grainthanongrass.Yet,likedairycows,beefcattledonot
have stomachs suited for the concentrated diet that they
receiveinfeedlots.Often,in anefforttoobtainmorefiber
thantheirfeedlotdietsprovide,thecattlelicktheirownand
eachother’scoats.Thelargeamountofhairtakenintothe
rumenmaycauseabscesses.^114 Dilutingthegrainwith the
roughagethat cattleneed and crave,however, would slow
down their weight gain.
Feedlotsdonot confinecattleasseverelyas cagesconfine
hens, or stalls confine sows, veal calves, and often dairy
cows.Stockingdensitieshavebeenincreasing,butevenwhen
theygoas high asninehundred animalsto theacre, each
animalhasfiftysquarefeetofspaceandcanwanderaround
thecompound, which maybe an acre in area,and not be
isolated from other animals. Boredom from the barren,
unchanging environment is the problem, not restriction of
movement.
One very serious problem is exposure to the elements. In
summerthecattlemaybe outinthesunwithoutshade;in
wintertheymayhavenoprotectionfromconditionstowhich
theyarenotnaturallysuited.Duringthe 1987 snowstorms,
somefarmersreportedheavylosses,estimatingthatasmany
as 25 to 30 percentofthecalvesand 5 to 10 percentofthe
adultcattlewerelost.OneColoradofarmerreported,“There
waslittleprotectionforthecalves.Mostofthosecalveswere
lostduetoexposure.Wegotawetsnow,andthenitgotcold
rightafterthat.”Inanotherinstance,seventy-fivecalvesout
of one hundred were lost in the storm.^115
InEuropesomebeefproducershavefollowedtheleadofthe
poultry,pig, and veal industriesand brought theiranimals