UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS 1921-24 C. E. HOWELL BULLETIN 421 March, 1927 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRINTING OFFICE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1927 BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS, 1921-24 C. E. HOWELL* INTRODUCTION The depletion of the ranges in California is becoming more apparent each year. The people of the state are realizing the value of meat of good quality and are demanding a better product. The scarcity of cheap range feed and the low market price of unfinished cattle, combined with the conditions named above, make it desirable for California cattlemen to put their cattle in better market condition. In the fall of 1921, the California Agricultural Experiment Station undertook to help solve some of the feeding problems of the California cattlemen. PURPOSE AND PLAN OF THE FEEDING TRIALS The purpose of the feeding trials reported here has been to secure information on the following points : 1. What are the comparative results in feeding calves, yearlings, and two-year-old cattle? 2. What are some desirable rations for fattening cattle in Cali- fornia ? 3. Are there any advantages in feeding steers in preference to heifers ? STEER FEEDING EXPERIMENTS DURING THE WINTER OF 1921-1922 The cattle used in this experiment were sired by unregistered range bulls and were out of common range cows. They were typical of a large number of steers produced on California ranges. They were brought to the University Farm at Davis in the fall of 1921. The steers were dehorned and kept in the feed lot several days before the feeding trial began. They were all fed alfalfa hay so that they would be on about the same plane of nutrition. This preliminary feeding period also permitted the animals to become accustomed to their surroundings. The two-year-olds were divided as uniformly as possible into lots I, II, III, and started on feed December 1. The 25 yearlings were all placed in one lot and were fairly uniform in size. These were started on feed December 15. The following rations were fed: * Assistant Animal Husbandman in Experiment Station. 4 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION Lot I. chopped alfalfa hay. Lot II, chopped alfalfa hay and sorghum silage. Lot III, chopped alfalfa hay, sorghum silage, and rolled barley. Lot IV, chopped alfalfa hay, sorghum silage, rolled barley, and cottonseed meal. In each of the lots, the cattle were fed all the chopped hay they would consume. Lots II, III, and IV were gradually accustomed to silage and then fed all they would eat. In lot III, one pound of the rolled barley was given at the beginning and gradually increased to 6 pounds per head daily. The steers in lot IV were given all the hay, silage, and concentrates they would eat. The cottonseed meal was fed in the ratio of 1 pound to 7 pounds of barley. As the alfalfa hay was of very poor quality, containing a high percentage of foxtail, the cattle did not seem to relish it. The barley was steam rolled and good in quality. The silage was sorghum silage of good quality. The cottonseed meal graded as "choice." The cattle were weighed on three consecutive days at the beginning and at the end of the trial, and the averages of the three weights were used for the initial and the final weights. The weights were taken in the morning before feeding and watering. The cattle were weighed individually, each animal being identified by means of a metal ear tag number. TABLE 1 Summary of Results of a 90-day Feeding Period with Yearlings and Two-year-old Steers Two-year-olds A Yearlings A r Lot I Lot II Lot III r > Lot IV (24 cattle) (23 cattle) A (24 cattle) (25 cattle) A pounds pounds pounds t A pounds Average initial weight 821.17 826.08 828.35 528.52 Average final weight .... 878.73 919.14 941.88 797.24 Average total gain 57.56 93.06 113.52 268.72 Average daily gain .64 1.03 1.26 2.99 Daily ration — Alfalfa hay 19.94 13.03 11.80 6.74 Sorghum silage 27.81 26.08 21.16 Rolled barley 5.57 6.46 Cottonseed meal .92 Feed for 100 pounds gain Alfalfa hay 3,115.62 1,265.04 936.50 225.41 Sorghum silage 2,700.00 2,069.84 707.69 Rolled barley 442.06 216.05 Cottonseed meal 30.76 Bul. 421] BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS, 1921~24 Fig. 1. — Lot T, showing type and condition of steers after being fed 90 days on alfalfa hay. Fig. 2. — Lot II, showing type and condition of steers at the end of a 90-day feeding period on alfalfa hay and sorghum silage. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION Fig. 3. — Lot III, showing the condition of steers at the end of a 90-day feeding period on alfalfa hay, sorghum silage, and a limited amount of barley. Fig. 4. — Lot IV, showing yearling steers after a 90-day feeding period on alfalfa hay, sorghum silage, barley, and cottonseed meal. BUL. 421] BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS, 1921~24 7 Table 1 gives a summary of results obtained in the 90-day feeding trial. The yearlings in lot IV made the largest and most economical daily gain. For 100 pounds of gain they required 933.10 pounds of roughage and 246.81 pounds of concentrates, compared with 3006.34 pounds of roughage and 442.06 pounds of concentrates in lot III. This was a saving of 69 per cent of the roughage and 44 per cent of the concentrates. It is realized that these two lots are not directly comparable but the results are so striking that they are of considerable value to the livestock feeder. The daily gain of 2.99 pounds in lot IV is exceptionally good. All of the animals in this lot (fig. 4) were well finished and the majority of them would grade as "choice." The older steers were more nervous than the yearlings, a fact which may partly account for their relatively small gain. Lot III made slightly greater gains than lot II, but the greater gain in lot III was not in this case sufficient to pay for the barley which they consumed in addi- tion. A few steers in lots II and III were lacking in finish at the end of the feeding trial. Lot I made the smallest daily gain, and at the end of the 90-day feeding trial was not ready for market. The steers had gained an average of 57 pounds in weight, but were showing no improvement in finish. The appearance of the steers at the end of the experiment is shown in figure 1. The majority of the cattle in the experiment were well fleshed and in a higher state of finish than is usually found with California cattle on the market (figs. 2 and 3). A COMPARISON OF GAINS MADE BY STEERS AND HEIFERS Twenty yearling steers were put in lot I and 14 yearling heifers in lot II. Both lots were started on feed July 29, on a ration of alfalfa hay, rolled barley and cottonseed meal. In order to get as accurate a comparison as possible of the steers and heifers, both lots were fed all the feed they would eat readily. In this trial the heifers made a slightly larger daily gain than the steers. They consumed more feed daily and required slightly more to produce 100 pounds of gain, were equally as well finished, and dressed 57.15 per cent, while the steers dressed 57 per cent. It is believed that the difference in the initial weights of the animals in the two groups is not significant. 8 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 2 Comparison of Gains Made by Steers and Heifers During 90-day Feeding Period, July 29 to October 27, 1922 Lot I, 20 Steers, Lot II, 14 Heifers, pounds pounds Average initial weight 681.68 552.97 Average final weight 879.47 754.85 Average total gain 197.79 201.88 Average daily gain 2.19 2.24 Daily ration — Alfalfa hay 16.99 18.81 Boiled barley .'..- 8.54 9.21 Cottonseed meal 1.51 1.58 Feed for 100 pounds gain — Alfalfa hay 775.79 839.73 Boiled barley - 389.95 411.16 Cottonseed meal 68.94 70.53 Fig. 5. — Yearling steers at the end of the 90-day feeding trial on a ration of alfalfa hay, barley, and cottonseed meal. Fig. 6. — Yearling heifers at the end of the 90-day feeding trial on a ration of alfalfa hay, barley, and cottonseed meal. BUL. 421] BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS, 1921~24 A COMPARISON OF THE RATE AND ECONOMY OF GAINS MADE BY YEARLINGS AND TWO-YEAR-OLDS This trial was conducted to determine the advisability of feeding California range animals at one year of age, instead of keeping them another summer on the range and finishing them as two-year-olds. The yearlings and two-year-olds used in this trial were brought to the University Farm from the range and held for a brief period on alfalfa hay to get them all on the same plane of nutrition and accustomed to their new quarters. Each lot was handled in the same manner. TABLE 3 Summary of Results of Feeding Yearlings and Two-year-old Steers, November 23, 1922, to March 22, 1923 (120 Days) Yearlings Two-year-olds (23 cattle) (21 cattle) pounds pounds Average initial weight 620.65 831.75 Average final weight 880.07 1,056.11 Average total gain 259.42 224.36 Average daily gain 2.16 1.87 Daily ration — Rolled barley 9.09 10.84 Cottonseed meal 1.17 1.38 Sorghum silage 25.14 28.45 Alfalfa hay 9.31 9.70 Feed for 100 pounds of gain — Rolled barley 420.83 579.67 Cottonseed meal 54.16 73.79 Sorghum silage 1,163.88 1,521.39 Alfalfa hay 431.01 518.71 Table 3 shows a considerable advantage in favor of the yearling cattle. They made 2.16 pounds daily gain as compared with 1.87 pounds daily gain for the two-year-old steers. For 100 pounds of gain, the yearlings required 474.99 pounds of concentrates and 1594.88 pounds of roughage, compared with 653.46 pounds of concentrates and 2040.10 pounds of roughage for the two- year-old steers. This was a saving of 27.31 per cent of the concentrates and 21.82 per cent of the roughage. 10 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION A COMPARISON OF THE RATE AND ECONOMY OF GAINS MADE BY CALVES AND YEARLINGS The yearlings in this group were dropped in the spring of 1922 and spent one summer on a mountain range. They were weaned in the fall and brought to the University Farm to be wintered on pasture. The calves were from range cows which were brought to Davis and calved under valley conditions. The calves were dropped during the months of October, November, and December. They ran with the cows during the v winter and were weaned on May 25, 1923, at the beginning of the feeding trial. Both lots were pastured on alfalfa from May 25 to August 23, 1923. Twenty-four calves were pastured on 10.14 acres of alfalfa and thirty-six yearlings on 13.30 acres. From August 23 to December 8, both groups were fed barley in addition to the pasture. TABLE 4 Summary of Data on Calves and Yearlings May 25 to December 8, 1923 24 Calves 36 Yearlings pounds pounds Average initial weight May 25, starting on pasture 458.75 615.47 Average weight Aug. 23, starting on barley plus pasture 584.58 743.05 Average total gain on pasture 125.83 127.58 Average daily gain on pasture 1.39 1.41 Average weight at end of trial 793.75 959.30 Average total gain on barley and pasture 209.17 216.25 Average daily gain on barley and pasture 1.95 2.02 Average daily barley ration 8.37 8.46 During the time both groups were on alfalfa pasture, the yearlings made slightly larger gains than the calves. This may be accounted for by the fact that the yearlings were able to make better use of the pasture crop. The calves, being weaned just at the beginning of the trial, did not settle down and start gaining as readily as the yearlings. The additional gain of the yearlings over the calves is so slight as to be almost negligible. When fed rolled barley in addition to the pasture, the yearlings consumed an average of 8.46 pounds of barley daily and made 2.02 pounds gain, as compared with 8.37 pounds of barley and a gain of 1.95 pounds for the calves. A significant point of comparison is the fact that the calves increased their initial body weight 73 per cent, while the yearlings increased their initial weight only 55 per cent. BUL. 421] BEEF CATTLE FEEDING TRIALS, 1921~24 11 FINANCIAL RETURNS OF THE FEEDING TRIALS Because of the general depression of the beef cattle industry during the period covered by this investigation, it is deemed advisable to eliminate from this report the financial statement of the operations. There are so many varying factors that financial statements are often misleading and unreliable. The feeder should note particularly the rate of gain and the amount of feed required to make a pound of gain in estimating the probable outcome of his own methods under his own particular conditions. All items of cost were kept and form a part of the original data. In the feeding trials from 1921 to 1924, a profit was made on 175 head, while 58 head showed a loss. Fig. 7. — The calves (on left) and the yearlings fed barley while on alfalfa pasture. The photograph was taken a few days before the close of the experi- ment. SUMMARY 1. In these feeding trials calves and yearlings were about equal in their rate of gain and in their ability to utilize feed in making 100 pounds of gain. Both the calves and the yearlings show a distinct advantage in the rate and economy of gains over the two-year-old cattle. In comparing the yearlings on a ration of alfalfa hay, sorghum silage, barley, and cottonseed meal with the two-year-olds receiving alfalfa hay, as much sorghum silage as they would eat, and a limited barley ration, the yearlings made 57.85 per cent faster gains and produced 100 pounds of gain on 68.96 per cent less roughage and 44.17 per cent less concentrates than the two-year-old cattle. (See table 1.) 12 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION The yearling cattle made 13.42 per cent faster gains and required 27.31 per cent less concentrates and 21.82 per cent less roughage in producing 100 pounds of gain than did two-year-old cattle on the same ration. (See table 3.) The yearlings made 1.41 per cent faster gains than did the calves on alfalfa pasture. "When barley was added to the ration, the year- lings made 3.46 per cent faster gains than the calves. However, the calves required 2.42 per cent less barley to produce one pound of gain than the yearlings. (See table 4.) 2. When the price of grain is comparatively low, concentrates should be utilized in fattening beef cattle for the market. Silage, alfalfa hay, and cottonseed meal are desirable feeds to utilize in selecting an economical ration for fattening cattle in California. 3. Yearling heifers made as rapid gains as yearling steers and dressed a slightly higher percentage of carcass than the steers.