Fattening Steers 81 



AMOUNT OF FEED 



The amount of hay will be no less than all that the steers 

 possibly can be persuaded to eat. Eleven hundred pound 

 steers will actually eat, with good hay and careful atten- 

 tion, about 35 pounds a day. In rare cases thay may 

 eat as much as 40 pounds, but this is unusual. More 

 commonly they eat 30 pounds or less, but a steer eating 

 only 30 pounds of hay a day will not become fat, and will 

 be fed at a loss. As steers will not eat the stems and coarser 

 parts of the hay to good advantage, it is necessary to allow 

 them to waste part of it, and in order to get a steer actually 

 to eat 35 pounds of hay a day, he must be offered more than 

 this, 40 or even 50 pounds a day. The stems and refuse 

 hay are cleaned out every day, and given to stock cattle 

 and horses. Horses will clean up the coarse hay that 

 cattle will hardly touch. The amount of hay refused and 

 cleaned out will of course depend on the quality of hay, 

 but will ordinarily be from five to fifteen pounds a day. 

 Tests at the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station indicate 

 a daily waste of five to six pounds with choice hay care- 

 fully fed. The waste is not a dead loss as it may be used 

 for stock cattle or horses and has a value of about one-half 

 that of good hay. Hay should be given at least three or 

 four times a day. When only a carload of cattle is being 

 fed, all of the day's ration may be hauled at one load and 

 sufficient hay may be put in the racks in the morning to 

 last until night ; but several times a day it will be neces- 

 sary to stir up the hay in the racks, and push it around 

 where the cattle can get at it better. Loosening up the 

 hay in the racks in this manner is about the same as offer- 

 ing new hay, and every time a steeji is offered fresh feed 

 he will eat a little bit more. Hence the oftener he is fed 

 the better. One cannot possibly expect to get steers fat 



