Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-12-24
STOCK IN WINTER.
The Care, Food and Shelter which 70
Should Receive.

/ STOCK IN WINTER.
The Care. Food and Shelter which 70
| Should Receive.
As rule cattle and sheep do not
gain in weight or condition during the
winter. In many cases they weigh less
in the spring than they did the previous
fall. The mortality among them is
much greater during the cold than the
warm weather. and the cases of sick
ness are more numerous as well as Sc
we're. Horses generally come through
the winter in good condition in respect
to flesh and strength. not because thew
are more hardy than cattle and sheep
for the reverse is true. but because thew
are better treated. They are kept in
warm stalls even if the other farm ami.
mails are left exposed to storms. are
carefully grOomed, and covered with
blankets when it is very cold, and are
fed on the best the farm and granary
can supply. They are not exposed to
the cold for any considerable length of
time for the purpose of obtaining
water, and in many cases water is
brought to them if the weather is very
cold. Farm horses, as a rule, do very
little work during the winter. and ac-
cordingly have an opportunity to re-
cuperate their strength. Ordinarily
they perform only enough work to af-
ford them suitable exercise. For these
reasons horses, though tender animals
generally, come through the winter in
much better condition than cattle and
sheep.
Perhaps farmers in the Northern
States should not expect to have their
stock. cattle and sheep gain much DUR
ing the long and severe winters that
are common here. They should en-
deavOr, however. to make them ..hOld
their own" They should not allow
them to run down on their hands. They
should be worth as much for any pur-
pose in the spring as they were in the
preceding fall. They should be in the
best condition to gain in flesh when the
grass first starts in the pastures. They
should require no nursing during March
and April. They should be something
more than ''skin and bones when the
frost leaves the ground and vegetation
begins to show signs Of life. They
should be well covered with flesh, sound,
vigorous and strong. Their bodies
should be free from insects that cause
constant annoyance and prepare the
way for disease. They should return
to the pas lures in as good condition as
the birds that return from the distant
South. They should be in sufficiently
good condition to enjoy life and to
profit by it. 1t should not require
month or six weeks time in good
pasture to enable them to recruit They
should need no recruiting and require
no bringing up to good healthy con-
dition
The water supply for farm animals
during the winter is much poorer than
the food supply. The quality of the
water is often poor and the facilities for
obtaining it very bad. On many farms
animals are obliged to travel Il long
distance, often through binding snow
storms, to reach a creek. stream or
| pond where they can obtain water.
| When they have reached the spot they
are Obliged to quench their thirst with
| impure water that is ice cold. Often
there is no way of reaching the water
except to cut Il hole through the ice.
Around this hole the cattle stand wait
ing for = chance to drink. The strongest
take the first drink, while the weaker
and younger creatures wait till they
have become chilled. Some of the lat
ter slip on the ice and others are hooked
about. The feet and legs of all the
animals become covered with snow and
water. which soon changes to ice. In
this condition they go back to the barn
or feeding yard, where they suffer from
cold for hours. During very cold
weather and on stormy days the ami
mails are very reluctant to 90 to the
watering place. They choose to endure
thirst rather than exposure. When
they do drink they take so much water
into their stomachs that they are rem
dered very uncomfortable
In many barn-yards in which there
are wells for supplying stock water the
arrangement of the drinking troughs is
very bad. They stand where the snow
piles about them or where body of ice
forms. The older and stronger cattle
crowd and hook the younger and weak
er. Ice forms in the trOughs and chils
the water that is brought in to them.
On very cold or stormy days the cattle
are let out 10 drink but once during
each twenty-fOur hours. They do not
drink sufficient water to enable them to
digest the dry food they eat and to
keep in good condition They often
become cOnstipated and lose their act
ivity. Water is as essential to the
healthy condition of animals as food is.
Men and all the inferior animals need
to drink as often as they eat dry food.
Water should be furnished abundantly
and often, and in places where it can
be obtained without great exposure 1t
is much better to have the watering
trough under a shed than in the open
yard. If there are many animals of
different ages in the yard there should
be more than one trough. Pains should
be taken to keep drinking-troughs free
from ice.
Cattle should be brushed or carded
during the winter as horses are An
accumulation of dirt i'm the hair affects
the skin unfavorably, and makes the
animals feel uncomfortable. A close
examination Of every animal for lice
should be made at the beginning of
winter and repeated every few weeks.