1324 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
October  20,  1023 
Live  Stock  Matters 
Conducted  By  Prof.  F.  C.  Minkler 
Grain  Ration  Based  on  Barley  Peas 
I  am  milking  nine  Guernsey  cows,  pure¬ 
bred  and  grades,  and  I  have  250  bushels 
barley  with  some  peas  mixed  in.  I 
drilled  one  peek  of  peas. to  the  acre  with 
the  barley.  I  do  not  know  how  to  mix  a 
balanced  feed  for  my  cows  using  the 
barley  and  peas.  What  should  be  put 
with  this  grain  for  a  good  balanced  ra¬ 
tion?  I  will  have  to  buy  the  other  grains 
or  meal.  I  have  plenty  of  Alfalfa  hay 
and  will  have  silage  later.  Cows  are 
now  on  pasture  but  I  am  feeding  hay 
night  and  morning,  as  pasture  is  now 
dry  and  poor.  E.  M.  B. 
Port  Byron,  N.  Y. 
A  combination  of  barley  and  peas 
would  serve  well  as  a  base  for  a  dairy 
ration.  Barley  has  substantially  the  same 
feeding  value  as  corn,  although  it  is  more 
bulky,  carries  more  fibre,  and  is  scarcely 
as  palatable.  The  peas  are  rich  in  pro¬ 
tein,  are  highly  concentrated,  and  add 
very  materially  to  the  feeding  value  of 
the  ration.  Under  the  conditions  you 
have  described  I  should  propose  a  ration 
carrying  about  18  per  cent  of  protein,  the 
same  to  be  fed  in  conjunction  with  pas¬ 
ture.  When  the  cows  are  brought  in 
from  the  meadow  and  are  confined  to 
dry  yards  and  placed  on  their  silage  and 
regular  Winter  ration  the  amount  of  pro¬ 
tein  should  be  increased  to  20  or  22  per 
cent.  The  following  will  provide  an  18 
per  cent  mixture:  GOO  lbs.  barley  and 
peas,  150  lbs.  linseed  meal,  100  lbs.  wheat 
bran  or  ground  wheat,  T50  lbs.  cottonseed 
meal.  When  it  is  desired  to  increase  the 
protein  to  22  or  23  per  cent,  the  same  to 
be  fed  under  Winter  conditions,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  combination  should  be  substituted : 
400  lbs.  barley  and  peas,  150  lbs.  linseed 
meal,  100  lbs.  bran,  150  lbs.  cottonseed 
meal.  200  lbs.  gluten  feed.  I  am  assum¬ 
ing  that  the  combination  of  barley  and 
peas  will  yield  about  12  per  cent  of  pro¬ 
tein.  The  barley  itself  will  run  between 
8  and  10  per  cent,  and  we  believe  that  12 
per  cent  would  be  a  fair  estimate  of  the 
protein  content  of  the  combination.  Use 
the  43  per  cent  grade  of  cottonseed  meal, 
for  it  is  invariably  the  most  economical, 
and  use  gluten  feed  rather  than  gluten 
meal.  The  15  per  cent  of  linseed  meal 
is  about  the  minimum  that  can  be  incor¬ 
porated  in  dairy  rations. 
The  amount  of  grain  to  use  should  be 
based  upon  the  daily  production  of  the 
individual  cow.  It  must  be  remembered 
likewise  that  it  is  much  easier  to  put 
flesh  on  dairy  cows  during  September  and 
October  than  it  is  during  the  Winter. 
The  cows  that  are  brought  in  from  the 
pasture  thin  in  flesh  are  very  apt  to  re¬ 
main  in  this  condition  throughout  the 
Winter,  regardless  of  the  amount  of  feed 
or  the  choice  of  feed  that  is  made.  It  is 
an  up-hill  job  to  maintain  thin  dairy 
cows  during  the  cold  weather,  especially 
if  they  are  producing  satisfactorily.  The 
selection  of  roughage  has  much  to  do  with 
the  production  of  milk.  Clover  and  Al¬ 
falfa  hay  are  unsurpassed,  although  on 
too  many  farms  mixed  hay  and  cornstalks 
are  substituted  or  used  exclusively  to  pro¬ 
vide  roughage. 
Unless  salt  is  regularly  fed  and  kept 
before  the  animals  at  all  times  add  iy> 
per  cent  to  this  mixture.  Likewise,  if  a 
poor  grade  of  roughage  is  supplied, 
sprinkle  four  or  five  pounds  of  ground 
limestone  over  each  100  lbs.  of  hay  sup¬ 
plied.  This  will  have  a  tendency  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  mineral  matter  essential  for  nor¬ 
mal  assimilation. 
Wintering  Idle  Horses 
I  have  in  my  barn  about  50  tons  of 
pretty  good  hay,  more  than  half  Timothy  : 
about  seven  tons  of  oats  which  I  do  not 
want  to  thrash  unless  you  think  it  ad¬ 
visable.  I  have  plenty  of  good  rye  straw 
for  bedding  and  some  cornstalks,  and  I 
can  get  all  the  cornstalks  I  want  for  82 
per  hundred  bundles.  The  owner  of  this 
farm  wants  me  to  board  his  14  horses 
from  Nov.  1  to  April  1.  These  horses 
weigh  about  1,500  lbs.  each,  hey  will 
have  no  work  to  do  while  I  I  eve  them. 
What  would  you  suggest  I  feed  these 
horses?  Should  I  buy  cornstalks  and 
sell  hay,  or  should  I  buy  some  ground 
feed  and  sell  some  hay,  and  in  either  case 
would  you  advise  keeping  the  oats  for 
conditioning  them  the  last  month?  Those 
horses  are  in  good  shape  now,  and  I 
want  them  to  leave  me  looking  just  as 
good.  Do  you  think  cornstalks  cut  fine 
with  a  fodder  cutter  is  good  as  feed  for 
these  horses?  Hay  is  worth  a  lot  th i. > 
year,  and  I  can  sell  all  I  have  now  but 
if  you  think  I  would  do  better  by  board¬ 
ing  the  horses  I  will  do  so.  What  would 
you  consider  a  fair  price  to  charge  for 
boarding  these  horses?  They  have  al¬ 
ways  been  boarded  on  this  farm,  and  the 
owner  paid  during  the  Winter  of  1020  for 
each  horse.  $25  a  month  Then  he  cut  it 
down  to  820  the  Winter  of  1921. 
New  Y”ork.  a.  ii.  f. 
The  combination  of  sheaf  oats  and 
cornstalks  with  some  mixed  hay  would 
serve  very  well  as  a  ration  for  Wintering 
idle  draft  horses.  Nevertheless  there 
would  be  economy  in  providing  a  grain 
ration  consisting  largely  of  corn,  to  be 
fed  once  a  day  to  these  animals.  If 
horses  that  are  accustomed  to  rather 
heav"  feeding  of  grain  during  their  work¬ 
ing  season  are  brought  down  during  their 
idle  period  to  a  bulky  ration  consisting 
largely  of  hay  or  roughage  of  the  char¬ 
acter  that  you  describe  they  will  lose 
somewhat  in  flesh,  and  the  chances  are 
that  it  will  take  longer  in  the  Spring  to 
condition  them  for  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  where  corn  is  fed  once  a  day  it 
will  reduce  materially  the  amount  of 
roughage  required  to  satisfy  the  mainten¬ 
ance  requirements  of  the  animals.  Sheaf 
oats  make  a  splendid  Winter  ration  for 
idle  horses.  In  addition  to  being  bulky 
and  nutritious  they  are  satisfying  and 
safe  to  feed,  and  disorders  such  as  colic 
are  not  encountered. 
Our  suggestion  would  be  that  you  sell 
half  of  the  hay  and  buy  the  cornstalks 
at  $2  a  bundle;  that  you  feed  up  all  of 
sheaf  oats,  and  that  the  hay  and  corn¬ 
stalks  be  alternated  and  fed  every  other 
day.  I  should  provide  one  feeding  of 
corn  in  the  morning,  and  let  them  have 
the  bulk  of  the  hay  or  cornstalks  during 
the  middle  of  the  day,  allowing  one  feed¬ 
ing  of  sheaf  oats  at  night.  If  the  horses 
are  kept  in  paddocks  and  could  be  fed 
their  hay  and  cornstalks  in  suitable 
racks  in  the  yard  the  advantage  of  exer¬ 
cise  gained  by  this  method  of  feeding 
would  be  considerable. 
The  amount  of  corn  required  should  be 
regulated  and  just  enough  given  to  main¬ 
tain  the  flesh  desired.  Some  horses  will 
require  more  than  others,  and  for  this 
reason  individual  feeding  of  the  corn  and 
the  sheaf  oats  will  be  necessary.  As¬ 
suming  that  the  manure  would  more  than 
pay  for  the  labor  involved,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  rye  straw  be  in  a  condi¬ 
tion  to  be  useful  as  fertilizer,  and  as¬ 
suming  that  you  must  purchase  the  ear 
corn  sufficient  to  feed  these  animals,  a 
reasonable  charge  of  $25  per  month  per 
horse  would  be  fair  to  both  parties  con¬ 
cerned.  Unless  this  figure  could  be 
realized  it  would  be  more  advantageous 
on  your  part  to  sell  the  hay  and  the 
straw  at  the  prevailing  prices. 
The  shoes  should  be  removed  and  at¬ 
tention  be  given  to  examining  the  horse’s 
mouth  in  order  to  make  sure  that  he  can 
masticate  the  hay  and  corn  easily.  A 
salty  bran  mash  should  be  given  each 
horse  once  a  week  in  order  to  prevent  in¬ 
digestion.  I  should  also  worm  each 
horse  to  make  sure  that  parasites  were 
not  sapping  his  vitality.  A  veterinarian 
can  supply  a  suitable  physic  ball,  or  the 
use  of  powdered  gentian  and  ferrous  sul¬ 
phate  will  serve.  So  far  as  the  farm  it¬ 
self  is  concerned,  much  would  he  gained 
by  wintering  the  animals.  f.  c.  m. 
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