Feeding Dairy Cattle 



5. Feeds suitable to the individual animal and to the 

 product are always necessary. 



6. Palatability is very important in large production. 

 Here is the place where the individuality of the animal is 

 concerned. In a general herd ration, if there is succulent 

 food in abundance at all times of year, the ration will be 

 palatable to practically every individual and it is probably 

 not worth while to have more than one general mixture. 

 In feeding a cow an ideal ration for a special record, it is best 

 to study her whims and personal likes. If roots can be pro- 

 A'ided, the most palatable way to feed the grain is on sliced 

 roots. 



7. Most important of all to most farmers is the factor of 

 cost. The more valuable the animal and the more we can 

 get for the ofifspring, the less we need to look at the cost of 

 the ration. If a man is keeping the cows that meet the ideal 

 that he should have, he can afford to feed them all they can 

 eat of the very best foods all the time. However, ideal 

 rations may be selected with a great deal of attention paid to 

 relative costs. The method of choosing concentrates has 

 been given and need not be repeated here. 



Lastly, must be mentioned the amount to be fed. On 

 full production with good cows, it is hardly necessary to men- 

 tion this — it will be found the most economical practice in 

 the end to feed for the first six months of the lactation period 

 all the grain the cow can consume. Of course, this means 

 all she will consume according to her normal appetite and 

 ■Tloes not mean crowding. About one pound of grain to three 

 and one-half pounds of milk will ordinarily be sufficient. 



With the above rules in mind, the following ration is sug- 

 gested as approaching the ideal for a cow weighing iioo 

 pounds and producing forty pounds of milk per day, testing 

 3.5 per cent, butterfat: 



10 pounds alfalfa hay 



30 pounds corn silage 



30 pounds mangels (sliced) 



12 pounds grain 



This grain mixture is suggested; 

 500 pounds distillers' dried grains 

 300 pounds gluten feed 

 200 pounds wheat bran 

 200 pounds ground oats 

 400 pounds hominy feed 

 200 pounds oil meal 

 200 pounds cottonseed meal 



The writer is fully aware that in the above, the oats, the 



oil meal and the cottonseed meal are high in price, but in this 



Page Thirty-nine 



