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tHS fRANRLiN MesI ANti THE HIGHLAND! MACON 1 AN
tliURDAV, bEC 18 11)1
Sugg
estions For Feeding,
Management of Beef Herd
By S. L. WILLIAMS
Assistant County Ageqt
On the well managed farm beef
cows are generally bred in the late
.spring or early summer in order
that they may calve at the proper
time. In Eastern . North Carolina
under average conditions the bull
is allowed , to run with cow herd
during May, June and July, wad the
calves arrive in Feburary, March
and April the following year. Dur
ing the remainder of the year the
bull . is kept in a small strongly
fenced pasture, or lot either by
himself or with -a bred cow for
company. This same procedure, with
perhaps some variations to suit
local conditions, is followed in
Piedmont and Western North Car
olina. There are several advantages for
having the oalves come at this time
of the year. Dry cows can be
much more easily and cheaply win
tered than cows nursing calves.
Winter and early spring calves usu
ally grow off faster and' make bet
ter animals than calves dropped in
the summer and fall. Calves drop
ped close together in the spring of
the year can all be weaned iat the
same time. Their uniform ages
make it possible to pasture, house
and feed them together.
Winter Feeding and Care of Calves
Beef calves are generally weaned
at about eight months of age. Un
less the herd is running on excel
lent pasture it is often practical to
have the calves eating some grain
before they are weaned. This pre
vents a ,set-back that might other
wise occur before or at weaning
time.
The first year, and especially th
first winter, is a critioal period
in the calf's life. If it is to be
fattened for the market at an early
age it should, where practical, -be
started on grain when two or three
months old and never be allowed to
losd its calf fat. On the other
hand in the case of the heifer calf
that is to be . kept for breeding
purposes, or steer calves to be car
ried over, one is more interested
in proper growth than degree of
fatness. Unless the mother is a
poor milker the calf will usually
do nicely running on good pasture
with her until about weaning time.
As previously stated, where it is
practical to do so, it is well to have
the calf on some supplementary
feed prior to weaning. When this
is impractical, feeding should by
all means start at weaning time
and be continued until pasture has
made a good start the following
spring. An average beef calf drop
ped in February or March should
weigh about 400 pounds at weaning
time. He should be wintered in
such a way that he will ' gain from
60 to 75 pounds.
Suggested Wintering Rations
For. 400 pound calves: corn sil
age.. 12 pounds; legume hay, 5
pounds; corn stover at will. Mixed
hay, 10 pounds; corn and cob meal,
2 pounds; cottonseed meal, 1 pound.
For J&65 pound yearlings: corn
silage, 20 pounds; legume hay, 5
pounds; cottonseed meal, 1 pound.
Corn stover, at will; corn and cob
meal, 1.5 pounds; cottonseed meal,
1 pound.
For 850 pound cows : corn .silage,
25 pounds; legume hay, 5 pounds;
corn stover. 5 pounds. Mixed hay,
15 pounds; corn and cob meal, 1
pound; cottonseed meal, 5 pounds.
General Feeding Suggestions
Good pastures are the basis of
economical beef production. The
use of both permanent pastures
and annual supplementary pastures
for summer grazing and both' ma
ture and green crops for winter
grazing are strongly recommended.
(See Extension Circular No. 202,
"Pastures in North Carolina").
Silage made of corn, cane, or
even legumes and grasses is be
coming more and more popular as
a winter feed for cattle. In the
Coastal Plains area of the state
where much use is made of corn
and soybean stalks, velvet beans
and green - winter grazing crops,
silage is excellent for "filling in the
gaps between permanent pasture
and the time the corn fields are
ready for gleaning in the fall and
between the preparing of the fields
v Camouflaged Troops Baffle Japanese
Some of the crack froops that defended the city of Wuhan, China,
when the Japanese soldiers pushed up the Yangtze river in their drive
on Hankow camouflaged themselves with vegetation before going into
action. Blending perfectly with the landscape, it was almost impossible
for the enemy to detect them.
and the time" permanent pasture
is ready for grazing in the spring.
In other .sections of the, state silage
preserved either in the trench or
upright silo is 'being used more
and more as a winter feed and in
some instances as. a supplementary
summer feed in time of drought.
It should not be understood that
.silage is a complete but is a valu
able succulent feed for all classes
of cattle.
Water that is clean and fresh
should be available at all times.
Salt preferably in the coarsely
pulverized form should be access
ible to cattle of all ages at all
times.
Minerals are playing a more and
more important role in the nourish
ment of livestock as time goes on
General Suggestions
, Regularity in the time of feeding
is. very important.
Shelter in the form of an open
shed or a well lighted and wtll
ventilated barn will conserve ma
nure and make the cattle more
comfortable in bad weather if it
is kept well bedded. If not the
cattle will be " better off in the
fields or woods where they may
select their own bedding ground
rather .than be, forced to lie in the
mud and filth'.
Cattle barns and sheds should al
ways be provided with gutters and
eaves spouts to carry rain water
away from the feed lot.
Heifers may be bred when they
are 18 to 20 months old providing
they have made normal growth at
The best way to supply minerals is that age. It is a mistake to allow
through the feed but in view of the
fact that much of our feeds are
grown on soils deficient in min
erals it is well to keep a mineral
mixture where cattle can help
heifers to get bred too young. It
generally stunts their growth and
often results in calving time trouble
and a dead or under developed
calf. Do not leave this matter to
themselves to it at will. A simple, , the discretion of the bull but keep
inexpensive mixture is: Limestone,
ground to a fine powder one -part,
steamed bone meal one part, salt
one part.
him . well A away from the heifers
that are not old enough for service.
Breed for spring calves unless
there is a peculiar situation on the
farm that makes fall ealves more
practical.
The bull is a very important
part of the successful herd of cat
tle. He should be a good individual
of the breed represented, ii'he right
kind of a bull will improve the
herd through his orfspnng wnne
an inferior animal will in,' the .same
way cause the herd to degenerate.
A bull should be at least two
years old and well grown for that
age before he should be allowed to
run with the cow herd during tne
breeding season. If younger than
that hand breeding should be prac
ticed and only one service to the
cow allowed. A well grown bull
over 14 months of age may be
used on 8 or 10 females, ne ser
vice to each.
Bulls should be kept in strongly
fenced enclosures exrent durine" the
breeding season when they may be
allowed to run with the cow herd.'
Dehorning in the commercial herd
shoula be done at the proper time.
As a general rule th younger the
cattle are when dehorned the . bet
ter. Caustic soda or potash used on
the buttons of very young calves
will prevent the horn from develop
ing. A small , calf dehorner. or
gouger as. it. is sometimes called,
can be successfully used on calves
up to two or three months of age.
From this age up to abo'ut 10
months a, mechanical dehorner
especially designed for calves is
best. Beyond this age mechanical
clippers or a saw is generally used.
It is advisable that dehorning,
when done with anything but caust
ic, be done during cool weather to
avoid fly infestation. Even in cool
weather it is a good precaution to
use pine tar or other good fly re
pellent. Castration, of 'bull calves may be
done at any age. As a rule it is
best done from a few weeks of
age up to five or six months., If
postponed much longer than this
the calves may develop masculine
characteristics to the Doint they
will be "staggy" which, is quite ob
jectionable in steers. This operation
may be done with bloodless pincers
or a knife.
A further expansion of turkey
production is expected in 1939 'be
cause of favorable conditions exist
ing this year, says C. J. Maupin,
State college extension poultryman,
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