The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-02-25
FARMER ANDPLANTER.
FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.
The Texas Experiment station Gives
the Results of Two seasons
of steer Feeding.


station has now in press and about
ready for distribution Bulletin No. ~,
prepared by John A. Craig and +. n.
Marshall, of the department OF animal
husbandry, on Experiments in steer
Feeding Among the results OF two
seasons work with 11S head OF steers
are the following:
Rice bran added to ration OF cot
tonseed meal and hulls in two out OF
three trials gave an increased rate OF
gain at lower cost.
Rice polish added to a ration OF
cottonseed meal and hulls slightly In
creased the rate Of gain at the same
cost.
Rice bulls we're not satisfactory as
a substitute for cottonseed hulls, as the
steers did not relish them.
Rice bulls fed with cottonseed meal,
rice bran and molasses were unsatlfac-
tory, as the steers could not be In
duced to eat fair ration.
Sorghum hay in a ration OF cotton
seed meal and rice bran gave equal re-
suits in gain to cottonseed hulls, as
enc pound of the former gave results
equal to 1.02 pounds of cottonseed
bulls. The daily rate of gain per head
was slightly in favor of the bulls, be-
ing 2.9S pounds, as against 2.35 pounds
in the instance of the sorghum.
Cow-pea hay was not found as sat
isfactory as cottonseed hulls in ra-
ton of rice bran and cottonseed meal,
as the daily rate of gain per head was
2 SO pounds in the instance Of the lot
receiving hulls. and 2.3 pounds in the
trial with cow-pea hay. A pound Of
ccw-pea hay was equaled by "a pounds
OF bulls.
Peanutzbay was very unsatisfactory
fed with rice bran and cottonseed
meal. owing to the fact that it was
very nutritive food, being too similar
| to cottonseed meal in composition tt
mix well with it.
Alfalfa hay was a very unsatisfac
| tory addition to the rice bran and cot.
tonseed meal ration, for the reason
that it is also rich in those constitu'
ents which are abundant in cotton
seed meal, making the ration too nitro
genous.
Cottonsedd meal and bulls make thu
most generally fed ration in the cot
| ton belt, while corn and alfalfa ha.
are considered the best combination
| in the corn belt. A comparison o
| these rations becomes interesting from
these facts. The steers receiving tn
ration of cottonseed meal and hull
ate daily per head 81 pounds OF cot
tonseed meal and 22.4 pounds of hulls
and gained 2.21 pounds. With the cot
tonseed meal at $40 q ton and tn
/ bulls at 81 a ton, the feed cost OF on
pound of gain was four and sixteenth
cents. The steers receiving alfalfa an
corE-an-cob meal ate daily per hea
eleven poundsof corn-and-cob meal an
16.9 pounds of alfalfa, and gained 2.S
pounds. With the corn-and-cob mes
at 40 cents bushel, and the alfalf
at SIS ton, the feed cost OF one poun
of gain was four and one-tenth cents
It will be seen from this that tn
cost of fattening steers under the yer
best circumstances for securing tn
most economical rations is very sim
liar.
Molosses added to a ration consist
ing of cottonseed meal and hulls N
suited in a greater and cheaper gal
from those steers receiving it, as the
gained 3.11 pounds per head dali.
| while those not receiving it gained 2.s
| pounds.
! Yearling steers in comparison wit
two-year-old steers on rations Of co
tonseed meal and hulls made abC'
the same gain at little cheaper cos
The two-year- steers gained 81
pounds per head daily, and the yea
lings e.21 pounds.
In feeding steers on pasture 1t WI
found that a corn and cottonseed n
ton gave better returns than col
alone. The substitution OF 80
pounds of ccttonseed meal for 3,4'
pounds of corn gave an increased ga
90 ~ Tho lof If 10 bood