Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-02-22
The Cow at CaIvin< Time.

The Cow at CaIving Time
There are a great many points in the
management of the pregnant cow
which our readers would do well to
understand, and if they were better
understood there would be less loss
annually among dairy cows. In the
first place, we find that common
cause of trouble is overlooking with
grains and meals and failure to keep
the bowels of the COW properly open
The cow dries up in milk flow about
six weeks prior to calving and when
heavily fed becomes too fat and has
tendency to be costive about the time
of her trial. When the calf comes
and there is a sudden flow of milk to
the udder the shock to the system is
too great to be withstood and she goes
down with milk fever. This is par
TALLY due to the fact that she is too
fat, but also for the reason that she
has been little exercised. AS pre-
yentive measure then the COW should.
when pregnant, be well exercised
from the time that she is retired from
active milking, and at that time she
should have a complete change OF
feeding. 1t - no longer necessary to
stimulate milk flow and foods used for
tn. purpose would only be stored Up
as fat The food should consist of
bran mashes with enough faxseed
meal or cake to keep the bowels freely
open. Roots would also be found
beneficial. In addition to this feeding
the usual amount of fodder and hay
should be given, and the cow should
live practically out of doors. II she
has had four or five calves she Will
be the more liable to milk fever which
does not attack heifers. If she is
very heavy mixer and comes from a
strain of cows that have suffered from
milk fever, she should have some medl-
cine in addition to the depicting food
mentioned. 1t has been found during
the past few years that the admins
tration of a drachm of iodide of pot
ash in water night and morning for
week prior to calving proves an effect
i've preventive of milk fever, but IL
tie COW is fat at time of calving she
should have an additional two draehm
dose just before the event is expected.
If after the calf comes she shows the
slightest symptoms of the disease II
would be we'll to give another similar
dose of the iodide, and if she should be
SO unfortunate as to go down paral-
yzed with the disease. two drachms of
freshly boiled and filtered wa.er
Should be injected into the udder by
means of a funnel, long rubber hose
and large milking tube. Half a pint
of the solution should be infused slow
ly into each teat in turn and then the
udder should be well massaged every
hour until the solution has been alb
sorbed. Many are of the opinion that
a cow in this condition should have
a large dose of epson salts, but this is
an error, as the COW is unable to
swallow and will be choked more or
less by giving the drench which usu
ally consists of two quarts or more.
When the calf comes and the COW As
not taken down with the disease no
attempt should be made at first to re
move the afterbirth, but IL it does not
come away promptly she may have a
large feed of oats (siX to GIT QuaIts)
as this for some reason or another
has a good effect and will in many
cases cause the desired effect. If the
cleaning does not come away within
three hours after the oats have been
taken then it may be removed by hand
for which operation it is best to en-
ploy a veterinary surgeon of expert
ence. The new calved COW should
nave a Sloppy OTdu HASH, ana some
believe in mixing tablespoonful of
tincture of arnica In it to act as a
stimulant. The milk should not be
wholly stripped away at first. The
calf sucks but small portion at first
in nature, and this is the index to fol-
low in the management of cows liable
tc milk fever. For a few days milk
some three times a day, but do not
take all of the milk to cause a void In
the udder, which the tactical glands
Immediately try to fill up, causing a
strain upon the system of the COW.
Better let the calf suck for a few days
in cases where the cow is fat. If the
udder does not soften up promptly
battle it well with hot water three
times daily and give the cow a table
spoonful of saltpeter in soft food twice
daily. Wet the raw navel cord of the
calf with a strong solution of corro-
sive sublimate twice daily from birth
until it dries up, as this will prevent
many calf ills, such as joint disease
and some forms of scours- Feed the
COW carefully for a week at least after
calving-
Chicken Hawks
From Farmers Review: In sew
eral farm papers from time to time
have noticed articles on hawks in
which articles the writer's seem to have
very tender feeling for that bird of