Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1916-11-30
HAMLIN BOY TELLS
HOW HE DID IT
Prize at Amcs Writes How He
Managed to Gain the Prize

When lad becomes known as the
''best boy baby-beef feeder in the
county" the rest of the people in the
county naturally want TO know just
what's the secret of that boys sue
cess. Cecil Burns aged 10, of Hamlin
who was recently proclaimed champ
ion boy feeder OF Audubon county
in Iowa's great baby-beef feeding
contest conducted by the Iowa Beef
Producers association in cooperation
with the agricultural extention de-
partment at Iowa State College, tells
the story of just how he fed the
champion baby-beef of the county.
Cecil fed his calf from an initial
weight of 1873 lbs. to final weight
of sos lbs. in 352 days, making d
total gain of 557 lbs. and an average
daily gain of LIS lbs. at cost of
$3.50 hundred lbs. of gain. His
score was Is per cent.
Cecil writes as follows: The calf
which l fed in the Iowa baby beef
club feeding contest was grade calf,
being sired by pure bred Angus bull
and out of grade Hereford COW. The
calf on October Is, 1915 weighed 1873
lbs. 1t was funny color-a light
brown, resembling a brown Swiss. 1t
was low set, short necked, wide
backed, broad faced calf The man
that l got the calf of agreed to furn-
ish me the feed at market price dur
ing the feeding period. Corn was
fifty cents a bushel, oats 32 cents
bushel, barley SIS cents a bushel but
the barley which fed was mouldy
and was only worth 80 cents bushel.
The oat meal which fed was counted
at the price at time fed. The calf
sucked the cow during the period and
so l have to figure the feeding the
cow during the time the calf sucked
the COW. l figure this on the basis
that men take cattle into their past
ures. Extra was allowed for the COW
during the cold months. The pastures
are a dollar a month and stock fields
are three cents a day with a straw
stack to run to. 1t did not cost me
anything to pasture my calf because
staked him out along the road. The
place where l had to keep my calf
was an old shed of a barn. 1t leaked
through the roof and had large cracks
in the sides which | stopped up by
lining the barn with woven wire and
then stuffing straw in between the
wire and the barn.
The COW kept pulling the straw
out and the calf was glad to see the
warm spring sunshine. The first two
months he run with the cow in the
pasture and stock fields. The third
month I fed shelled corn. found
that he did not do we'll on this feed.
During January, February and March
fed ground feed, one part oats, two
parts barley. and one part shelled
corn. l found that the calf did very
we'll on this feed. In March and April
/ added oil meal. I found the calf
did not eat his feed with the oil meal
as WELL Whether it was over fed or
disliked the oil meal. / do not know.
The calf was weaned in May and
gained only 80 lbs The lowest gain
except the month of July. when he
GAINED only 90 lbs. which was due to
the extreme heat of that month and
the flies were so bad. After the first
of May. the calf received no ground
feed and nothing but shelled corn and
oats and blue grass pasture.
From October Is, 1915. to October
l. 1916. the calf gained 557 lbs. at
the cost of O237c per III. or a total
cost of S1S23.