SECTION XXX. 



FEED AND CARE OF FATTENING CATTLE. 



Requirements. — We have learned that fattening animals re- 

 quire enough protein to repair the wastes, and carbohydrates 

 must be supplied to increase body weight. Hence the carbohy- 

 drates should predominate in rations for fattening animals. 



The amount of protein required will depend upon the age of 

 the animal. Mature animals require very little protein and a 

 wide nutritive ratio is satisfactory for the laying on of fat. 

 The width of the ration will be influenced by the available feeds 

 and market values, and the cost per pound of increase in live 

 weight. In some sections where alfalfa is cheap and abundant, 

 a suitable ration would necessarily be narrower than one where 

 carbohydrate roughage and grains are economical. The addition 

 of protein from some nitrogenous concentrate as linseed meal, 

 gluten feed, cotton-seed meal,> etc., tends to increase the effi- 

 ciency of fattening rations and makes them more palatable. 

 Sometimes it is cheaper to supply most of the protein from some 

 protein roughage. 



A fattening ration should not only be palatable but should be 

 easily digestible, hence rough fodders are not suitable. A variety 

 of materials should make up the ration. 



Cattle should average 2 lbs. gain in live weight per day dur- 

 ing the fattening period. The gain of course depends upon the 

 age of the animals. Experiments have shown that young ani- 

 mals gain faster than those more mature. During the first part 

 of the fattening period cattle gain more than at the latter part 

 and the longer the fattening period the more feed is required 

 to produce a given gain in weight. It is considered that 12 to 

 13 lbs. of dry matter are required for i pound of gain. The 

 animals should be allowed all the roughage they will eat. 



Corn is the best grain feed for fattening cattle. In this 

 country it is used more than any other single grain for this 

 purpose. Because of its high content of starch it is admirably 

 suited for producing fat. 



