather too young and there- 

 fore lowering their vitality and final 

 development. According to statistics 

 collected by Mumford, in Illinois, about 

 50 per cent of the beef raisers keep heif- 

 ers until they are mature before breed- 

 ing. A number of beef producers are 

 careful to select only the best heifers 

 for breeding, but unfortunately this 

 means of improving the quality of the 

 stock is not always taken into account. 

 About 9 per cent of the Illinois farmers 

 breed heifers at 12 months; 14 per cent 

 between 12 and 18 months; 17 per cent 

 at 18 months; 14 per cent between 18 

 and 24 months; 42 per cent at 24 

 months, and 4 per cent at an older age. 

 The youngest age for breeding in com- 

 mon farm practice appears to be about 

 one year, and the oldest three years. 



Percentage of pure bred bulls Dur- 

 ing recent years the advantage to be de- 

 rived from the use of pure bred sires has 

 been forced upon the attention of beef 

 raisers, so that the use of such bulls is 

 more general than it formerly was. Oc- 

 casionally we notice statements by farm- 

 ers that the use of pure bred sires is un- 

 profitable, since they have found it pos- 

 sible to obtain about the same price for 

 beef steers from grade bulls. This, 

 however, is not generally the case, and 

 perhaps in all instances the beef pro- 

 ducer will find it to his financial advan- 

 age to use only pure bred sires, even if 

 he has but a small number of cows. If 

 the number of cows which he can keep 

 on his farm is too small to warrant buy- 

 ing an expensive pure bred bull, the best 

 way to secure the services of such an 

 animal is for several men in the neigh- 

 borhood to buy a fine sire in partnership, 

 in order that his good qualities may be 



transmitted to the offspring of common 

 cows. 



According to Mumford, it appears 

 that in Illinois 87 per cent of the beef 

 producers use pure bred sires; the 

 other 13 per cent use grade bulls. The 

 various breeds of beef bulls used for this 

 purpose are as follows: Shorthorns, 56 

 per cent; Hereford, 19 per cent; Angus, 

 19 per cent; Red Polled, 4 per cent; 

 Polled Durham, 1 per cent; Galloway, 1 

 per cent. 



Dehorning calves_At the present 

 time there is a demand from all sides for 

 hornless cattle. So strong is this de- 

 mand that unusual efforts have recently 

 been put forth to secure breeds which 



Fig. 272 — USING THE DEHORNING CLIP- 

 PERS. STORRS EXPERIMENT STATION 



are naturally polled. In this field the 

 Angus and Galloway were pioneers, fol- 

 lowed by the Red Polled and Polled 

 Durham and lately by the Polled Here- 

 fords. The Polled Durham is, as is well 

 known, a hornless form of the Short- 

 horn, and we therefore have both horned 

 and Polled Shorthorns. 



The advantages of dehorning are of 

 much importance. The animals are not 

 only rendered more docile and unable to 

 injure one another in the feed lot or pas- 

 ture, but butchers are willing to give 

 a little more for polled than for horned 

 cattle. This difference in price amounts 

 to enough to make the operation of de- 

 horning profitable. In some instances 

 the difference in price may reach ^2 

 cent a pound. If the farmer is raising 

 horned cattle, as, for example, Short- 

 horns, Herefords and grades of these 

 breeds, he may well take advantage of a 

 simple method of dehorning calves at an 

 early age. It is much easier and also 

 much more humane to dehorn calves 

 when they are young, preferably at the 

 age of three of four days. The method 

 of dehorning has been well described 

 by Otis and others. The hair should 



