Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1888-12-11
FEEDING YOUNG STOCK.
How to Keep Colts and Calves Growing mt
All Seasons OF the Year


Whether stock should be forced into
as rapid n growth as possible from the
start, and how 1t should be fed, must
be determined by the kind of stock and
the purpose for which It Is intended.
In the case of the pig that can be mar
keted protitably at from six TO ten
months old, We can not push it too
rapidly, but the food, until four or five
months old, must be largely of a kind
to develop bone and muscle il we
would get the best results. The foods
best adapted to this purpose are oats,
bran and oil meal, together with sue
culent foods, of which pumpkins,
squashes and cloves are amongst the
best and cheapest. Oats. bran and oil
meal may be far cheaper food than
corn, even when they cost more per
pound, because an animal prepared for
fattening by some months OF this
diet will give better returns for all the
corn eaten. am especially favora-
BILE for oil meal and bran for pigs.
Procure a little old process oil meal
and experiment with 1t in making slop
and | think you will be surprised to
see how small an amount OF 1t will
thicken a gallon of water. A pound OF
1t stirred into u pail OF boiling water
containing two and half gallons
makes thick slop, almost mush, and
the bran gives the necessary bulk and
bone material: Pigs intended for
breeding stock should be fed very lit
tie corn during the period OF growth,
and they certainly should not be made
fat. In raising colts, which are ex-
pected TO have strength and endur-
ance, corn is the worst possible feed,
and yet in the great corn belt nine
tenths, of the colts get no other grain.
Two years ago a neighbor turned a
colt eleven months old into my past
ure, which had been stuffed with corn
all winter. 1t was fiat as a
SEAL" and would have weighed
near one thousand pounds when
turned out, but although on the
best bluegrass pasture on which three |
other colts OF the same age made a
splendid growth, this one lost flesh all |
summer, and did not weigh as much or |
look as well in September as IL did the |
previous May Some years ago had |
an extra fine short-horn calf born in
October that ! wished to make some-
thing extra nice OF. taught II TO eat |
shelled corn when but few weeks old,
and before spring II was eating three |
quarts day and was as fat and plump |
as ripe steer When turned TO pasture |
1t dl d not thrive. It's old coat did not |
shed until August, and it never grew
and gained as we'll as cattle usually do. |
Mr. Gillett, the late "cattle king" OF |
Hi linois, fed thousands Of steers
every year. He fed no corn TO cattle
under one year old, and then often gave
corn every day, winter and summer,
until they were sold. The more expert
ence have in handling stock the less
corn / feed to young animals.
do advocate and practice liberal
feeding OF all young animals
and especially colts and calves. The
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals ought to prosecute the
farmer whose young stock reaches
spring in half-starved condition.
Many farmers argue that TO have
tough horse the colts should be ex-
posed to cold and fed nothing but hay
during the winter, and | have seen
OF colts and calves so poor
in the spring that they could scarcely
get up when down. When | can not
winter colts and calves so rs to keep
them growing and thrifty and turn
them to pasture with smooth coats and
In fair flesh will quit farming. But
there is difference between fat and
flesh, and l feed growing animals for
the latter. want to get all the
growth on my colt l can, and to this
end feed him all he will eat of the
best hay, bran, oats and carrots. ahd
then when turned to pasture he is pre-
pared TO improve FROM the start
Tu,,diu -, RrO,Dn an philadelDhid Press, |