The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-01-01
FARM TOPICS.
suggestions on the Proper Care OF Animals
During the Winter Seasonal
Beet-Sugar Scheme.
Farm harms and the Importance OF Prop
erly Planning Them-The Ques-
ton of Ensilagc.
CARE OF STOCK IN WINTER.

ton of Ensilagc.
CARE OF STOCK IN WINTER.
As a rule cattle and sheep do not gain
in weight or condition during the win
ter. In many eases 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 sickness are
more numerous rs well as severe. Horses
generally come through the winter in
good condition in respect to flesh and
strength, not because they are more
hardy than cattle and sheep, for the
reverse is true, but because they are
better treated. They are kept in warm
stalls even if the other farm animals
are left exposed to storms, are carefully
grOOmed, and covered with blankets
when ii 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 i'm
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 accordingly have an oppor-
tunity to recuperate their strength. Or
d~inarily they perform only enough work
to afford 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 should not expect to
have their stock cattle and sheep gain
much during the long and severe VIM
tiers that are common here. They should
endeavOr, 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 are in the pre-
ceding 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
Gus, and strong. Their bodies should
be free from insects that cause constant
annoyance and prepare the way for
disease. They should return TO the
pastures in good condition us 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 mo- require a month orsix weeks
time in a good pasture to enable them
to recruit. They should need no re-
cruiting and require no bringing up to
a good healthy condition.
Farm animals rarely suffer for want of
sufficient food during the winter, long
us it ordinarily is. Hay of excellent
quality is ordinarily plenty and cheap.
Throughout the cOrn-grOwing regions
there is an abundance of fodder, if pains
were taken to preserve it before it was
injured by the frost. The large acreage
of small grains supply Il very large
amount of straw. There is generally an
abundance of corn. oats, and other
grains suitable for feeding TO stock.
Some animals in the northwest consume
more valuable food during the winter
than similar animals do in any part of
| the entire world. Farm animals i'm the
northwest, with very rare exceptions,
have a sufficient amount of food during
the winter, and the quality of it is gen
| orally very good. Their diet. however,
might be improved if there was greater
variety. An occasional feed Of turnips,
beets, carrots, OF cabbage would be of
great advantage to them. They would
aid digestion, and give the animals a
better appetite to eat dry straw and hay.
A partial diet of cnsilage would be very
desirable for a change. Still farm ami
mails in the northwest would ordinarily
pass through the winter in good con-
dition on the food they have if their
| other wants were better attended to.
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 fol-
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 quench their thirst with
impure 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 wait
ing for a chance TO drink. The strong.
est 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 oon change to ice. In
this condition they GO back to the barn
or feeding yard, where they suffer from
cold for hours. During very cold wealth
er and on stormy days the animals arc
very reluctant to go 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 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 weak
er. Ice forms in the troughs and chills
the water that is brought in to 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 di
gest the dry food they eat and to keel
in good condition. They often become
constipated and lose their activity
Water is as essential to the healthy con
ditiOn of animals us food is. Men anC
all the inferior animals need TO drink n
often as they eat dry food. Water should
be furnished abundantly and often, anu
in places where il n not be obtained
without great exposure. 1t is much bet
ter to have the watering trough under
a shed than in the open yard. If there
are many animals of different ages il
the yard there should be more than OF
trough. Pains should be taken to keel
the acknowledgements free from ice. This
may be done by having plug in thu
bottom which can be drawn when thu
animals are through drinking. A spou
should be used to carry off this water
so it will not form ice in the yard.
Cattle should be brushed or cardet
during the winter as horses are. Al
accumulation of dirt in the hair affect,
the skin unfavorably, and makes TIT
animals feel uncomfortable. A clos,
examination of every animal for lie,
should be made at the beginning o
winter and repeated every few weeks
If any are found substances should b.
applied that will destroy them. Lice OF
cattle can generally be killed by til
application of some neutral oil, al
parafine or hogs lard; the addition o
a small amount of carbolic acid viii
make the remedy more effective. NJ
animal will thrive that is tormentcd b,
vermin, which produces perpetual an
noyance. IN portions of the cOuntr,
that are newly settled and where tn
farmers arc poor all animals can not b.