FEEDING AND CARE OF BEEF CATTLE 297 



steers over scrubs and those of the dairy breeds are that they yield 

 a higher percentage of dressed carcass, with less internal fat, which 

 brings a low price, and a somewhat higher percentage of loins and 

 ribs, the most valuable cuts. Moreover, the thick-fleshed cuts from 

 well-finished beef steers are superior in quality to the thin-fleshed 

 cuts of steers lacking beef blood, and consequently bring a higher 

 price on discriminating markets. 



For the beef producer who raises the animals he fattens, it is evi- 

 dent that well-bred specimens of the beef breeds are the most profit- 

 able. The question is more complicated for one who purchases feed- 

 ers on the market. He must consider the price at which he can se- 

 cure the various grades and their probable selling price when fat- 

 tened. Opportunities for larger profits and larger losses as well lie 

 with the better grades of feeders. The beginner is therefore wise in 

 first handling feeders of the commoner kinds, which must be pur- 

 chased at correspondingly lower prices, since the margin for profit 

 in feeding low-grade cattle is usually small. 



Shelter. — Trials at several stations in which steers have been fat- 

 tened in open sheds with adjacent yards in comparison with others 

 housed in barns show that the fattening steer, consuming an abundant 

 ration, a considerable portion of which is roughage, has no need for 

 warm winter quarters. With such animals sufficient heat is produced 

 in the body thru the mastication, digestion, and assimilation of the 

 food to keep them warm under all ordinary weather conditions, with- 

 out diminishing the amount of net nutrients available for fattening. 

 A reasonable degree of cold is a benefit rather than a detriment, pro- 

 viding the coats of the animals are kept dry. Feeding in open yards 

 with no shelter other than windbreaks is common in western sections 

 with little rainfall, even in regions with rigorous winters. For humid 

 regions with severe winters an open shed should be provided where 

 the animals may find shelter from storms. In the South where the 

 winters are mild the saving thru providing shelter may not be suffi- 

 cient to warrant the expense. 



The self feeder. — By the use of a self feeder, a large box or bin 

 so arranged that the grain passes down into the feed trough as 

 rapidly as it is consumed, it is necessary to supply fattening cattle 

 with concentrates only twice a week. In a trial at the Illinois Sta- 

 tion 5 one lot of- steers was fed whole clover hay and a concentrate 

 mixture of 7 parts ground corn and 1 part linseed meal separately 

 at regular feeding periods twice daily, while another was supplied 

 chaffed (cut) hay mixed with the concentrates, the whole being fed 

 in a self feeder to which the cattle had access at all times. 



sMumford and Allison, 111. Bui. 142. 



