The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-05-19

In feeding older cattle, however. They
gain faster and more uniformly and
put on better finish.
Feeding Older Cattle.
Where tWO-year-OldS are to be fed
they must usually be purchased. Oc-
casionally few can be picked up in
the neighborhood. but if any number
are wanted they will have to be bought
on the general market. In order 10
make profit in feeding there must
De margin between the cost of feed
ers and the selling price of fat animals.
II the fat steer sells for ST hundred
weight more than he was bought for,
each hundred pounds of his original
weight has been increased in value 81.
1t is in this way that most of the profit
in feeding is obtained.
Buying feeding cattle right is one
OF the most important factors TO sue
cess i'll the cattle business. Large cat
tie can be safely purchased on IL mar
rover margin than lighter ones. since
there is more weight to be Increased
in value. For instance. d margin of 81
ON 100 pound steer would mean an
increase i'll value of 81. On Il 1000
pound steer the margin would need TO
be only GO cents 10 b'Oduce the same
amount. Another general principle is
that the lower the price at which the
fpp6prS q rn hnuullt no ora ~ hn
the margin. OF course the margin in
any case can be only estimated, since
the selling price cannot be foretold to
q certainty in advance.
In selecting feeder steers there are Il
number of points to be kept in mind.
One of the most important of these is
uniformity. A bunch of steers that
are uniform as to size and quality will
feed better together and bring better
price when fattened. The feeders
should come as near the beef type as
pOssible-short face and neck. deep
body, well sprung ribs, broad back,
straight top and under line, long rump,
fairly short legs. The steer with a
sway back or fiat ribs should be avoid
ed. A sway back will never become
thickly covered with flesh. and a mar
row one cannot carry as much meat as
a wide one. Since this is where the
highest priced meat is found. this
point will be an important one. In
addition to this. the steers should have
good constitution and large digestive
capacity without being paunchy. Too
large paunch lessons the percentage
of dressed beef that the animal will
kill out, while a steer that is tucked
up" in the flank will never make good
gains. If any of the cattle have horns
they should be dehorned at once after
getting them home.
The usual method of getting cattle
on feed is to hurry the process as much
as possible. getting them on full feed
within fifteen to thirty days from the
time they were first put into the feed
lot Where the cattle are to be on
feed but short time. say ninety days
this is undoubtedly the best method
1t is not economical. however. Larger
amounts of grain will be used with
less roughage. The gains grow smaller
toward the end of the feeding period
as the cattle begin to tire Of the heavy
rations. Where this plan is followed
the safest plan is to chaff the hay
with feed cutter and mix the grain
with it. Some oilmeal should be used
to balance the corn.
A more profitable plan usually is to
start in more slowly. taking as long as
sixty days to get the cattle on full
feed. The main feed during this pre-
liminary period and much Of the later
period as well may be snapped corn.
Considerable silage may be fed to adj
vantage during the first part of the
feeding period. If fed silage during
the finishing period they will not
smooth up as well. ship as we'll or sell
as we'll.
This plan of using a lighter grain
ration and longer feeding period
produces cheaper gains down to a
certain point. By the end of sixty
days the cattle should be on full feed
and should receive nearly all they will
clean up from that time on. They
are in better shape to stand crOwding
than if they had been pushed from
the start and will continue to make
satisfactory gains up to the end of
the feeding period. Some oil or cot
tonseed meal should be given during
the last thirty days, as it not only
cheapens the cost of gains, but also
adds to the finish. Where there are
hogs following cattle, grinding feed
will seldom pay. with the possible ex-
ception Of the last two or three weeks.
Experiments in feeding for long
period compared as to profits with
feeding for short period have shown
that if roughage be relatively more
plentiful and cheaper than meal then
the long feed" is the more profitable.
1870 6Gno6H110 !