Show TEST FOOD experiment AT KANSAS CULTURAL COLLEGE facts learned are of much value t cattle raisers varming warming the drinking water Is absolutely A necessary in successful feeding in the latter part of october 1900 the kansas experiment station put into the feed lota head of 0 calve calves that had just been weaned they were welo divided into lots to test the val ue us of alfalfa hay prairie bay hay corn corn and soy beans in the pro of baby beef sixty head ot of heifers were pur chased in the kansas city stock of 4 yards weighed an average pounds each cost 4 25 per hundred weight at the yards and cost an av of 1825 18 25 per head delivered in the college teed feed lots these were range calves grade shorthorn hereford and angus S fifty head were purchased of farmers near manhattan and had been kept with th their air dams through the summer in small pastures twenty hea head d were mixed bred calves that had been purchased around manhattan when born and had been raised by the college by hand ten being raised on creamery skim milk and ten on whole ellk the calves were vaccinated to prevent blackleg without t this safeguard we would not have da dared red to under take this experiment the calves were fed seven months at the close of the experiment may 27 the entire lot averaged pounds per head in the college feed lots the shrinkage in shipping to kansas city was 3 per cent thirty two steers averaged pounds and sold at 5 40 per pounds seventy four heifers averaged pounds and sold SO id for 5 35 and eighteen heifers aver averaged aged pounds and sold tor for six head ot of heifers went as springers the packing company which slaughtered the calves made mad e the tol fol lowing report 32 steer calves live weight pounds dressed weight pounds tallow 62 52 pounds dressed weight 57 2 per cent tallow 61 G 1 per cent 74 heifer calves live weight 75 P pounds dressed weight pounds tallow 49 pounds dressed weight per c cent ent tallow 6 3 per cent 18 heifer calves live livo weight pounds dressed weight pounds tallow 49 pounds dressed weight og 6 G per cent tallow 6 6 per percent cent the calves were fed twice dally daily beginning at 7 a in m and at 4 30 p in the lots were fed in the same gains order each time and exactly at the same time each day the hours ot of feeding were arranged so that the calves did all the work of eating in daylight each lot was given at each feeding all the grain and roughage it would eat up clean within three hours after feeding in each lot the grain waa was fed mixed with the roughage and the roughage was fed whole bins i ine barrel salt was kept in boxes under the sheds where the calves bad had tree free ao so cess at all times each lot ot of calves was sheltered with a common board shed closed on the north open to the south water was supplied in tanks reg by float valves so that the tanks were kept full and the calve calves could drink at will from december december 2 to april 11 3 a tank heater was kept going in each tank and the water was kept at a temperature of about fifty degrees this showed an average consumption of 15 8 pounds of coal dally daily per tank with coal at 4 per ton this would make the dally daily cost of warm ing a tank a small traction fraction over 3 cents per day A heater will warm water tor for forty head apparently appa antly as cheaply as tor for five or ten head we found the previous winter that it required no more labor to keep a tank heater running than it did to keep the ice out of a tank not heated we would urge every feeder to use a tank heater A successful feeder of ions experience recently made the statement that gains gaits in feeding follow very closely the amount of water drank by the fattening animal the larger the quantity of water drank the greater the gains provided there Is no unnatural stimulation to drink ing with clean palatable water tree free from ice kept where the animal can drink at will the animal drinke drinks often and each twenty four hours consumes a large quantity but at no time Is the stomach ach overloaded or unduly chilled the cost of using a tank heater is trifling and the return returns are good the remarkable feature of this ex pediment perl peri ment wai the small amount of grain required to make pounds ot of gain the skim milk calves fed alfalfa hay and corn averaged pounds of gain for only pounds of corn and this in seven months teed feed ing the other lots fed alfalfa and corn required pounds of corn tor for pounds of gain |