A comparison of three methods of feeding hay to wintering yearling cattle

^HE PURPOSE of these trials was to determine the comparative ad- vantages of feeding baled hay in three different ways to cattle wintered in the open.One group of cattle was fed hay in a rack daily in an amount equivalent to 2.3 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight.The second group was fed an equivalent amount of hay but it was spread on the ground at each daily feeding.Hay for the third group of cattle was placed in a rack once each week in an amount which would permit the animals to have all they wanted to eat during the week.These trials were conducted during three winter seasons beginning in 1960.The grade Hereford heifers and steers used were about 18 months of age at the beginning and about two years of age when a trial was completed.For each trial there were three uniform groups of heifers and three similar groups of steers.These groups Were combined at ran- dom to form three mixed groups of steers and heifers to make up the three experimental groups.