The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1903-04-25
TEST I ! ST FOOD VALUES: Ii
EXPERIMENT, ATs. KANSAS AGRD-
{ Tzl&s CULTURAL COLLEGE,. #$,


! Cattle Raisers - Warming the !
Drinking Water Is Absolutely Nee--
essary in Successful Feeding.
In the latter part of October, 1900,
the Kansas experiment station put
into the feed lots 130 head of calves
that had just been weaned., They
were divided into lots, to test the Vat---
ue of alfalfa hay, prairie hay, corn,
Kafir corn and soy beans in the pro-
duction Of baby beef.
Sixty head of heifers were pur--
chased in the Kansas City stock
yards, weighed an average of 4lS-
pounds each, cost s4.25 per hundred
weight at the yards, and cost an aV-
erage of $1S.25 per head delivered In
the college feed lots. These were
range scalves grade Shorthorn, Here
ford and Angus. Fifty head were
purchased of farmers near Manhat-
tan, and had been kept with their
dams through the summer in smalk
pastures Twenty head were mixed
bred calves that had been purchaseds
around Manhattan when born, and.
had been raised by the college by
hand, ten being raised on creamery
skim milk and ten on whole milk
| The calves were vaccinated to pre-
| vent blackleg. Without this safeguard
we would not have dared to under
| take this experiment.
The calves were fed seven months
l. - -
| 27, the entire lot averaged 500
pounds per head in the college feed
lots. The shrinkage in shipping to-
Kansas City was 3 per cent. Thirty
two steers averaged S38 pounds and
sold at $40 per 100 pounds, seventy
four heifers averaged 75S pounds and
sold for $5.35, and eighteen heifers
averaged 741 pounds and sold for:
$515. Six head of heifers went as
| springers.
The packing company which,
slaughtered the calves made the fox
lowing report:
80 steer calves-Live weight, S3S:
pounds; dressed weight, 4S0 pounds;
tallow, 81 pounds; dressed weight,
57.2 per cent; tallow, 6.1 per cent
"a heifer calves-Live weight, 758:
pounds; dressed weight, ~432 pounds;
tallow, 40 pounds; dressed, weight,
per cent; tallow, 6.3 per cent.
! 18 heifer calves-Live~ weight; 7A
pounds; dressed weight, 420 pounds;
tallow,~ 49 pounds; dressed weight,
o6.6 per cent; tallow, &C. per cent.
The calves were fed twice daily,
| beginning at a. m. and at 4:3O p m
each time and exactly at the same
time each day. The hours of feeding.
were arranged so that the calves did:
all the work of eating in daylight
| Each lot was given at each feeding all
the grain and roughage it would eat
| up clean within, three hours after
| feeding. In each lot the grain Was
fed mixed with the roughage and the.
roughage was fed whole. Fine barrel
salt was kept in boxes under the.
sheds, where the calves had free &C
cess at all times. Each lot of calves.
was sheltered with common board
| shed, closed on the north, open to the,
south.
| Water was supplied in tanks reg
ulated by. float valves so that the
tanks were kept full and the calves
could drink at will. From December
2 to April 1 a tank heater was kept
going in each tank and the water
was kept at a temperature of about
fifty degrees. -.
This showed an average consump-
tion of 1873 pounds of coal daily per
tank. With coal at 81 per ton, this.
would make the daily cost Of warhi4
ing a tank small fraction over &
cents per day. A heater will warm,
water for forty head apparently y as
cheaply as for five Or ten head. We
found the previous winter that il" re-
quired no more labor to keep tank.
heater running than it. did to Keep,
| the ice out of a. tank not heated We
would urge every feeder to use tank.
heater. A successful feeder of long
experience recently made the state
ment that gains ia feeding follow
very closely the. amount Of water.
drank by the fattening animal:: the
| larger the quantity of water. drank
! the greater the gains, provided there
is no unnatural stimulation to drink
| ing: With clean, palatable. water,
free from ice, kept where the animal
can drink at will. the animal drinks
often. and each twenty-four 5 hours;
consumes a large quantity, but at mo.
time is the stomach overloaded OF nm
duly chilled. The cost. OF using Z.
tank heater is trifiing and the returns.
are good. IS. s5s.: M ss ..s55 ~. b
The remarkable feature Of this exs
pertinent was the small amount OF
grain required to make 100 pounds OF
gain. The skim milk calves fed q,
| falfa hay and corn averaged 10
| pounds Of gain for only 4ss pounds @
corn, and this in seven months feed,
ing The other lots fed 1alfalf1 and
corn required 40 pounds Of com 1or.
100 pounds OF gain -
Growth OF FiremeDs . Union.
During the past five mOntha 90