FEEDING BEEF CATTLE 273 
and one-half per steer on husked corn, about one per steer on 
shelled corn, and one pig per two or three steers on crushed or 
ground corn. Pigs following steers should be of good bone, in thin 
flesh, and of medium weight, viz., about 100 pounds; shoats put 
with steers may be lighter, viz., 50 to 60 pounds. When the pigs 
are nearly matured or fattened they should be replaced by a new 
set of pigs, as fat pigs are unprofitable for following steers. 
The gains made by hogs following steers will vary according to 
the conditions of the feeding. It may be assumed that when a 
steer is fed about 18 pounds of shelled corn a day, about three- 
fourths of a pound of pork may be obtained; if ear corn is fed, 
greater gains will be made, while if corn meal or cotton-seed meal is 
fed, only a very small amount of pork will be produced, as the steers 
are able to fully digest the grain when finely ground.” 
On account of the narrow margin in fattening steers and the 
expense of grain feeding it may happen, under unfavorable market 
conditions, that no profit is made on the steers, but the pigs follow- 
ing them, which have eaten a relatively small amount of extra 
grain, can, as a rule, be depended upon to bring a profit, and they 
often save the feeding operation from being a losing proposition. 
Feeding Range Cattle—Time was when catile raised on 
western plains and mountain ranges were kept until four or five 
years old before they were fattened, but the large majority of range 
cattle now are sold as two to three years old, and are fattened for a 
period, varying in different sections of the country, from 60 to 
180 days. The method of feeding depends on the condition and 
demand of the market for which they are intended. In the corn 
belt, where a large proportion of the range steers are fattened, the 
common practice is to feed snapped corn (ears with the husk) as 
the only grain feed at the beginning of the fattening period, giving 
clover or alfalfa hay as supplementary feed ; after six or eight weeks, 
ear corn with some cob meal is gradually substituted for the snapped 
corn, and the corn is increased slowly until the steers are on full 
feed. They will then eat 20 to 25 pounds per head daily. If no 
legume hay is available, a couple pounds per head daily of some 
protein feed is fed with the grain, as wheat bran, linseed meal, 
cotton-seed cake, or gluten feed. Steers on full feed eat but little 
hay, viz., less than 10 pounds daily. 
Cattle in the western States are generally fattened as three- or 
four-year-olds on alfalfa alone. Immense numbers of steers raised 
22 Farmers’ Bulletin 588. 
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