Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-07-21
AGRICULTURAL
gSGduCatiOn
~ AID SUCCESSFUL EARNING
S-EE BY AHDREWN SoULE
Feeding S9Iage to Horses and Mules

Much has been Salu ana Written WIN
reference 70 the use of silage for beef
and dairy cattle. but it is only recently
that this food has come TO be regarded
as possessiny special merit Tor the hu-
tritior, of horses and mules Farmers
who already have silos should pear ms
fact in mind, and those VINO cohleIipls.'e
erecting such structures uuTlhs
,,-,.s,,t season should increase the ca
nacitv sufficiently 10 provide al leas' ~
10 ten pounds of silage dairy ICI ca
head of work stock maintained on tue
-, when siIaEe first came into use
:. -, srs,uentlv nut up before the crop
bad sufHciently matured' hence 4 sOOu
49, ~ II soured and became strongly
80 when silage in this condition was
60 "a horses and mules, II proved uh'
-s,fsf.ctor,-. hence a good deal OF pre-
iudice was created against u anu II Us.
- ,,,rIj, favor 10 Syhere its use was
,,r.ctfcallIv abandoned by majority u
farmers ....-,,.,,-, and
The high price OF both roughase anu
concentrates in recent years mas Ism ll
,ss-s,,a5 attention 10 silage as cheap
49, ~ !, satisfactory substitute for
- ~ green feed at those seasons OF
~. year when neither pasture noI sou
- ,crons are available, and II mas nov
- found that when silage Is properls
made and preserved that some o. Il Nslll
~ fed every day TO work stock 10 NeI
,-oo5 advantage. In this connection y =
very important TO remember thAt So $50
zflare can only be made when the ST.
ure in which IL is housed Is PrOpei :.
buflt. In other words, the slio ms
,,or,nsrstiveIy tight and and the silage SO
-il-s ttsrsfn as to prevent il from
y,o15tnr Moldy or partly decayed 81
-, is very Objectionable as feeo lor
torSas and mules and If used VIII pro-
49, iD5irastion and other ills whlch
NAV in the long run prove tataI- II me -,
,--t-,.r,- danger is avoided, there VIII DC
onIv benefit derived from the aoullloil
Of prOper amount OF silase 10 Ile
ton -.,;,t1o de-
,,.,,5Sr,,s as 70 the amount TO feed For
k,-sss and mules doing hard work not
over TO 10 pounds should be fed per
had per DAY. wlen they are stanoi,s
4, the stable doing comparatively little
nc 10 10 pounds may be fed Ihere ar &c
sou1e instances on record WheFe %
,,ounds OF especially good silage mas
80, fsls per day. This with suitable
ratfon OF concentrates and httle uTS
roughage afford all the FEED necessary
AT anv season of the year when horses
.,5 rnrIss are not performing hard Ia
where siIage has been fed for many
years with profit and success 1t has
nroven especiaIIy valuable on farms
,rbara draft horses have been raised
There are some who have thought tnat
IL sflage were fed TO brood mares lot
instance, they would not get in foal. Out
this is a mistake. Nevertheless, sllase
should be avoided in the ration OF the
stallion. At least this seems 10 De the
concensus OF opinion in so far as
study Of this question has been carried
o,t OF course. brood mares which are
fed on siIage should also receive some
hav and grain. It is important to re-
member that silage is low in dry mat
fer and since horses and mules only
have A limited digestive capacity, the
use of dry fodder becomes especially
essential in their case. Moreover, where
sflage is fed, il is desirable that the
SUPPLEMENTAL food consist OF aifalta,
cowpea or other leguminous hay. be-
cause silage is low in digestiole protein
as we'll as dry matter. and horses and
mules being muscular animals require
a considerable amount of this element
T. is probable because of the low
amount Of dry matter and protein con-
tained in silage that il has not proven
more effective as n food for stations,
and il hay and grain be withheld from
brood mares and silage depended on too
extensively. they may fail 10 get in
foaI II is desirable. therefore, to en-
phasfze the necessity of feeding silage
in rational amounts. and depending on
scale weights and not following the
guess methods so frequently used on
the average farm. In other words, it
is safe 10 conclude that silage can be
depended on as a very satisfactory ad-
dition to the roughage ration providing