64 Western Live-stock Management 



pastures, stubble fields, straw, and hay are the feeds 

 used. Of these, hay is far the most important. When 

 hay feeding is begun, it must last until grass comes again, 

 since cattle that have had a taste of hay will stand around 

 and bawl for more even though they have other feed. 

 For this reason, it may be wise to let the herd suffer a 

 little during the early storms rather than to begin on hay 

 and have to keep it up until spring, even though there 

 may be plenty of other feed as soon as the storm is over. 

 The amount of hay that can be profitably fed to wintering 

 cattle depends on whether they are steers, heifers, or cows. 

 Steer calves, as already mentioned, will pay for all the 

 hay they will eat, providing it is not too high in price, 

 say $4.50 or $5.00. Yearling steers will not pay for as 

 much feed as calves, but for more than heifers, and heifers 

 for more than cows. One usually expects cows and 

 heifers to lose some fat during the winter. It is not al- 

 ways profitable to try to keep them in the same flesh they 

 were in in the fall, provided they are fat at that time. If 

 they come off grass in a thin condition, it will be neces- 

 sary to feed rather heavily to keep them up! It is es- 

 sential, therefore, that cows should go into the winter in 

 good condition, since winter feed is very expensive as com- 

 pared with summer grass. One ton of hay for a cow during 

 the winter as a supplement to old grass or straw is the 

 standard allowance, and a country where it is necessary 

 to feed more than this is badly handicapped for beef- 

 raising. Heifers perhaps stand a little more feeding 

 than the cows, but not much. They must be kept in a 

 good thrifty condition and that is about all that is neces- 

 sary. They will not grow very much during the winter, 

 but will make a good gain during the summer. Yearling 

 steers, as compared to heifers, should have a little more 



