Gloucester County Democrat., 1898-04-07
HElFERs.
Suggestion For Training Them In the
Way They Should Go.

suggestion FOr IfAiniH& AnGm IN GMO
Way They should Go.
The following questions are asked in
The Rural New Yorker and answered in
that paper by Mr.. J. Grant Morse:
81 have Jersey heifer 81 months
old due to ealve about Jan. /. If feed
her SO as to get the largest possible yield
of milk during the first year, will this
be likely to increase her milk giving ca
pacity for the succeeding years? How
ought she to be fed? have clover hay,
cornstalks, bean pods, wheat and oat
straw, bran, eornmeal and Golden
Tankard mangels. Would it be we'll to
let the calf suck her for the first month
Or two?''
A heifer as young as this one should
have had the best of care and food be-
fore calving SO as to make her as large
md robust as possible. If she is now
fieshy, would give her all the clover
hay and stalks she will eat. giving more
of the more plentiful feed. would also
give her from one to two pecks of the
mangels, with peck of wheat bran
daily, to be fed twice day. The guam.
tity of mangels should be governed by
the condition of her bowels, which
should be kept loose, but not too much
so. If the heifer is thin, would give
her a small quantity of cornmeal, say
not to exceed four quarts daily at the
very most, and this on condition that
she be very thin. The bean pods, wheat
and cat straw mentioned are also very
good-to give the heifer nice comfort
able bed and to keep her dry and clean.
Do not be afraid to feed the heifer be-
fore calving, for heifer with the first
calf never has milk fever. If her udder
become full and inclined to cake, give
it plenty of rubbing with the hands
and if necessary milk her. 1t will do
her no harm. Do not let the calf suck
for a month or two under any consider
alton. Better not let it suck at all She
will behave much better and will give
just as much milk to the mixer as she
would to the calf if she does not know
any difference.
After the swelling Of the udder sub
sides would begin to add little corn
meal to her feed and increase it as the
case seems to demand. No one can tell
how much or what kind of feed COW
can stand unless he feeds her and watches
the result It is true that the COW is a
machine to convert feed into milk or
beef, but these machines are all made
on different plan and one must run his
machine little before he can tell how
much steam it is safe to generate, or he
is liable to blow it up. or in other
words, he is liable to get his COW "off
her feed, when he will find that he is
not getting as much milk as if she had
been only sparingly fed, and the cost is
much greater.
would not breed the heifer again
until after six or even nine months and
would milk her at least year, if posi-
BILE. This plan gives the heifer more
chance to grow and at the same time
induces her to form the habit of holding
out we'll with her milk. In regard to
keeping the heifer in condition it is bad
to let her get poor, but it is great deal
worse to let her get too fat / find that
as general thing where there is a
large dairy there is not much danger of
heifers getting grain enough to hurt
them, but where man has only one or
two COWS it takes such a small quantity
of grain for them that he is very likely
to spoil them with kindness and corn
meal. If the heifer get beefy, let up on
the feed, even though she is giving only
a small amount Of milk. The appear
ance of fat is the sign that she has reach
ed her limit or that her feed is of too
fattening nature. 1t is much better
for her to do fairly well on ordinary
feed than to spoil her with too much.