Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-01-26
ORLEANS COUNTY MONITOR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2e 1910

milking, especially if silage, turnips or
other strong smelling feeds are used.
If fed at this time there is little dan
ger of tainting the milk.
The heifers should be MIXED for as
long a time as possible during their
first milking period. If they are al
lowed to go dry after five months or
so they will never prove profitable
dairy animals. 1t is the COW that
keeps up a good milk flow ten or
eleven months of the year that adds
to the dairyman's profits.
Kindness is an essential point in
handling dairy cows. Any unneces-
sary roughness causes the COW to hold
up her milk and reduces the profits.
Feeding.
For three days before and three days
after calving there is no better ration
for the dairy cow than a mash of two
pounds of bran and one pound of oil
meal, fed twice a day. Do not be in
too big a hurry to get the cows on
full feed after calving. The ration
should be increased gradually and
slowly from five to six pounds daily
to all the cows can proftably use. An
increase of half a pound every alter
nate day is sufficient. This increase
should be kept up as long as the milk
flow continues to get larger When
the point is reached where increases in
feed do not produce corresponding in
creases in milk flow the feed should
be gradually decreased again. The
first few pounds decrease will not af-
feet the milk flow. When the point
is reached where a further decrease in
feed causes a lessened milk flow the
most profitable ration for that partic-
ular cow has been determined. 1t
takes q little extra work to do this
weighing, but after the best sized ra-
ton for each COW has been determined
the approximately correct amount can
be measured out each time with little
trouble. 1t pays to feed the cow all
she can use proftably. 1t costs just sc
much to keep her anyway, and al
the feed that she can use to ad
vantage over that amount adds to the
profits.
During the summer the feeding prob
fem is a simple one. With plenty Of
good pasture, supplemented in dry
times by some forage crop and some
sort of protection from flies, the mill
flow will be kept up to a profitable
standard. In the absence of forage
crops silage can be profitably substi
tuted.
1t is in winter that the highest price
for dairy products are secured, and i
the cows freshen in the fall the mail
part of the years product will come a
this season. The problem of winte
feeding is one of the most importan
with which the dairyman has to deal
If you have plenty of good clover o
alfalfa hay and silage the problem i
more than half solved. From thirty t
fOrty-fve pounds of silage and ten
twenty pounds of clover hay a da
will make up the bulk of the roughag
needed. A rack in the yard filled wit
corn fodder or oat straw will add var
ETY. to the ration. Where silage car
not be obtained a plentiful supply O
| pumpkins, squashes. turnips or maj
| gels should be at hand to supply tn
succulent part of the ration. Withou
some such feed the COWS will not d
their best
Mixing the Rations.
Although dairy cows can handl
| large amounts of rough feed, the
need considerable grain in addition
during the winter. Corn, because O
its cheapness and high feeding value
will generally form the basis of tn
grain rations. Because of its hig
percentage of carbohydrates and ia
some feed rich in protein should b
fed with the corn. Oats are good, bu
they have only enough protein t