Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-11-30
CATTLE FEEDING.
How 1t Is Generally Done in h Mid
die West by Success
ful Men.


die West by Success
full Men.
w. S. Hannah. of the Kansas City stock
yards, in treating on this subject, in the
National Rural, says:
There are but few sections of the coun-
try in which pasture of one kim or an
source that the farmer should first find
hts fattened animal for market, for 1t is
the easiest and cheapest way to put on
mesh. The small farmer. who may turn
on but q load or two a year, may in this
way ind 4 stepping stone TO higher things
and a surer source of revenue than through
the dry lot. with visions of export steers.
a good bunch of coming 2s.' on strong
half-feed of shock corn with hay. cane,
alfalfa. or whatever is at hand, will go TO
grass in the spring in good flesh and fatten
on pasture to profitable advantage nearly
any year in any section of the territory
this article reaches. In fact one of the
most successful stockmen of my acquaint-
ance handles most of his cattle in this
way. He does not cOntine himself to steers,
however. for he keeps a number of cows.
from which he raises calves. disposing of
the dry cows OFF of the grass. If fleshy
enough. especially if a little aged: or some
times he full-feedS cows and heifers shelled
favorable; or maybe a load or SO of steers
are fulfilled, but he never fails to half-feed
steers good shock corn through the winter
m nna market and + fsu them ,mrhsoaff9 Of grass ass, in t the sum
avg ShAoA
IN this way. by care and prudence and a
oiSpiay or energy. he has arrived at a posi-
ton where he is able TO handle several
hundred cattle yearly at a profit. 1t is my
sincere conviction that any farmer of or
uinafy means and situation can make
money every year handling cattle in this
way, and l would advise this as the surest
road 10 profit. not only for the beginner but
the veteran as well.
one of the prime requisites for handling
cattle IN any way is shelter; a moderate
expenditure in this direction saves money.
An outlay of 800 will put up a shed 100
feet long and of sufficient width to accom-
modate 100 cattle on full feed and furnish
a dry place for sleeping in muddy weather.
stonn Is as much of a mistake TO turn
themselves without shelter throughout the
winter as to full feed cattle in a lot where
tnere is little or no windbreak and where
snow, slush or mud may be the resting
place. A feed lot knee deep in mud retards
tattening. makes work harder. loses waste
to the hogs, and when finished cattle are
shipped to market from such surroundings
their killing qualities are often overlooked
because of their filthy condition.
tive, they ave much to do with attracting
the attention of cattle buyers. nave
known cattle feeders to ship their steers
out of a muddy feed lot because. as they
said. the cattle were not putting on a
pound while the miserable weather lasted
and it did not pay to feed without gain in
they should not come in, because too many
cattle had to come. on account of short
.eeu or miserable feed lot conditions. |
nave seen such dirty. muddy. unfinished
cattle strike a 'glut' and absolutely not at
tract the attention of enough buyers to get
s a1eiy s.Ten saa Of Sei the market 5si5 oven on the !sho day 20, Of
enough better the next day to sell for sc
more than bid the first day.
Another regular feeder whose finished
steers nearly always top the market feeds
shelled corn. oats and oilmeal. with enough
hogs to follow to take care of the waste.
For full feed he furnishes about half a
DUSnol OIL SheIlpd corn three nnilnHS nil-
meal and half a gallon of oats per steer
a day. He feeds in hunks in the open.
clover hay for roughness. to which the
cattle have access on four sides. and here,
also; is a well bedded place to rest. t
feeding time, morning and night, feed is
carefully measured out and thoroughly
mixed. care having been taken to remove
any of the previous feed which may have
steer may have belched into the bunk.
Well water is used. and pains taken to let
the water out of the trough whenever it
shall have become unclean from any cause
whatever. The experience of this feeder
Is SO valuable that l wish it might be
given in detail to feeders of cattle every
where.
Another feeder uses shelled corn, bran
and oilmeal in a self-feeder, with plenty
of hogs to follow the cattle. He generally
puts on two and a half pounds per head
THE kind of ~roughness to use seems less
important than the main feed. and depends
IlOSIiy upon what Is easiest OBTAINED.
though some feeders would not use alfalfa
under any circumstances, while others use
nothing else; this seems largely a matter
of taste. for the stockman rather than the
steer: clover. timothy and alfalfa seem to
be in greatest favor and give best re-
suits.
NO cattle feeder can expect to make
money If forced to market on account of
local conditions. and this simply shows the
folly of not making the most of the sit
uation at home by providing suitable shell
ter and solid footing. There is no man so
new to the business Of feeding who cannot
provide these things within the limits Of
his means. and 1t is simply deliberate
waste not to do SO. The kind of feed to
use, or rather how to feed corn to a steer,
for corn is the staple feed. is one of the
questions about which there is much dis
cussion. One man says ear corn is good
enough; another feeds shelled corn alone;
another, shelled corn. cats and oil meal:
another feeds corn and cob ground toSeth-
err: another, corn chop: another. rather fine
cornmeal: and another, shell corn, bran
and oil meal. The most common custom is
to feed ear corn, with enough hogs to fol-
low to take up the waste. One of the
most successful feeders of my acqudint-
ance, who has cattle in his lot all the
time, feeds cornmeal without hogs to fol-
low: he tinds that the cattle digest the
meal so completely that there is no waste
Co. ~ 1~~-'