Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-06-18
CARE OE HElEERS.

Il SRhG OF 1GiF EMO.
There is such thing as having a
heifer with the best of dairy blood in
her veins, with perfect form and she
be fed right, and still the heifer be a
failure as mixer, other than to become
just an ordinary cow, whereas had she
had the proper care for full and perfect
development she would have become an
extra mixer.
1 am not so sure about spelling a
dairy bred heifer by feeding; in fact
question whether the form, tempera-
ed by feed, while the heifer is growing.
My experience is to the contrary.
Sometimes our best bred cows will
drop calves that will develop into round
bodied, smooth heifers that will make
those nice looking, tidy cows, that, rs a
rule are failures in the dairy; this, too,
when fed from the same trough and on
the same kind of feed with their sisters
that were born with proper dairy form.
| have raised these two types of heifers
together many times. The heifer with
the dairy form always develops into a
COW with dairy form, while the ones
that incline to be round and smooth
make round smooth cows, of very ordi-
nary value as mixers. These results lead
me away from the theory that the kind
of feed is largely responsible for form,
or that feed will make or retard dairy
development; and | think the time is
coming when less stress will be laid on
how to feed heifers, or the theory that
the future usefulness of heifers is i'm
paired by improper feeding, so long as
they are fed for thrifty growth and early
development.
As said before, | am doubter on
the feed question, but the more | have
TO do with cows and heifers the more
importance attach to the care or treat
ment of heifer from the day she is
born until she drops her first calf. Not
that any one can take any kind of calf OF
any breed and by treatment alone make
a profitable COW out of her. But COW
of any breed will be the better for the
right kind of treatment, and no heifer
even with the bluest of dairy blood in
her veins will ever develop into all her
possibilities if allowed to just grow up
like Topsy in Uncle Toms Cabin.
The true worth of a COW is innate, but
can only be drawn out or developed by
proper treatment, and this must be Civ
en- early in life.
The first factor in the education OF a
heifer is kindness. She should never
know what it is to fear those who handle
her. Her trust in and affection for her
master must be cultivated at all times,
for be it remembered that affection, as
we call it, in animals is the first and
greatest principle in maternity, and that
maternity and reproduction are the very
foundation on which cows usefulness
or failure us dairy COW rests. The
whole nervous system, with all its intrl-
cate machinery, throbs in unison with
the laws of maternity and is influenced
for good or i'll by the treatment she re-
ceived rs a calf, heifer or mother.
Working along this line, | have sue
ceeded in developing some excellent
cows from some rather unpromising
heifers. We have now coming into the
dairy twelve head of heifers, most of
which fresh soon, with all of VIII ch
have taken great pains. But feel sure
that will be well paid for all time and
trouble, Judging by the appearance and
performance of most of them. say
most, because some of them will only
rank as ordinary performers, but we
will have seven, and possibly eight, out
of the twelve, that will make cows that
any one might be proud of.-M. E.
King in Rural World.