The Glacier reporter. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1953-current, 1961-01-12


triton and came to Buds house
for the meeting. Present at this
meeting, as best / can remem-
Der, were Bud, Jimmy KittsOn,
Jesse RomSa, and Merlin Hall.
There may have been one or two
others, but / don't recall their
names.
This year if any of you stock
men are interested in getting a
few of your neighbors together
to discuss livestock nutrition and
feeding, or wintering livestock,
I would be glad TO come and
meet with you. Just contact me
in Browning or drop a card to
the office in the courthouse in
Cut Bank. Now ! would like to
list some nutritiOnal deficiencies
that are encountered in livestock
and what can be done about
them. This material is taken
from an article written by n. A.
Jacobsen. Extension Livestock
Specialist entitled How to Head
Off NutritiOnal Deficiencies"
/. The most common deficien-
CIV is Just not enough TO eat. Heat
and energy is the first body re-
ouirement to be met Unless ami
mails meet these heat and energy
requirements first, any protein
supplements that are fed to them
may be burned up directly for
the purpose of heat and energy
and will not be used as protein
supplement for body growth and
maintenance. For heat and ener-
gy the kind of feed is not as inn
pOrtant as the amount. Any
roughage including hay, straw
or grass is good enough if there
is plenty TO fill the animal. Ami
mails suffering from a low ener-
gy intake may also show symp-
toms of other deficiencies. In
other words, the first require
ment Is a full belly.
2. A protein supplement will
be necessary If a poor quality
roughage is fed or If stock is
wintered on the range. In most
cases one to two pounds of a low
pellet GO to Is per cent? will be
enough to balance the ration.
Higher protein feeds are also
good, but no better as the extra
protein is burned up for heat
and energy. This does no harm
to the animals, but just costs
the owner more money. In cold
weather cattle do not need more
protein than usual, but do need
more total feed to keep warm.
This goes back TO the first para
graph and that heat and energy
requirement
3. An attempt TO cheaper the
cost of the concentrate ration by
feeding lesser amounts of high
protein cake just to balance the
ration may be shortsighted econ
omy. Protein feeds also furnish
heat and energy. Any concentrate
has about twice the heat value
per pound as a pound of rough
age. A ration of low grade rough
age plus two pounds of 20 per
cent cake will have much more
heat value than the same ration
with one pound Of 40 per cent
cake. This is important when
roughage is scarce.
4. Good alfalfa hay requires
no protein supplement. Cattle
will winter just as well on a
half feed of alfalfa and a half
feed of straw as a full feed Of
alfalfa. The same ration will also
supply plenty of carotene for
vitamin A.
5. Phosphorus deficiencies may
be more noticeable than protein
deficiencies. Wherever conce:l-
trates are used we recommend
pellets fortified with al least 10
per cent phosphorus. One pound
per head per day will furnish
the extra phosphorus needed by
a range COW. For mineral mix
lures nothing less than 10 per
cent available phosphorus is adj
ised. See Circular M-2l2 Min
erals For Montana Cattle and
Sheep" for details. We have this
circular on hand and will be glad
10 furnish il 10 anyone request
ing this circular. This phosphor-
us deficiency is a very important
item in livestock nutrition on
this reservation. A number OF
hay samples and forage samples
sent in for analysis have shown
the feeds here TO be somewhat
deficient in phosphorus as well
as very high in calcium which
can cause the phosphorus not
10 be unavailable for the use of
the animal as il is passed off of
the animal along with the excess
calcium