裏山放牧哺乳子牛の補給濃厚飼料摂取量および発育について

The supplementary concentrate intake and body growth were studied with 8 suckling calves of the Japanese Black Breed grazed on the mountain range neighboring the farm-house.
The principal results obtained were as follows :
1. There was considerable variation among the calves in the consumption of supplementary concentrate. The intake increased gradually as the calves got older and as the season proceeded from spring to fall.
2. The calves younger than one month old ingested no concentrate, while those above 3 months old consumed the concentrate of about one percent of body weight.
3. The growth in body weight of the calves was not very good, and generally traced near the lowest line of the normal growth curves.
4. The daily gain of the calves decreased markedly (0.2 kg/day) in the early period of grazing ; thereafter it increased to 0.6 - 0.8 kg/day, and again decreased gradually in late fall.
5. The growth of different parts of the body (wither height, chest depth, heart girth, hip-bone width and thurl width) was within normal range, and was rather good except wither height.