Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-01-27
Housing Stock.

On housing stock in winter, the Can.
ada Farmer remarks & IL
There can be no question that in such
a rigorous and changeable climate as
ours, shelter for stock during six
months Of the year-from the lst of No
vember to the LIST of May--is} absolutely
essential to insuretheir thrift and health
mess.
In arranging the yards and buildings,
however, to that end there are some
important points that seem to be gener-
ally overlooked by ourffarmers.f One OF
these is dividing and locating them, SO
as to arrange that the different classes
of stock do not intermix, to the injury
of one another. If horses are bred on
the farm, the colts need good yard for
exercise, with comfortable, close sheds
fitted with feeding racks, to run into at
nights and stormy days. The young
cattle need O. separate yard, and sheds
with racks to themselves, where they
will have room to move about, and not
be kept in continual fear of the old cows
and oxen, which should be kept sepa-
rately in their stalls. Sheep should
never be kept among other stock, but
have large yards with good sheds, open
to the south, if open at all. In any case,
buildings that are used for young stock
or sheep must be SO constructed as to
allow of good ventilation at all times
when necessary.
Another point often neglected is sup
plying light to animals that are kept in
close confinement most of the time. We
have frequently observed that horses
kept. in dark stables are always more
subject to shying, when driven out, than
those that have we'll lighted stables.
One can easily conceive that a horse
brought out from a dark stable into the
bright glare of winter sunshine is part
ly blinded, and, in fact, we believe much
Of the blindness common among horses
is caused by constant sudden exposure
to light every time they are taken out of
their stables. Nature has given light as
one of her blessings conducive to health,
all creatures having the organ OF sight
largely developed, and to deprive any
of them of the means of exercising that
| faculty is sure to result disastrously in
some form or other. 1t is noticeable
how much less shying there is among
horses in summer than in winter, which
is probably due to their being more out
of their stables during that season, and
even when in their stalls the doors are
left open during the daytime.
Still another point is that of constant
cleanliness, both inside and out of their
shelters. We believe much of the dis
ease prevalent amongst stock in winter
can be traced to the want of cleanliness
81, Exarxr uopd orH chnd
should be kept well covered with clean
straw, and every stable and byre so ar
ranged that stalls and floors can be read
lily cleaned out, and the animals kept
from accommodating filth on their bodies.
What else could be expected than a
general unhealthiness and want OF thrift
in animals that are living in an atmos-
phere that is constantly impregnated
with bad odors and impurities? Let the
stables and byres be well cleaned during
the day, when it is not excessively cold
or blowing snow drifts, by leaving doors
and windows open for several hours. In
the case of animals being fed up for the
butcher, it may not be unobjectionable
to keep them in partial darkness, in or
der to induce them to lie down and
keep in state of rest as much as pos
sible: but with all others there should
be good supply of light allowed during
a greater portion of the day and if the
cows can be turned out of their byres by
themselves, for a few hours each fine
day, they will enjoy better health.
Lastly, we too often see that the
amount of space allowed for winter quar-
tiers to stock is altogether too small for
their comfort yard room, especially, is
often very much crarnped and confined,
as if the land on a farm was of as great
value as that in city. 1t is better to
have yards of good size, and, after clear
ing them of the winters accumulation
of manure, in winter plant them with
cabbages, beets, mangles, or carrots, re-
serving only the stable yard for summer
use.
/ The amount of. stall room allowed is
also often far too small, and the animals
are crowded together in such manner
as to make them feel anything but COM
Portable. The idea of carpenters and
builders who generally put up the stalls
seems to be to make them all of one
uniform size, the dimensions of which
| are dictated by some arbitrary rule or
caprice, whatever it may be called. They
do not seem to think the size of the
stalls should vary, so as to accommodate
| different sized animals, but that, like
| the bed Of Procustes, the same space
| sho,lld fit all corners. 1t seems to be