

CALE FEEDING IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 41 



rain on the pastures from July 25 to October 30, and as a result the 

 calves had to be taken off pasture on October 31 and put in the feed 

 lot because of scarcity of water and shortness of grass. 



The cottonseed cake which was fed while the calves were on pasture 

 contained about 38 per cent protein and was bright in color. It 

 was a medium grade of cake. The corn was good sound corn, free 

 from weevils. Cottonseed cake cost $30.50 per ton, and corn was 

 valued at 80 cents per bushel. Pasture was charged at the rate of 

 50 cents per head for each 28-day period. 



METHODS OF FEEDING AND HANDLING THE CALVES. 



The calves were fed once each day, between 5 and 6 o'clock in the 

 afternoon. They were numbered by means of metal tags on neck 

 straps. The cottonseed cake and the mixture of one-third cottonseed 

 cake and two-thirds shelled corn were fed in troughs located at a 

 convenient place in each pasture. Salt was given the calves once 

 a week. 



The calves of lot 1 were started on 1 pound of cottonseed cake per 

 day and this amount gradually increased until at the end of the 

 second 28-day period they were eating 3 pounds per day, and at the 

 end of the third period they were eating 4^ pounds per head per 

 day. They were fed this amount for the rest of the summer. 



The calves of lot 2 were started on one-half pound of cottonseed 

 meal and 1 pound of corn per head daily. This was increased gradu- 

 ally until at the end of the second period they were eating 1 pound 

 of cottonseed meal and 2 pounds of corn. By the end of the third 

 28-day period they were eating 3 pounds of cottonseed meal and 6 

 pounds of shelled corn per head daily. This amount was fed until 

 the end of the grazing season, October 30, 1916. 



Each of the calves was weighed individually three days in suc- 

 cession at the beginning of the experiment and the average taken as 

 the initial weight. Each lot of calves was weighed each 28 days 

 thereafter as a whole, and individual weights again were taken at the 

 end of the grazing season. 



RESULTS OF THE SUMMER FEEDING. 



Table 23 shows the results of the calf feeding for the entire summer 

 period, May 5 to October 30^ 1916, inclusive. 



There were 25 calves in each lot at the beginning of the experiment, 

 but one calf in lot 2 died of blackleg, leaving but 21 in that lot. 

 The calves of each lot were fed from May 5 to October 30, inclusive, 

 or 179 days. The average weight of the calves of lot 1 on May 5 

 was 333 pounds and the average weight of those of lot 2 was 340 

 pounds. During the summer each calf in lot 1 gained 252 pounds 

 and each calf in lot 2 gained 293 pounds. The average daily gain 

 of lots 1 and 2 was 1.41 and 1.63 pounds per head, respectively. 



