Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-01-22
Care of Cows at Parturltion.

We wish to say few words upon the
most common, expensive, and every way dis
agreeable trouble to which cows tat least,
so far as the state of Maine is concerned,)
are liable, viz. the retention Of the after
BIRTH or placenta; and in thirty years ex-
perence as practical farmer we have never
seen prevention" pay better than here. All
that is necessary in ordinary cases-or in
any case that L ever saws to give the
COW, for three or four weeks before calving
all the salt she wants, with plenty Of good
hay and pure water, one feed per day of
corn in the ear, and to keep her warm. In
my own experience as owner | have had
but one COW fail TO "do WE'LL" as farmers
term it, aud in that case was satisfied af.
terward that the atterbirth was kept in by
the contraction of the external ori6ce.
have long since set it down as an axiom that
if COW is thriving when she calves, and has
had fair supply Of corn-cobs beforehand,
she will do well. think the potash in the
cobs is an essential medicine. Those who
have not corn in the ear can reach the same
results by feeding meal and mixing two
thirds ashes with tho salt given them.
more, for | wish all owners of COWS would
heed what is already written; but, alas !!
they will not, and many COW will fail to
do well the coming season, just for the want
| of little care, and, when it Is too late, the
owners will commence to do for nothing
what they might have been paid for doing
ten times over if they had done it in season,
for all this extra care and feed will pay like
compound interest, even though the COW
would have "done well" without it. | have
been called upon a great many times for as
sstance aud advice in cases Of this kind, and
| wish to tell your readers what, in my judg.
ment, they had best do, as l have never
seen any but the best results from my adj.
vice. 1t is just this: Keep the patient dry
and warm above every thing else keep her
from cold drafts Of air; card her several
times day, keep her bowels free, and give
her all the extra feed she will bear, and lei
nature cure what you ought to have prevent
ed. With the very best of care and feed
she will be worth very much less during the
season than il she had done well. One thing
| had nearly forgotten. For a fortnight
after calving keep her in pen by herself
little apart from other COWS, and strev
plaster under and behind her twice a day
Don't on any account let the neighborhood
seattle doctor" operate upon her. The op
GRAFTON of taking the afterbirth by hand il
neither difficult nor dangerous, but it is en-
tirely useless and extremely painful to thu
patient, and think the offensive discharges
continue longer, in this case than when thu
removal is left to nature. The placenta i
connected with the womb by numerous little
knobs or buttons, and the force necessary t
separate them with the thumb and 6ngo
nails makes bad wound, and what little j
left is as long coming away as the who'll
would be- When | was boy our dr.
COWS were kept without provender or roots
aud their fodder was largely straw. Scare
a spring passed but one or more of our COW
was in trouble, and the first thing was h
send for the doctor" and take it away.
remember all about il, aud how decide,
to do no such thing if ever owned a stoc
of cows. 1t was a diSAgreeable job Tn
operator charged dollar for his services
and the COW was very much worse of tha
when left alone aud taken care of. On
thing more. Ii your COW is all right, an
does we'll, she will have good flow Of milk
aud her bag will be hard aud tender. Now
be easy, be easy; don't soold or pet
"mooley" kicks little and steps rOun