Dodge City times., 1888-01-12
EAT cows AND MILK.

Farmer end Daixymaa. Il
Every body knows that cows sho16
not be poor when they calve; that -
cow in thin flesh. or low. condition. b
not apt to do well; that even If she i.
does not retain the afterbirth, which
nearly spoils her for the season. sAe
is not capable of doing her best at ths
pail, and that If ske Is run down at
calving time. she can not be brought
up to her full milking capacity in all
summer. In the first place. being
weak she can not stand half the grain
which an ordinary cow on dry feed
ought to have for profitable milking
Her stomach partaking of her general
debility. renders her appetite feeble
even for good grass and the conse-
quence is that the quantity she eats
is nearly all needed to supply her
bodily wants. and does not leave
much material for making milk. Still
the COW, if good one, naturally does
her best, and supplies more OF the
lacteal fluid than she can well afford.
The milk secreting vessels apprc-
pirate a portion Of the sustenance
that ought to go to repair the muscu-
lar system. There is not much danger
of having q COW too fat at calving time;
the danger is usually the other way;
but that COW can be too fat to have
a good calf, or furnish her usual guam
tity of milk afterwards personally
know.
Ihad a cow of good size and fair
milking capacity that was certainly
too fat to do well. NV other cows be-
ing nearly dry, we needed all the milk
that cow was capable of giving. and so
/ fed her all the meal she could stand
without getting cloycd. She became
quite fat, and when dried off four Or
five weeks before calving she looked
at me so anxiously and wistfully that
l had not the heart to take the feed
away from her. and continued to feed
her the same ration until she calved.
when she was fat enough for Christ
mas beef Contrary to my expecta-
tions. her calf was small. scrawny and
weak, but hungry as Pharaoh's lean
kline, and seemed to be sucking all tho
time. Whenever the COW was tried.
no milk was found in her bag which
looked large enough to have half u
pailful when it was actually empty.
1t was soft and not swollen or caked
in the least. When the calf was taken
away at week old. she gave only
small quantity. and was long time in
giving that. The bag seemed to be
too full of tallow to furnish any stor-
age for milk. and il had 10 come di-
rectly from the milk veins about as
fast as she manufactured it. A per-
son could strip. and strip. all day if he
had the patience of the calf The
quantity increased little as the sea-
son advanced. but she did not recover
her full flow until she had another call
and was thinner in flesh.
lido not think such cases happen
often, rs / never had any other. An
Orange county dairyman of long ex-
perience told me that he could never
get his cows too fat before calving.
that the fatter they were. the better
their yield for the season. A butcher
whose word can be relied upon. told
me he bought very fat Short-horn
cow to kill for beef. but discovering
that she was far advanced in pregnan-
cy kept her until after she calved. and
that the calf was fine one. The COW
was killed when the calf was about
ten days old. and dressed sixty-fouI
pounds per hundred of live weight.
which was the fattest animal he ever
dressed. He did not know how muck
milk she gave, but am of the opinion
that she did not give very lsrge
quantity. l once took q large
sow to fatten on shares, and
about the time she was we'll fattened.
she had small litter of diminutive.
Unlocking pigs. and not half enough
milk to supply their bodily wants.
From the first, they constantly left the
nest and followed her about the pen.
seeking for an opportunity to appease
their hunger, and all starved to death
but one.
According to my experience. it does
not make much difference whether the
calf is taken away from the cow the
first day, or the sixth day Of its life:
the motherly instinct is so strong thai
she will mourn little in any event.
had calf born dead and removed
Immediately out of the mothers sight.
but she bawled just as much as if the
calf had been alive. and she had en-
joyed its company for week. When
discover cow is about to calve.
put her in a box stall where she has
room enough to move about. and keer
her there with the calf four or five
days, carrying water to her. As
young calf seldom takes all a COW
gives I milk her bag empty twice q
day, and this attention generally pre-
vents the leaking" or Inflammation
of the bag; it also allows the calf &c
get acquainted with me and become
tame and friendly, SO that when
it is shut up by itself and ]
20 to feed it the first time.
it recognizes me rs friend and is n o,
half frightened to death when / get
into the pen and put my fingers into
it s mouth. l could never see any
good reason why cow should not be
allowed the pleasure of having her
calf with her for few days. especial
" when it is no Inconvenience or ex-
pense to the owner to thus crafty her.