86 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



II. Calculating Rations for Farm Animals 



General requirements of satisfactory rations. — The various feeding 

 standards make recommendations only in regard to the amounts of 

 dry matter, of the various nutrients, and, in the case of the Kellner 

 and Armsby standards, of the net energy which the ration should 

 supply. However, the following highly important factors should also 

 be taken into account in computing rations for farm animals. 



Suitability of feeds. — The feeds selected for any animal should be 

 such that they will not injure its health or the quality of the product 

 yielded. Feeds which are suited to one class of farm animals may 



Fig. 26. — A "Balanced" Ration Which Is Unsatisfactory and 



Expensive 



This ration of 20 lbs. timothy hay, 2 lbs. corn meal, 5 lbs. wheat bran, and 

 2 lbs. linseed meal, meets the standards for a 900-lb. dairy cow yielding 20 lbs. 

 of 5 per ct. milk. However, the timothy hay is not palatable, and the ration 

 is not only unsatisfactory but expensive. Cost 26 cents. ( From Humphrey, Wis- 

 consin Station.) 



not be adapted to others. Again, a given feed may give satisfactory 

 results only when combined with certain other feeds. A few examples 

 of such conditions are furnished in the following: Cottonseed meal 

 in moderate amount is an excellent feed for cattle, sheep, and horses, 

 yet it is frequently poisonous to pigs. Timothy hay, the standard 

 roughage for horses, is unsatisfactory for dairy cows, and may cause 

 serious trouble with sheep on account of its constipating effect. Feed- 

 ing cows a heavy allowance of ground soybeans produces unduly soft 

 butter, while an excess of cocoanut meal makes the butter too hard. 

 It is often highly beneficial to add wheat bran or linseed meal to the 

 ration because of their slightly laxative effect. When animals are 



