The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-02-16
Feeding Problems.


The appended communication from
Prof. Sanborn of the Missouri Agricu-
tulal college, published in the Breeders
Gd<ette, contains suggestions that may
be of value to the stock-raiser.
1t has often been stated that twelve
pounds of hay are required to make a
pound of growth. Any attempt to fix
the amount of food requi ed to make a
pound of growth, without consideration
of age and size, is quackery; likewise
the statement that an animal will con-
sumo three per cent of its live weight
daily is no better. he amount of food
consumed. or the per cent of food to live
weight. and the amount equired to make
a pound of growth, varies with the age
of the beast. This variation is very
wide between a calf and a nearly matul-
ed beast | have devoted much time and
thousands of weighings in collecting
facts that bear on those questions while
at the New Hampshire Agricultural col
| lege. In the course of these investiga-
lions | have had occasion to note the
| superior power of certain animals to
economic food over others. Jersey men
9re perpetually talking about butter
tests, and Durham breeders are discuss
ing the pounds of growth per day.
There is question behind these of more
Importance than either butter yields or
growths per day. to which we must soon
give attention. Sir j Lewis found that it
required from eleven to thirteen pounds
of organic matter for a maturing beast,
when upon fattening ratio, to make a
pound of gain. Of the total food given.
scarcely eight per cent fed is recovered
in growth. In personal experiments /
have found very similar results very
slightly better because feeding smaller
animals, or those of 900 pounds weight.
BY this it is seen that nnety-two per
cent of the food given does otappear as
animal gain. The animal bred to lay on
ten per cent in growth of food given will |
make the food practically twenty-five |
per cent more effective. The relation of |
such an achievement to the stock interests I
and to humanity could not be easily over
rated. 1t is we'll known that high feed |
to different cows will not meet with the |
same response. | have found that when |
increase the food to good and indif-
fercnt cows on like feed, that one set |
will give a larger increase for the excess |
of food than others. The same fact |
have noted with steers. / have refer |
encc to actual tests made, not to general |
notions of results. / will give on result |
to Illustrate where two sets of two-year-
oil steers, weighing 2,06S and 2,065 re-
spectively, were fed to test the value of |
meal added to hay ration in small
amounts:
Lot ate in Sc days 2,172 pounds hay |
and 446 pounds meal.
Lot , ate in sc days 2,552 pounds hay |
and no meal.
CHANGE OF FOOD.
Lot ate in 5G days 2.725 pounds hay.
Lot ate in So days ALB pounds hay
and 800 pounds grain.
In the first period presumably 4iG
pounds of meal were eaten in place of
$50 pounds of hay. In the second period
800 pounds of meal have replaced $50
pounds of hay. One set of steers use a
part of the meal to replace hay, and use
4 part as excess food, while the other
set use meal to replace q cheaper, coarse
food, and consume q less total amount.
It is needless to say that those steers that
lsed the meal as excess food made the
pest gain. The point | would enforce is
his: that we must see to it that we
jreed from these animals alone that
make the best use of food. We want
hose that eat large quantity, digest the
argest proportion, and assimilate the
highest per cent of that eaten and di-
,ested. This can only be ascertained by
rial or feeding tests. If some one OBJ
ects that this is troublesome, have only
o say that high success is bought by
rouble, and that purpose is we'll worth
he effort. lie whose pedigrees are
packed by merit thus attested, and who
hows animals that excel in economizing
God. will have inaugurated departure
hat will bring him in fame and funds
lie who can better the consumptive, di-
FESTIVE and assimilative capacity of our
took by ten per cent will do more for
he interests involved in domestic ami
mails thus aided than Collins did. The
initial point will consist in testing each
If the male calves intended to raise by
eeding weighed rations, and everything
Use being equal. saving those or that
me to stand at the head of his herd that
made the best use of food. Does any
me doubt the final result of the opera
ion when carried through few genera
ious, |