The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-30
Care of Cattle in Winter.

Chicago Tribune.
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 a long dis
lance, 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 ouench their thirst with i'm
pure water that is ice cold. Often there is no
way of reaching the water, except to cut a hole
through the ice. Around this hole the cattle
stand, waiting for a chance to drink. The
strongest take the first drink, while the weaker
and younger creatures wait till they have be-
come chilled. Some of the latter 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 change to ice. In
this condition they go back to the barn or feed
ing yard, where they suffer from cold for hours.
During very cold weather and on stormy days
the animals are very reluctant to go to the
watering place. They choose to endure thirst
rather than exposure. When they do drink
they take Sc much water into their stomachs
that they are rendered 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 a
body of ice forms. The older and stronger
cattle crowd and hook the younger and weaker.
Ice forms in the troughs and chills the water
that is brought into them. On very cold or
stormy days the cattle are let out to 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 constructed and
lose their activity. 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 water
ing 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 the drinking
troughs from ice. This may be done by having
a plug in the bottom, which can be drawn when
the animals are through drinking. A spout
should be used to carry off this water so it will
not form lee in the yard.
Cattle should be brushed or carded during the
winter, as horses are. An accumulation of dirt
in 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. If any are found, substances
should be applied that will destroy them. Lice
on cattle can generally be killed by the applica.
ton of some neutral oil, as p~arafine or hogs
lard; the addition of a small amount of carbolic
acid will make the remedy more effective. No
animal will thrive that is tormented by vermin,
which produces perpetual annoyance. In por-
tons of the country that are newly settled and
where the farmers are poor, all animals cannot
be kept in well-constructed barns and stables.
Still it is practicable to provide protection
against winds and storms. A frame can be
made of rails or saplings, about which corn
stalks and straw can be piled. A tight roof can
be made of thatch. The construction of roofs
of thatch is an art that has been sadly neglected
in this country, and it should receive attention
in all parts of the West. Some of our foreign
born farmers ~practiced making roofs of thatch
in their old homes, and they could be of great
service to their neighbors in teaching them the
art.