Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-06-06
FARM AND FlREslDE.
Yreatnent Of Helfers Corning IN MIR.

Heifers that are coming in milk for
the first time should have special care
and attention, since the future useful
ness of the animal will depend some
what upon the education which she re-
ceives during the first year she is in
milk. Many animals that would have
made good mixers by kind and judicious
treatment, have been spoiled or greatly
injured for mix by want of proper at
tention and management. Heifers,
previous to coming in milk, should be
daily handled and petted and make so
familiar with the persons who have
them in charge as not only to show no
fear, but they should exhibit fondness
for persons and a desire to be caressed.
The bestway to begin an acquaintance
with an animal is by showing it kind
ness by feeding it often from the hand
tempting bits flood, and striving by
all possible means to gain its entire con-
fidence and in this the gentle tones of
the voice will have much to do, since
animals seem to understand the tones
Of the voice as well as persons. If the
heifer is very wild, it is good plan to
card or brush the hair from time to
time, grooming the legs and handling
the udder, and if this is done gently and
persisted in from DAY to day, the widest
creature is suhdued and becomes
tractable. The great point to be OBJ
served is never to give the animals pain
or excite their fear /; and just so soon
as they are made to understand that
they are not to be hurt, the chief OBJ
stacle in the way of improvement is
removed.
The milking habit is, in part at least,
a matter of education. All fear, pain,
Or nervous excitement checks the
secretion of milk. 1t is important,
then, that all this be avoided in the
young animal, and that the habit of
freely yielding milk be promoted. The
habit of kicking is, for the most part,
learned in breaking the heifer to milk,
and great care should be taken to avoid
the learning of this vice. Patience and
good temper in the mixer are important
requisites, and no hasty or ill-tempered
person should be allowed to "break
heifers to the pail" since the chance Of
their acquiring some vice is greater
than most people imagine. We have
IN numerous instances seen heifers COM
pletely ruined in the attempt to break
them to the pail, and all from hasty and
injudcious treatment.
We have always found it best to re-
move the calf early from its mother and
place it out Of her sight. She then
the sooner forgets it and takes more
kindly to the mixer. In few instances
where the calf has remained long
time with the mother and was then re-
moved, the mothers mourning has
caused serious trouble and loss.
Heiters require an abundance Of
nutritious food-food rich in flesh and
bone-making material-because, as the
animal has not finished her growth, the
drain from milking is apt to run her
down weak and thin, unless she is full
fed. Bran and eaten-meal make an
excellent ration, in addition to usual
quantity of hay or the grass obtained
from pasturase.
There Is difference of opinion in re-
gard to the length Of time that heifers
should be MIXED. In our experience
We find that the best results are obtain ed
when the animal is kept in milk a
goodly length of time, for if she is dried
early in the fall, the habit seems to be
acquired, and ever after she will be in
cined to fail in milk and go dry in ac-
cordance with her first season of milk
ing. 1t seems hard, 1t is true, to pro-
long the. milking season of a young
animal but with extra care and plenty
ofnutritious food, no injury is likely to
result, and there is much more pros
pect Of her making coed mixer than
when dried off early.