Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-08-21
HOW TO RAISE CATTLE


bSn't Attempt 1t UnIess You Are wflfiuw
to Work Hard
! We should endeavor to make a calf
! gain every day Of its life. | do not
raise many cattle, but bay and fat
quite number during the year Last
winter fed fourteen head Of two-year-
Did steers. | weighed them every
month for five months. The average
gain per day was II pound from the
time took them off from the pasture
nntil the 1st of March. They had no
nay. only corn and stalks fed the
fourteen head 81 bushels of corn per
| day during this time. and after that,
hay and not 50 much corn.
! There are few fixed principles that
afarmer should keep in mind. First,
that 1t takes certain amount of food
to supply the waste of the system. II
the animal is merely fed what will sup
ply this waste dur ng the winterP We
have made no profit. but the addition
OF u small amount Of food will give us
profit- Another thing that requires
our attention is the warmth and shell
terin5 OF our cattle. It is equivalent
70 food. for one of the purposes of
food is to maintain animal heat and
food used for that purpose will
not add muscle or fat. Therefore the
warmer we keep our cattle the more
they will repay us for the food they
consume by putting on more fish.
The old saying is: IAN animal well
! inf cd se, LoI ~
cattle well wintered and fed so as to
make little gain every day will be-
gin to gain rapidly when turned out to
pasture in the spring, and before the
ialf-starved one has shed its old
hair the well-fed one will be good
| beef
Another essential thing is properly
watering our cattle. 1 believe our
windmills are great detriment to the
health of cattle. The water is so cold
that they can not drink it without hav-
ing the toothache. If they do manage
to get some down they stand bumped
up all day in the fence corners, trying
to keep their teeth from falling out.
My cattle will not drink out of the
tank but will come for water freshly
pumped out of the we'll The better
We feed and care for our cattle the bet.
ter the manure pile will be. and the
larger that is the better crops our far
mers will produce, and the more they
produce the more stock we can keep.
A good many have said to me: II
don see how you can keep SO many
cattle and make it pay" With the
markets the way they have been for the
past four years Ct will take the plst six
years) claim have made more money,
ard made it easier. out of what cattle
have handled than from any other
branch Of farming. and my farm is in
better condition to-day than it was six
years ago You can I say that of wheat.
| have bought and sold during these
six years 10l head of cattle. received
for them more than I gave. s2,145 90.
an average gain of $2l "a per head. and
kept them from i've to seven months.
Who made the most money. the man
who raised and fed them two wears, or
II You will say it was not all profit
| think the manure will pay for the
coarse feed and your work l did not
feed them much grain; only to keep
them growing, and turned them over
to pasture in June; besides, I usually
winter from twenty to forty hogs after
my cattle, with a small addition of
corn. so I calculate the above figures
to be nearly all gain. | do not think
it pays TO fatten cattle for the winter
market; it takes too much grain. am
feeding shock corn this winter, and like
it very much. Twas little prejudiced
against it ut frs. for l had an idea
they wonld muss It over and pick out
the corn and leave the fodder but they
eat it up clean. Next season l shall
plant fifteen acres thicker than COM
mon, on purpose for cattle. 1t is
great saving. as two men can tie up ten
acres in two days; so it saves the ex-
pense Of husking. drawing corn and
carrying it from the courthouse to feed.
| have been experimenting this winter
with cutting stalks that l feed in the
barn, and am well pleased wi h it. One
commOnsized load will make 500 BUSH
els after it is cut. l feed it at night az
ter the cattle have eaten their shock
corn, giving them 4 bushel piece. /
feed twenty-seyeu bushels at night. and
III the morning there is not over one
or one and one-half bushel left in their
managers. One other thing l wish TO
speak OF is kindness Do not throw
clubs and scare your cattle half to
death if they don't happen to get out
of your way; make it point to go
around them if they are lying down in
the yard, and not give them kick.
have two steers now that 1 bought this
fall that have been mauled so much
that their eyes stand right out of their
heads, and every time they go into the
stall they will crouch down expecting
to get pounding If you don't
like to take care of cattle don't raise
them. because you can not make it q
success j H. Lane to Hlnconstra I,.s.:-
!ute.