Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-06-14
Training Heifers.

In my own experience--nOt short one
i have found great majority OF the
faults or vices Of COWS to arise from the
worse faults or vices of those who rear and
use them. Kindness to all dumb animals,
should be the first law of their government !;
and when kindness and good management
fail to make the COW, indisposition, be what
she ought, her case may as well be given
up, and herself consigned to the shambles.
| have reared great many heifers into
milking cows-hundredS of them-and sell
dom had failure, not only in good milk
er but in kind-tempered, orderly animal.
More COWS are spoiled with their first 'com-
ing i'll" than at any other age. To make
the matter plain, will give my own meth
Cd Of treatment.
After the creature is past year old, at
her second wintering, my heifers are tied
regularly in the stable, as are the milking
cows. This accustoms them to handling,
and the familiarity of the herdsman, and
where they can be daily examined for every
all that may occur to them. When they
begin to Spring bag" for calving they
should be closely looked after to see that
the udder is coming into right shape and
condition free from inflammation, "cake," or
other disorder and if such occur, the prop
er remedy--as softing and amounting with
fresh butter, oil, salt and water, or other
emolient-should be applied, so as to keep
it always in a plant and healthy condition.
Sometimes the flow of milk into the udder
OF the young H. iter before calving will be
SO free, that 1t is necessary to draw it odt
daily for days before she drops the calf, or
otherwise the bag would imfame and spoil.
All these difficulties cause PAIN irritation
and frettulness in the young animal, from
which she is only relieved by these atten.
tions and which, if not relieved of them
spoil her outright. If thus properly trea.
ted, the young creature comes in with her
first calf fine, amiable, kindly, useful cow
The herdsman having done his duty, there
is usually little difficulty thereafter.
My cows 5 are lways in summer, as well
as winter, driven into and it their usual
stalls i'll the stable, night and morning, for
milking the reason for this is, that they
are thus 0iacaysiunder control; no fright,
no jumping, and running away, with a milk
ing stool vengefully thrown after them by
the eXasperated mixer, and muss, per-
haps, with half the other cows before the
offending animal is brought to her duty
But this one would kick with all sorts OF
treatment, though never chastised with
more than a few strokes of light switch
when the most soothing efforts were expcn.
ded in vain We finally tried another way
| bought what an English herdsman calls
"a pair of bull dogs" 1t is an instrument
frequently found in the agricultural stores
for holding cattle by the nose on the prin
ciple of pair Of pincers, the short handles
of which are kept apart by spiral wire
springs, causing the pincer points to press
near together when claping the thin mem
brane of the nostril behind the nose These
points are rounded into the size of a com
mon musket ball, being of cast iron, anC
the whole weighing scarcely half pound
The extremeiies of the handles are perfo
rated, so as to let small rope pass through
them and when once inserted into the
nostril, the points press closely but no
painfully, by the spring keeping apart the
handles.
Thus the COW becomes entirely under
control, so far as the head is concerned
Into these handles rope is fixed and thrown
over pole, or bit of scantling placed over
the manger the nose raised to nearly g
horizontal line with the horns, and fasten
ed. Ihe whole operation does not take 6
minute. In this position she cannot kick
if she tries. She may lift her feet, anG
whisk her TAIL and fret little, but kick she
can't She has never kicked, so secured
although, if let loose, both pail and milkel
would soon be on the other side of the sta
bic. She is so tractable with this long
continued discipline that the moment the
the mllker approaches with his bulldogs
she holds out her nose as kindly as if to re
celve caress or favor, and yields heI
bountiful flow of milk as graciously as the
klndest COW IN the stable, A rope around
the horns, running dawn and made slip
moose over the nose, will answer the same
purpose.
1t may be said this is peculiar case
Try it. AIRY COW can thus be deprived O
the power of kicking Any creature. in or
der to kick, must hold its head low or il &