Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-12-23
Federal Experts Approve
Stilbestrol to Help Animals
Gain Additional Liveweight

came recently when the Fedora
Food and Drug Administration
gave the sign to go ahead will
the use of stilbestrol in beef cat
tie feeding. Stilbestrol is a syn
thetic chemical which has beer
manufactured commercially as {
white powder for the past sew
eral years.
1t has been USED to some ex
tent in pellet form in the poul
try industry in fattening cock
erels. Its effect on animals is
that of stimulating growth and
liveweight gains.
Experimenters have known for
some time of the beneficial eff
fects of this chemical when taken
into the animals body, but the
Food and Drug people wanted to
be sure that proper methods of
feeding the substance were well
known before it was released on
the market.
Even now, precautions must
be taken in the use of this high
ly potent drug says Boyd T.
WhittIe, University of Mary
land Extension animal hus-
bandman. Because of the pre-
cautions necessary i'm handling
stilbestrOl i'm feeding mixtures
it is not likely that farmers
will be able to purchase the
premix at the present time"
A premix is made up by train
ed personnel who blend small
quantities of the chemical with
a small quantity of feed suitable
for later mixing into cattle con-
centrate feeds. A Mid-western
chemical company which has per-
mission to manufacture and mer.
chandise the premiX will market
it under the trade mark name
of "StilboSol." This is a mixture
of soybean meal, vegetable oil,
and stilbestrol. Ten pounds of
this premix, when incorporated
into a ton of supplement pro
vides the recommended amounts
40 milligrams per head daily)
when the protein supplement
containing the premix is fed in
the normal amount to fattening
cattle.
All feed manufacturers who
have adequate mixing and con-
troll facilities and who can meet
state and federal regulations can
use the stilbestrol premix in cat
tie feeds. Many different cattle
feeds containing stilbestrol are
expected to be on the market.
There seems to be no ques-
ton about the economic value of
feeding beef cattle a ration con-
tanning stilbestrol," Whittle says.
+In tests at Iowa State college,
cattle on a high corn fattening
ration had increased gains up to
81 percent when stilbestrol was
included in the ration. Gains were
stimulated by 10 to Is percent
where cattle were being wintered
to gain moderately.
This was at a reduced feed
cost of 10 to 20 percent. A saw.
ing of two to four cents per
pound of liveweight beef gain
was demonstrated in various
tests. On steer fed to gain 30C
pounds this would amount to a
saving of approximately $40 per
head. For each dollar spent or
supplements containing stilbes.
troll, about SO will be returned
when the cattle are sold"
Cattle fed stilbestrol are not
Disseminated against on the mar.
ket and neither are they likely
to bring a premium. Carcass
yields are good. There is no evil
dence at present to show that
it is advantageous to feed cattle
weighing less than 600 lbs, how
ever, it is known that it will not
be harmful to them. Cattle test
ed thus far have been yearlingS
on feed approximately 112 days
Results when fed to younger cat
tie for longer periods are yet tC
be determined.
Here are some precautions t.
keep in mind if stilbestrol is t
be fed:
l. StilbestrOl should not be
fed TO dairy cattle or beef be-
ing used i'm breeding herds.
2. StilbestrOl should not be
fed TO sheep or swine since de-
sirable feeding practices for
these types of livestock have
not been developed as yet.
3. DO not attempt to feed at
higher levels than recommend
ed. Ten milligrams per day is
the most satisfactory level TO
feed.
4. Make certain the supple
ment feed you buy is properly
labeled and approved by federal
and state regulatory officials.