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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1914)
Raising Animals for Meat By PROFESSOR THOMAS SHAW. fUR PRACTICE of growing meat-l I making animals quickly is of com paratively recent date. Years ago tho aim was rather to winter the ani mals cheaply without much regard to any growth made, and to depend upon the season for vegetative growth to make increase in the growth of the ani mal. Under such conditions maturity was deferred and development was hindered in proportion to the length and frequency of the period whan tho animals wero on short rations or on rations not well suited to make growth. Tha rule is now, or at least it ought to b?, to keep meat making animuls pushing along quickly when grown on the arable farm until tbey reaeh ma turity. The aim should be to have no periods of stagnation in growth. But to this, method thero may be some excep tions. Some of these will be duly noted. The reasons why growth should be continuous and reasonably rapid include the following: (1) Gains are less rapidly made as the birth period is receded from, not withstanding the greater relative amounts of food called for to make the gains. (2) The longer that an animal takes to reach maturity or to attain to a given weight tho greater will bo the amount of lood consumed that is desig nated food maintenance. (3) The more frequent and prolonged and the more severe the periods of stagnation in growth are tho more is the capacity of the animal lessened to make growth. Gains Lapid Near Birth Period. That gains, especially in bovines and sheep, when the young animafs are suit ably fed, will be mout rapid near the birth period, and that they will grow less and less as the birth period is re ceded from, has been so completely demonstrated by actual test that it can not be gainsaid; no one disputes such a claim any more. The singular feature is that more and more food is called for to make gains as the birth period is re ceded from, notwithstanding that the gains are made less. Two reasons at least may be assigned for this: One is that the assimilative rowers lose some thing in their activity as the birth period is receded from. That it is so is e -idenced in the fact that aged persons gradually shrink in flesh, notwithstand ing tho considerable quantity of food that is eaten. That the longer th term called for to bring an animal to maturity the greater will be the cost of the food of maintenance is self evident. But this greater cost docs not arise simply from the longer period during which the ani mal must be maintained. It arises in part also from thj greater cost rela tively of the food of maintenance as age advances. Thus an animal at 36 months Bloating of Cattle and Sheep FOR CATTLE. AP at once in severe cases. Make a small incision through the skin on tho left side between hip point and last rib, about four inches below the spine. A canula and trocar (a trocar is a sharply pointed instrument inclosed in a hollow tube, the canula) is tho best instrument for puncturing the stomach. Insert this through the incision in the Bkin, press downwards and inward till the stomach is punctured. Withdraw the trocar and leave the canula in the wound until all the gas has escaped through it, which will be an hour or more. Then withdraw tho eanula, wash wound with an antiseptic solution and allow it'to heal naturally. If there is no trocar and canula at hand, a pocket knife may be used, but is not nearly as satisfactory. In less severe cases, pass a piece of Tope, soaked in tar or dip, between the jaws and tio it around the boms. This will cause the animal to work fail jaws and gullet and so tend to open up the passageway for the gas to escape. Pour cold water over tho animal's kidneys and blanket it. Two ounces of turpentine, diluted with milk, ounce doses of aromatic spirits of ammonia diluted with water, four ounces of .Jamaica ginger well di luted in hot water, and two tablespoon ful doses of common baking soda in TTOME AND FARM will cost more relatively for food of maintenance than one at 13 months. It follows then that the cost of the food of maintenance in the former will be more than twice as n?uch as in tho lat tor. Stagnation in Growth. Periods of stagnation in growth, espe cially when they occur at an early period in the life of the animal, hinder future development in that they take away the capacity of the animal to make gains subsequently as it otherwise! would. This is ovidenced in calves that are stunted in growth during the milk period from a lack of nutrition result ing from ill feeding. Thus the loss from stagnation in growth becomes a double loss. It is first a loss in the food of maintenance, and second, more or less of a loss of capacity to make increase. From what has been said, the wisdom of pushing on animals quickly from birth to maturity will be apparent, or at least from birth to the period of disposal. This, however, applies more to the arable farm than to conditions that are more extensive. Where cattle and sheep are grown entirely on rough grazing lands or on lands that produce but little food in the concentrated form, as for instance in the form of grain, it may be more profitable to keep them for a longer period than to buy con centrates and feed to them in the hope of shortening the period called for when preparing them for the market, Maturing Too Slowly. But even on pasture lands it would be easily possible to mature them too slowly, and to maintain them too long before putting them on the market. Take for instance the range which calls for fouryears to mature tho animals that are reared upon it. When, it is called to mind that during the fourth yeas the animal will make less increase than during the second year, notwith standing the greater consumption of food, it would seem advisable to sell at three rather than four years to those who purchase such animals in order to finish them cn the aable farm. Again, the ranchmen who maintain wethers on Western ranges after maturity that they may simply supply them with wool for the market, will certainly make more money by the method that will give them lambs instead of mature wethers, as the lambs will bo making increase in flesh while they are growing wool. On tho arable farm tho wiser plan is to feed more or less of concentrates to animals that are growing during the winter season. This may not be prac ticable with live stock that are grown under what may be termed extensive conditions. All these' things and many more should be carefully weighed by those who grow livestock. water are all remedies to be given as drink. Give gentle walking exercise and for a few days feed mashes and give lukewarm water to drink. As an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, never feed moldy or frozon feed and do not pasture on heavy clover, alfalfa and similar crops after a heavy dew or frost, or a light rain. FOR SHEEP. Tap the same as for cattle, except tap three inches below spinal column, in stead of four. Be sure to clip off all wool within a few inches of incision. A remedy, not commonly known but that has been successfully used by the writer, is freshly drawn milk. When the sheep is first noticed, run to the nearest fresh cow and draw a quart of milk. (Go to the nearest cow, whether the owner's or a neighbor's, as a moment's time may mean the lifo of the sheep), Drench the sheep with this fresh warm milk and in all but the severest cases the animal will be up and moving in an hour. Other remedies are: Epsom salts, i pound; sweet spirits of nitre, 2 dessert spoonfuls; bicarbonate of soda, 1 tea spoonful; ginger, 1 tcaspoonful. Dis solve in a pint of lukewarm water and give as a drench. If this does not give relief in an hour try: Raw linseed oil, 1 teucupful; spirits of turpentine, 1 des sertspoonful. Give as a drench; if there is no relief in two hours, try: Sweet MAOAZTNK SECTION spirits of nitre, 2 dessert spoonfuls; bi carbonato of soda, 1 teaspoonful, gin ger, 1 teaspoonful. Mix in a half pint of lukewarm water and drench animal every two hours till relieved. Stable Rules 1. The best order in feed is: Water, hay, water again, grain. 2. Never give grain to a tired horse. Let him rest and nibble hay for nn hour or two firiit. Grain in tho inangur be fore the horse comes in looks bad. 3. Water tho horses as often as pos sible; but lot tho horse that comes in hot drink a few swallows only, until he is cool, 4. Always water tho horse after he has eaten his hay at night. Do not go to bed leaving him thirsty all night. 5. Do not forget to salt the horse once a week; or, better yet, keep salt always before him. Ho knows beet hojv i: uch he needs. 6. Give a bran mash Saturday night or Sunday noon; and on Wednesday night also, if work is slack. After a lone day in very eold or wet weather, a hot mash, half bran and half oats, with a tablespoonful of ginger, will do the horse god. Put very little salt, if any, in tho mash. , 7. If tho horse does not eat well, or slobbers, examine his teeth. 8. Keep a good, deep, dry bod under tho horse while he iB in the stable, day or night, on Sundays especially. The more be lies down, the longer his legs and feet will last. 9. In crder to do well, the horse must be kept warm. Give him a blanket on cool nights in late summer or early fall, and an extra blanket on an extra cold night in winter. 10. In cold rains do not tie up the horse's tail. The long tail prevents the water from running down the inside of his legs, and keeps off a current of air from his belly. 11. Take off the harness, collar and all, when the horse comes in to feed. He will rest better without it. 12. Never put a horso np dirty or muddy for the night. At least brush his legs and belly, and straighten his hair. 13. In hot weather, and in all weath ers if the horso is hot, sponge his eyes, nose, dock, tho harness marks, and the inside of his hindquarters when he first comes m. 14. When the horse comes in wet with rain, first scrape him, then blanket him, and rub his head, neck, loins and legs. If the weather is cold put on nn extra blanke in twenty minutes. Chango tho wet blanket when the horse dries. Do not wash tho legs. Rub them dry, or bandage loosely with thick bandages. It is far more important to have the legs warm and dry than clean. 15. To prevent scrntchos, dry the horse 's fetlocks and heels when he comes in, especially in winter; and rub on a little glycerine or vaseline before he goes out in snow or mud. 15. Examine the horse 8 feet when ho comes in, and wash them if he does not wear pads. If a horse in tho city is not shod in front with pads, tar and oakum, which is the best way, it is ab solutely necessary to keep his feet soft by packing them, or by wrapping a wet piece of old blanket or carpet around the foot, or by applying some hoof dressing or axle oil, inside and out, at least three times a week. 17. Let the horso have a chance to roll as often as possible; it will rest and refresh him. Give him a little clean earth or a picco of sod to cat now and then; ho craves it, nnd it is good for his stomach and blood. FEED THAT MAKES CHEA..' BEEF. HERBEET QUICK, editor of Farm and Fireside, tells the following story in the current issue of his publication apropos of the value of al falfa: "Three years ago a stockman, who farms about 1,100 acres of the finest land in Ohio, was not much in favor of alfalfa. He is a very progressive farm er, but, like most of us, he was running along in tne old corn-wheat-clover fash ion. Ho had two men feeding for him one an old colored man who had been with him a long time, and the other nu agricultural-college man. Ho also bad a few acres of alfalfa. There was a contest on between the colored man and the expert as to which could put more weight per bead per month on their respctcivo herds. The first month's weighing showed the expert in the lead. The noxt weighing put the colored maa s- far ahead that the expert wonaereo how it could be. Both herds had good, running water. Both had plenty of good .. . . n it. L J .11 timotny ana Clover nay. noiu uau m the good corn they could manage. Was tho old negro a better focder than the college manf "It seemed so; but the expert, being einntifieallv educated, besan looking for tho reason in a scientific way. He found that the only difference was to bo found ia tho fact that tho crafty old colored man had been systematically mivincr alfalfa hav' with the ration! Tho protein in the alfalfa had been go ing into tho muscles and bones or me cattle he fed. "A good stockman needed no further nmnf as to the value of alfalfa ovef timothy and clover. Acting on this proof, ho began working into annua, l-l nlans to huild more silos, and as soon as ho can will make his foeding rotinn nne nf eorn-dilaire. car-corn and alfalfa-hay. This ration is shown by the tests at Lincoln, Nebraska, to be the feed that will make beef cheapest" China export! penoU directly to the rr:..j .nd ft!nn tn Franco, whence a good many o the hitaest gnio arc r shipped to this country. THE NOVO GASOLINE ENGINE Will Do the Work Quicker and Cheaper For Yon. The most compact and simplest en. gine made. No separate gasoline tank, no separate water tank, no piping, no careful adjustments. Absolutely guar anteed against damago by freezing. Made in all sizes from 1 b. p. to 15 h. p., and furnished in combination with force pumps, centrifugal pumps, deep well pumps, wood saws, spraying outfits, etc Lower prices than formerly. For full particulars address The Beebe Company Department C. 182-4 6 Morrison St. Portland, Oregon. Steel tapes repaired Ono break, 50c postpaid. New Rings, Drums, Screws. The Barthold-Barg Co., Inc 281) Stark St. Portland, Ore. BUCK lOSSES SURELY PREVENTED Priced. (,,!,, rellnlile; preferred hi 1 ri I?! " other vaccina Ml i -1 fi 1 ; Biki. pi,,, tlM- W-ioi. ,k. BUckl, Pilli 4.BO The etmnwtt. f. '"feeler. In Otmer"a best HIDES PTTR8, WOOL, PELTS, ETC. HXBBARD-3TEWART CO., Stattle, Willi, Write for Price List and Shipping Tags. (Plfnse mpt.tinn this paper.) Portland Marble Works PHILIP NET! & SONS, Props. Established 18S5. We Carry the Best and Largest Stock of Monuments. 204-288 Fourth Street, Portland, Ore, PS pi limn ii ii 1 1 ii 1 1 m iiiimhiiiimihi