6 BULLETIN 631, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Table 1. — Average daily rations (November 1, 1911, to March, 3, 1912). 



Lot 



No. 



Number 

 of calves. 



Ration. 



Feed 

 con- 

 sumed 

 by each 

 calf daily. 





16 

 15 



16 



[Cottonseed meal 



■Pounds. 

 2.16 



1 





10.26 







4.31 







2.01 







1.00 



2 





9.89 







4.16 





(Cottonseed meaf, one-third 



1.23 







2.44 



3 





9.56 





Mi'-sred alfalfa hay . . 



4.05 









Each calf in lot 1 ate an average of 2.61 pounds of cottonseed meal, 

 10.26 pounds of cottonseed hulls, and 4.31 pounds of hay during the 

 whole fattening period of 107 days. It should be understood, how- 

 ever., that these calves were not started off suddenly with these 

 amounts of feeds; they gradually were made accustomed to the feeds, 

 especially cottonseed meal, by beginning with small amounts. For 

 instance, on November 17, the day the test was begun, each calf in 

 this lot was given only 1.5 pounds of cottonseed meal, and this 

 amount was divided equally between two feeds; on this same day 

 each calf ate 7 pounds of cottonseed hulls and 4 pounds of hay. On 

 December 2, or 15 days after the test began, the daily feed of each 

 calf in the test had been raised to 2 pounds of cottonseed meal, 9 

 pounds of cottonseed hulls, and 4 pounds of hay. By January 13 

 the daily feed for each calf had been raised to 3 pounds of cottonseed 

 meal, 11 pounds of cottonseed hulls, and a fraction over 4 pounds of 

 hay. The daily allowance of cottonseed meal was not increased after 

 this date. 



The calves in lots 2 and 3 were fed somewhat more liberally on the 

 concentrated part of the rations and more sparingly on the rough- 

 age parts. This could be done because of the introduction of corn- 

 and-cob meal. Changes in either the amount or the kind of feed 

 should be made gradually, especially when dealing with young 

 animals. 



WEIGHTS AND GAINS. 



When the first weights were secured, in November, the calves 

 averaged from 6 to 8 months in age. On this date they averaged 376 

 pounds in weight. Though not large for their age, they were consid- 

 erably larger than the average for this State. Their dams were large 

 for Alabama cows, probably averaging 1,000 pounds in weight in 

 normal breeding condition, and they should have produced larger 

 calves. In Department Bulletin 73 it is seen that calves averaging 

 460 pounds at 9| months of age were gotten from cows which aver- 

 aged only 630 pounds in weight in their winter form, or about 850 



