Cooked Food for Cattle

Southland Times, Issue 9636, 30 September 1887, Page 4

Cooked Food for Cattle

The lea* of succulent food, laid Professor Wallace in a lecture delivered at Newcastle, conld be met by adopting the system which bas proved most successful, of soaking the dry fodder with hot water, and thereby imparting to it much of the Quality of »ucculcut ruuu. rde method is extremely simple and inexpensive. The dry fodder, which may be wheat, or barley or straw of the yearbefore, is chaffed and laid out in a heap on a good level floor, and the concentrated food, as cake and meal, mixed with it. Hot water is thrown over the pile until the water begins to oze out at the base. Plotting or cooking is dona once a day, in the morning ; at the eDd of twelve hours one half is used, and the remainder left till next day. Food given in tbia way has the advantage of being warm, well mixed, and eaiily digested, and besides, the animals become very fond of it, which is in itself a mo*t important quality. There is also economy in labour if the chaffing iedone when there i« sufficient work for the regular farm hauds at any season of the year. If in summer, the quality of the straw may be im proved by mixing with if. a small proportion of green forage., as gra?s, clover, or vetches, just sufficient to make the mass ferment, a good smell or ' nose' may be secured by adding along wuh the green food c quantity of malt cooms. Last winter my friend, the Rev. Chas. Lucas, of Filley House, Great Yarmouth, adopted this system at my suggestion and with marked success. In his case the system was of more than usual advantage, as ( he had no oat straw, and he was enabled to me as food much wheat snd barley straw ibat in ordinary ciicumstances would have gone for litter. He fed 108 fat bullocks and 36 young cattle for about fifteen weeks on an average, the labour was not much increased, and the boiling of the necessary water took only 2 j[ cwti\ of coal per week. He writes to me as follows ; -■' I nevfr had animals do co uniformly well or so fast. The plan has bten perfectly successful.'