158 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OE CATTLE 



will not eat enough to promote rapid fattening. Such 

 a condition is detected by the delicate way in which 

 they take their food. The more immature the animals 

 are, the more liable are they to become thus affected. 

 Cattle thus troubled should be at once promptly sepa- 

 rated from the others and should be given concentrates 

 in the form of meal until the soreness disappears. 



7. A\'hen well-grown animals are being fattened 

 it is not common to feed concentrates more than twice 

 a day, and, in some instances, roughage is not fed more 

 frequently. But many feeders give roughage three 

 times daily with a view to have the same in more palata- 

 ble form when consumed than if given in larger feeds. 

 The old theory that cattle being fattened should be fed 

 frequently and in small quantities finds little favor now. 

 The thought now is that a full feed should be eaten and 

 then allow the animals to lie undisturbed while it is 

 being digested. 



8. The dailr increase of cattle well matured will 

 vary greatly with the foods, the individuality of the 

 animals, and the stage of the feeding. It should not 

 be less than 1.50 pounds daily, and is seldom more than 

 2.25 pounds with prolonged feeding. The average is, 

 probably, near 1.75 pounds. The cheapest increase is 

 made in the early stages of the fattening, and the most 

 costly in the later, as there is usually gradual increase 

 in the concentrates fed. The amounts of grain and 

 fodder called for, respectively, to make 100 pounds of 

 increase vary much with the condition of the animals, 

 the stage of the fattening, and the individuality of the 

 animals. It is not possible, therefore, to state with 

 precision, even in a general way, the increase that should 

 be looked for from the food fed in each instance. It is 

 seldom that i pound of increase is made from feeding 

 5 pounds of concentrates. ]\Iore commonly, under the 

 methods practiced in the corn belt in former years, nearly 

 twice as much has been consumed to produce the gains 



