El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-16
AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENTS
And Experience In Feeding
Short Horn Steers At
THE TEXAS STATION
By .H. COnnelI, Director. At the
Request Of the State Live Stock
Association.
experiments cor

association.
The feeding experiments con-
Quoted by the station, at
the request OF the Texas
Live Stock association, are in the
printers hands aud will be ready for
distribution within few days. Copies
will be sent to all whose names are on
the Live Stock mailing list. The
feed was given to AZ long two year-old
Nueces county steers, Of good short
horn markings. The feeds fed were
hulls, sorghum hay, cotton seed meal,
corn chops, and shelled oats. The re-
suits will be of interest TO all stock
feeders.
The experiment. was planned to sup
ply hulls aud meal in every ration.
To these was added sorghum hay in
one case to learn it's fattening value.
To another lot corn chops was added,
and to still another bunch, chops and
oats were also gwen to find the value
of both grains when fed with hulls and
meal.
The results OF feeding 100 days were
noted and the data carefully worked
out to show what feeds give the quick
est gains, the cheapest feeds at vary
we're carried on practically the same
feed for forty additional days and
shipped to St. Louis aud killed. 100
days is the length of time that such
steers are usually fed the meal and
hull ration in Texas. Below will be
found brief statement Of the results.
During the first hundred days the
pen receiving chops in addition to
hulls and meal, made the greatest gain
in weight-304 pounds gain on the or
iginal 1000 pounds. Oats added to
corn chops did not increase the fat
tening tendency but did not greatly
weaken it.
It was found that sorghum hay could
be used in part as substitute for cot
ton seed bulls without weakening the
ration. Where the simple meal and
hulls we're fed, the gain was 271 pounds
as compared to 273 pounds where one
fourth of the roughness fed was
sorghum hay.
All of the steers were fed 40 days,
and when killed in St. Louis their
dressed weights were secured together
with other notes. The steers fed chops
in addition to hulls and meal shrunk
most during shipment, but dressed a
higher per cent than did the other
pens. This feed not only gave the
greatest gain in weight, but when
slaughtered, It was found that the
ried less waste fat than any of the
other steers.
The simple ration of bulls and meal
gave good gains, amounting to 271
pounds on the 1000 pounds-or at the
rate of 81 pounds per day. This is a
cured from feeding hay and corn
throughout the west. but was not
equal to the ration of hulls and meal
with dash of corn chops. This last
ration caused a gain of BOB pounds
per 1000 pounds. When oats aud chops
were both added, the ration lost some
thing of its strength and resulted In a
0f Y,nI1 de
This IL, however, superior to the simple
ration of hulls and meal.
While the simple meal and hull ra-
tion did not make the fastest gains per |
day, this ration cost the station less |
than any other during the first 100 |
days, and for this reason the cost per
pound gain is lower than for any other |
lot of cattle. These financial features |
of the experiment are controlled large |
ly by the cost of foods used. The |
prices on which the preceding state |
ment is made are as follows: Hulls at |
50 per ton, sorghum hay at Sc per ton, |
cotton seed neal a. SIS per ton, corn |
chops at Al. g cents per 100 pounds, oats |
at y. 4 cents per 100 pounds.
1t Is evident from this statemen that |
feeders may continue to use the hull |
and meal ration in feeding 100 days SO
long as the low prices of mill feed"
can be depended upon.
LII COFh CuOp5 " tuc ouO
meal, an effort was made to determine
the quantity that should be fed. To
secure this, seven head were fed two
pounds of chops per day, while another
pen of seven head was fed 3.S pounds
per day, in addition to the bulls and
meal. 1t was found that the smaller
amount of corn chops reduced the cost
of feed and made greater gains than
when nearly four pounds of chops were
used.
Were fed in like varying quantltiesin
combination with bulls and meal. The
result of this test was favorable to the
use of a large amount of the two
grains. The grain ration composed
of % pounds each of cotton seed meal,
corn chops and ost chops
gain than when q double quantity of
cotton seed meal and one-half the
amount of corn and oats was used. A
large amount of corn meal seemed too
laxative when fed with fair amount
of cotton seed meal. When the amount
of cotton seed meal was reduced to
about two pounds per day, the oats and
corn meal were fed proftably.
Hulls, meal and corn chops added
3O.7 per cent gain to the original
weight of the cattle, while the simple
meal and hull ration added only 27.1
per cent. This is difference of SO
pounds in feeding 100 days. Should
this live weight gain be valued at IL
cents per pound, this is financial value
of 1926 in favor of the corn chops, in
case the rations cost an equal amount,
which is a matter controlled by market
prices and local conditions.
The daily rations that gave this fav.
orable gain consisted of the folio wing:
For steers weighing 857 pounds, 10 62
bulls, 4. 80 cotton eeed meal, 1.9S corn