LEAFLET No. 15
Wintering and Fattening Beef Cattle in
Alabama
TWO DISTINCT feeding problems confront the beef producer
in this State: one is the wintering of the breeding cows and
young stocker cattle; the other is the fattening of steers. These two
problems are discussed briefly in this leaflet. Rations are suggested
for the wintering and fattening of beef cattle.
WINTERING BEEF CATTLE
Each year cattle are wintered on many Alabama farms without
feed other than that obtained on the pasture or range. Cattle
managed in this manner lose heavily in flesh during the average
winter and many of them die from starvation if the weather is
severe. It is not necessary or even desirable that the breeding cows
be kept fat throughout the winter, but they should never be allowed
to reach a distinctly poor and unthrifty condition. In many cases
losses of 50 to 100 pounds per cow are permissible if the cows are
fat in the fall of the year.
Since cost is a major consideration the wintering ration should
consist largely of cheap, home-grown roughage such as silage, low-
grade hay, velvet beans in the field, or cottonseed hulls. If this is
not sufficient to keep the animals in a thrifty condition a small
amount of cottonseed meal or other such concentrates should be
added.
Wintering Rations.--Any one of the rations listed below is
.good for wintering dry cows, heifers, and stocker steers.
Ration No. 1-Velvet beans, grazed in the field.
Ration No. 2-Stacked Johnson grass hay with access to the
hay field.
Ration No. 3-Grass hay 15 to 20 pounds and cottonseed meal
1 to 2 pounds per head daily.
Ration No. 4-Silage 30 to 35 pounds and cottonseed meal 1 to
2 pounds per head daily.
Ration No. 5-Grass hay 15 pounds and legume hay 5 pounds
per head daily.
Ration No. 6-Soybean, cowpea, peanut, or other legume hay
15 to 20 pounds per head daily.
Ration No. 7-Cottonseed hulls 15 to 20 pounds and cottonseed
meal 1 to 2 pounds per head daily.
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
OF THE
ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
M. J. FUNCHESS, Director
AUBURN
(Reprinted 1937) JULY 1935
Substitutions:
1-Peanut meal may be substituted for cottonseed meal in the
above rations at the rate of 1 pound of peanut meal for 1
pound of cottonseed meal.
2-Ground velvet beans may be substituted for cottonseed meal
at'the rate of 21/ pounds of velvet beans for 1 pound of
cottonseed meal.
3-Five pounds of broken ear corn, or ground corn and cob
meal, may be substituted for an equal amount of legume hay
in Ration No. 6.
FATTENING BEEF CATTLE
Because of the low-acre yield and subsequent high price of corn
and other grain crops, conditions in Alabama are not as well adapt-
ed to the fattening of cattle as to the producing of calves and the
growing of stocker and feeder steers. However, farmers in Ala-
bama who grow surplus feed may find it profitable to fatten one or
more car loads of steers during the winter months. Cottonseed
meal, peanut meal, velvet beans, and other southern-produced con-
centrates can be combined with southern-grown roughage, such as
silage and hay, to make a very satisfactory fattening ration.
Fattening Rations.-Some very good fattening rations for
use on Alabama farms are given below. The amounts of feed recom-
mended in each ration is based on the requirements for steers
weighing 500 to 800 pounds.
Ration No. 1--Silage 35 to 40 pounds and cottonseed meal 5 to 7
pounds.
Ration No. 2--Grass hay 15 to 20 pounds and cottonseed meal
5 to 7 pounds.
Ration No. 3-Silage 20 to 30 pounds, grass hay 5 to 10 pounds,
and cottonseed meal 5 to 7 pounds.
Ration No. 4-Grass hay 15 to 20 pounds or silage 35 to 40
pounds, corn 10 to 12 pounds, and cottonseed
meal 2 to 3 pounds.
Substitutions:
1-Cottonseed hulls may be substituted pound for pound for
grass hay in Ration Nos. 2 and 4.
2-Oats or blackstrap molasses may be substituted pound for
pound for one-half of the corn in Ration No. 4.
3-Peanut meal may be substituted pound for pound for cotton-
seed meal in any of the above rations.
4-Ground velvet beans may be substituted for cottonseed meal
in any of the above rations at the rate of 21/ pounds of vel-
vet beans for 1 pound of cottonseed meal.
3
Starting Cattle on Feed.-Roughage may be fed to cattle in
unlimited amounts from the beginning of the feeding period. It is
a good plan to feed only 1 or 2 pounds of concentrates per head
daily during the first week and to increase this amount 1 or 2
pounds each week until a full feed is reached. The rapidity with
which the ration is increased should be determined somewhat by
the length of the feeding period. It is necessary to increase the
ration faster in a short feeding period than in a long one.
Hogs in the Feed Lot.-There is no particular advantage to
be derived from putting hogs in the feed lot unless the steers are
receiving corn or other grain. If grain is being fed enough hogs
should be placed in the feed lot to clean up the grain in the drop-
pings. Shoats weighing approximately 125 pounds are preferable
for this purpose as there is not so much danger of them being
crippled by the steers as where smaller animals are used.
Length of Feeding Period.-The length of the feeding per-
iod should be governed by the amount of feed available, the age and
quality of the cattle being fed, and the condition of the market on
which the cattle are to be sold. Young cattle of good quality can be
fed longer at a profit than older cattle. Since many of the cattle
fattened in the South are not of the best quality and the rations
used contain very little, if any, grain the feeding periods are gen-
erally comparatively short, ranging from 90 to 120 days.
General Considerations.-Every effort possible should be
made to insure comfort and quietness in the feed lot. Any unneces-
sary commotion on the part of steers will tend to reduce daily gains.
Feed lots should be located on high, dry ground so they will not be-
come muddy during rainy seasons. If the feeding is done under
cover the shed or barn should be kept well bedded with straw,
leaves, or other such material.
Steers which are on full feed require a large amount of water.
Fresh, clean water and salt should be provided in the feed lot at
all times.
'DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY