RATION EXPERIMENT WITH LAMBS 
5 
cut hay. In view of the unusually heavy consumption of whole hay, a 
series of experiments along the same line is necessary before a con¬ 
clusion is warranted. The trial reported below is the second in a 
series bearing upon the same problem. 
CUT HAY VERSUS WHOLE HAY, ALFALFA, SECOND TRIAL 
In this trial, self feeders for hay were used, and if there be 
economy in the use of cut hay, it should appear under these conditions; 
for the self feeder should protect fine cut hay and leaves from staling 
and from being blown away by the wind even to a greater degree 
than they protect whole hay, with the following exception. If there 
are frequent wet snows, these serve to cause greater waste of cut 
hay than of whole hay when self feed'ers are used, because the cut 
hay dries out less readily than the whole, and so becomes less 
palatable. 
In the following table, Lots I and II are the Lots to be com¬ 
pared : 
TABLE A 
TOTAL WEIGHTS AND GAINS— 14 WEEKS 
Nov. 23d, 1907, to Feb. 29, 1908—200 Lambs in Each Lot 
Lot 
Weight at 
Beginning 
(lbs.) 
Weight at 
Close 
Gain in 
Weight 
(lbs.) 
Total Feed Con¬ 
sumed, (lbs.) 
(lbs.) 
Corn 
Alfalfa Hay 
Hay, Cut, in 
Feeder 
Self 
I. 
11,675 
19,330 
7655 
20,445 
46,329 
Hay, Whole, in 
Feeder 
Self 
II. 
12,240 
19,170 
6930 
20,595 
41,615 
Hay, Whole, 
Ground 
on 
III. . . 
11,813 
18,555 
, 6742 
20,595 
49 425 
The amount of corn eaten by the two lots was practically equal. 
There is again a difference in the amount of hay eaten, but in the 
opposite directions, showing 4700 pounds of hay saved by the whole 
hay lot. This may be accounted for by too wide an opening in the 
self feeders where the lambs remove the hay, resulting in some waste 
of cut hay. The self feeders are in an experimental stage even for 
whole hay, and little is known concerning their construction for 
greatest economy with cut hay. 
