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 
