CHAPTER XI 

 CARRYING CATTLE THROUGH THE WINTER 



This chapter will discuss the carrying of cattle 

 through the winter in a way that will not be produc- 

 tive, for the time being, in any considerable degree. 

 The object sought is to carry them through the winter 

 at a minimum cost, and with a view to secure future 

 production from them while being maintained on 

 cheaper foods, as, for instance, grazing. The discussion 

 will embrace the following: (i) The conditions under 

 which cattle may be so wintered; (2) Classes of cattle 

 that may be carried through the winter cheaply; (3) 

 Nature of winter quarters; (4) General character of 

 the food fed; (5) Food for such winter feeding; (6) 

 Utilizing foods that deteriorate with age; (7) Sufficiency 

 of food for winter; (8) Improving food as winter ad- 

 vances; and (9) Feeding cows forward in pregnancy. 



Conditions for v^intering cheaply. — Cattle may not 

 be wintered cheaply under all conditions. When they 

 are being grown for meat and are intended for quick 

 maturing, to carry them through the winter by simply 

 feeding food for maintenance would so far defeat the 

 end sought. Likewise, when production is sought dur- 

 ing the winter, the endeavor to secure it only in degree 

 is usually less profitable than when it is sought in maxi- 

 mum amount. There are conditions, however, when it 

 is more profitable to feed cheap foods through the win- 

 ter than to feed those that are high, as shown below. 

 Among the conditions that call for the cheap wintering 

 of animals are those that relate, first, to the furnishing 

 of the foods; second, to furnishing shelter; and, third, 

 to production. So potent is the bearing of these upon 

 results that they alone may determine the character of 



222 



