BALANCED RATIONS 



201 



The figures in the last line show the amounts that 

 German investigators have found to be necessary for a 

 1000-lb. steer in the first period of fattening. By 

 comparing these figures with those in the line above, 

 which represent the amounts that the animal is actually 

 getting, it will be seen that he is getting too much car- 

 bohydrates and fat and not enough dry matter and 

 protein. 



In order to balance up the ration it will be necessary 

 to substitute some foods that contain less carbohydrates 

 and more protein. By substituting 15 pounds of clover 

 hay for the corn stover, and cutting the corn ration 

 down to 13 pounds, the ration will be composed as fol- 

 lows: 



Clover hay, 15 lb. 



Corn, 13 lb 



Total 



Dry 

 matter. 



12.705 

 11.583 

 24.288 



Protein. 



1.02 

 1.02 

 2.04 



Carbo- 

 hydrates. 



5.37 



8.67 



14.04 



Ether 

 extract. 



0.25 

 0.55 

 0.80 



It is seen that this ration is lacking in dry matter, 

 protein, and carbohydrates, and has too much fat. By 

 adding two pounds of linseed oil meal (old process) we 

 have the ration as follows : 



Clover hay, 15 lb 



Corn, 13 lb 



Oilmeal, 2 lb 



Total 



Dry 



matter. 



12.705 

 11.583 

 1.816 

 26.10 



Protein. 



1.02 



1.02 



.58 



2.62 



Carbo- 

 hydrates. 



5.37 



8.67 



0.65 



14.69 



Ether 

 extract. 



0.25 

 0.55 

 0.14 

 0.94 



Although this ration is still somewhat deficient in 

 dry matter and has an excessive amount of fat, the pro- 

 tein and carbohydrates are present in amounts approx- 

 imately as called for by the standard. Little attention 

 is paid to the fat in a ration for fattening animals, as 

 there is ordinarily more than is required, the essential 

 point being to get the protein and carbohydrates in the 



