DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN FATTENING RATION 



377 



Roots, such as turnips and mangels, should be cut or chopped 

 before they are placed in the troughs, for if fed in the whole form, 

 they roll about, and in cold weather they are likely to freeze 

 before they are eaten. 



Condition of Feed. — Mouldy, musty, and frozen feeds should 

 not be given to fattening sheep because they are likely to cause 

 serious digestive disturbances. But salvage (grain damaged in 

 elevator fires) is frequently used by experienced feeders. Stack- 

 burned clover and alfalfa hay, although lower in feeding value than 

 sound hay, have been found to be very palatable and useful. 



The Digestible Nutrients in the Fattening Ration. — The 

 digestible nutrients in a ration made by properly combining corn 

 and legume hay represent what is commonly regarded as the 

 standard requirement for fattening sheep and lambs. A ration 

 of this sort produces about three-tenths of a pound gain per sheep 

 per day and puts the animal in prime condition in 80 to 100 days. 

 The following table compiled from Illinois Station Bulletin 167 

 indicates the digestible nutrients in rations made by combining 

 corn and alfalfa hay in different proportions. These rations were 

 fed for a period of 98 days to lambs with an initial weight of 65 

 pounds, and since the lowest daily gain per lamb was 294 thou- 

 sandths of a pound, each ration was satisfactory for the purpose of 

 fattening. 



Digestible Nutrients in Each Day's Ration. 



* Fat reduced to carbohydrate equivalent by multiplying by 2^. 



The lower rate of gain in Lot 3 as compared with Lot 1 was 

 in all probability due to the greater amount of roughage and 

 the smaller amount of grain in the ration rather than to the pro- 

 portionate amounts of protein and carbohydrates and fat. In fact, 

 various experiments tend to show that the rate of gain is slightly 

 increased when the com and legume hay combination is supple- 



