372 Feeds and Feeding. 



rience and study. The ability to carry a steer through a six months' 

 fattening period without once getting him "off feed" is possessed by 

 many a stockman; but how this faculty is attained is something he 

 cannot always impart to others. In general, when the steer has 

 reached full feed, all the grain he will readily consume should be sup- 

 plied, but any left in the feed box, to be breathed over, is worse than 

 wasted. 



Scouring, the bane of the stock feeder, should be carefully avoided, 

 since a single day's laxness will cut off a week's gain. This trouble 

 is generally induced by over-feeding, by unwholesome food, or by a 

 faulty combination in the ration. Over-feeding comes from a desire 

 of the attendant to push his cattle to better gains, or from careless- 

 ness and irregularity in measuring out the feed supply. The ideal 

 stockman has a quick discernment which takes in every animal in the 

 feed lot at a glance, and a quiet judgment which guides the hand in 

 dealing out feed ample for the wants of all, but not a pound excess. 

 Cattle of the same age, or at least those of equal size and strength, 

 should be fed in the same enclosure. Weak animals, and those un- 

 able for any reason to crowd to the feed trough and get their share, 

 should be placed where they can be supplied in quiet. 



The droppings of the steer are an excellent index of the progress 

 of fattening. While they should never be hard, they should still be 

 thick enough to "pile up" and have that unctuous appearance which 

 indicates a healthy action of the liver. There is an odor from the 

 droppings of thrifty, well-fed steers known and quickly recognized 

 by every good feeder. Thin droppings and those with a sour smell 

 indicate something wrong in the feed yard. The conduct of the steer 

 is a further guide in marking the progress of fattening. The man- 

 ner in which he approaches the feed box ; his quiet pose while rumi- 

 nating and audible breathing when lying down, showing the lungs 

 cramped by the well-filled paunch; the quiet eye which stands full 

 from the fattening socket; the oily coat, — all are points that awaken 

 the interest, admiration, and satisfaction of the successful feeder. 



582. Frequency of feeding. — ]\Iumford writes ■} ' ' The majority of 

 cattle feeders prefer feeding their cattle grain and roughage twice a 

 day in winter and grain once a day in summer. Feeding once a day 

 in summer is practiced largely as a matter of convenience and not 

 because it is believed to be better for the cattle. For the most part 

 the same reasons that make it desirable to feed grain twice a day in 

 "udnter apply in summer with equal force." 

 ^ Beef Production, pp. 93-4. 



