168 BEEF PRODUCTION 



an especially good breeder at such age simply because 

 she will deteriorate in value if kept longer. On the 

 other hand, the necessity of watching every corner to 

 avoid unnecessary losses leads to the conclusion that 

 females should be replaced with younger stock before 

 they have deteriorated materially in value. This usu- 

 ally means that cows should be sold when in good con- 

 dition at eight years of age or even younger, but should 

 by no means be applied to those which have proved 

 regular and prepotent producers of satisfactory calves. 



Male calves should_be castrated before the calf has^ 

 .reached .an, age of three months, and this may be done 

 when the calf is less than one week old. 



The feeding of a herd of cattle maintained for the 

 purpose of breeding calves intended for developing into 

 beef may best be considered under the general divisions 

 of (a) summer and (6) winter feeding. 



SUMMER FEEDING 



If pasture is of good quality and abundant the cows 

 and calves will require but very little attention during 

 the pasturing season. ^The^caives should be weaned at 

 from .six to eight months, of age. If spring calves only 

 are produced and the cows are provided with an abun- 

 dance of pasture, there will be no need of supplementing 

 .the pasture with concentrated feeds as far as the cow is 

 concerned. If, however, pastures are sufficiently short 

 materially to affect the milk flow of the cow, the pasture 

 should be supplemented with silage, clover or alfalfa 

 hay, green forage, or concentrated feeds. The calves 

 _should be taught to eat grain before being weaned to 

 prevent shrinkage at weaning time. 



Cows .and calves at pasture should have access at all 

 times to fresh, pure water, shade, and salt. 



The question of winter feeding of breeding cows 

 requires separate treatment. 



