BULLETIN OF THE 



No. 73 



Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry, A. D. Melvin, Chief 

 March 30, 1914. 



RAISING AND FATTENING BEEF CALVES IN 



ALABAMA.^ 



By Dan T. Gray, Formerly Professor of Animal Husbandry, Alabama Polytechnic 

 Institute, and W. F. Wabd, Senior Animal Husbandman in Beef Cattle Investiga- 

 tions, Animal Husbandry Division. 



STATEMENT OF FORMER WORK. 



During the years 1906, 1907, and 1908 the Bureau of Animal In- 

 dustry, working in cooperation with the Alabama Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, conducted experiments in cooperation with Mr. 

 J. S. Kernachan, of Sheffield, Ala., to obtain definite information 

 regarding the cost of raising grade steers to the feed lot period under 

 average southern conditions. (See Bulletin 131 of the bureau, or 150, 

 Alabama Experiment Station.) The animals used in the Kernachan 

 work were a herd of grade Aberdeen-Angus cows, headed by two pure- 

 bred Aberdeen-Angus bulls. During the summer months the herd 

 grazed upon a good pasture; no feed was given in addition to the 

 pasture. This pasture was made up principally of white clover, 

 Japan clover (lespedeza), several varieties of native grasses, and 

 some Bermuda. This afforded the animals abundant pasture for 

 about seven months of the year. During the winter all of the cattle, 

 young and old, had the run of the range, which consisted of old corn 

 and cotton fields, with some cane along the river and creek banks. In 

 addition to the winter range, hay and cotton seed were fed, so that 

 when spring came the cattle were in reasonably good flesh. The 

 young stock made gains during the winter, but the cows and older 

 animals usually lost in weight during the latter part of the winter. 

 These cows and calves were allowed to become infested with the cattle 

 tick, but when they became badly infested they were greased on 

 those parts of the body where ticks were most numerous. The 

 presence of the cattle tick, together with an outbreak of tuberculosis, 

 caused the steers to be produced at an abnormally high figure, as the 

 ticks no doubt materially retarded the growth of the steers and the 



1 The experiments reported in this paper were conducted in cooperation with the Alabama Agricultural , 

 Experiment Station. 

 Note. — This publication is of interest to farmers in the Southern States. 

 26574°— Bull. 73—14 



