Fattening Steers 69 



produce one bushel of shelled corn, and would, therefore, 

 much more than fill a bushel basket. Steers getting all 

 the corn they want will eat but little hay, not over seven 

 or eight pounds a head after they are on full feed. Most 

 of the feeders in the Corn-Belt pay little attention to the 

 kind of roughage, although it has been conclusively proven 

 that the use of legume hay, such as clo^'er or alfalfa, will 

 cause the steers to gain faster at much less cost. The 

 steers will not only eat more hay, but will at the same time 

 eat as much or more grain. In all cases it is the intention 

 to give the steers all they will eat of both hay and grain, 

 except for the first few weeks. Steers not used to heavy 

 feeding can be allowed only a small amount of grain or 

 they will gorge themselves and go off feed. This makes it 

 necessary to begin with a small amount, three or four 

 pounds daily, and gradually increase until they are 

 eating all they will clean up twice a day. This increase 

 is usually at the rate of about one-half pound a day, 

 although some feeders increase the rations one pound a 

 day for a few days, and then do not increase them at all 

 for several days more. It thus takes from a month to 

 six weeks to get the animal on full feed. This process of 

 '■getting on feed" applies only to grain. Steers may be 

 given all the hay they will eat from the start, even if 

 turned in the feed-lot very hungry. The steers fed in 

 the central states are largely twos and the average weight 

 is around 1350 at market time. The length of the feeding 

 period will be four or six months, and the gains each day 

 under favorable conditions are two pounds or more in 

 winter and about two and one-half pounds in the summer 

 on corn and grass. The gains made in summer are 

 cheaper than those made in winter, and many feeders are 

 now feeding in the summer instead of the winter as 



