Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-12-28
Care Of Dairy
Cows in Winter.
BY George p. Grout, Minnesota
University Farm.
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II the year were one perpetual June,
with the pastures always clothed in
the most succulent and nourishing
grasses, with the atmosphere SO mild
as to induce the highest degree OF bo'
vine comfort and content, and with no
flies to vex the quiet of the COW, then
indeed would the dairyman's days be
filled with pleasantness and his purse
with easily-Won sheckels. But the
actual conditions of Minnesota win
ter impose upon him the necessity, if
he would gather June profits from
winter milking, OF so sheItering, feed
ing and caring for his herd as to re.
produce, so far as possible, June con-
ditions from November until May. In
his efforts to do this the Minnesota
dairyman faces many difficulties; but
through the overcoming of these lies
the road to the largest prosperity in
the dairy business.
Comfort and content are the touch
stones Of success. When the COW is
made comfortable and contented, she
responds with generous flow Of milk,
whatever the season of the year. A
primary necessity for her comfort is
adequate shelter. Warm, well-lighted
and Well-ventilated stables are essen
tial to a high rate of milk-production.
A sanitary barn should have from
four to six square feet of window
space for each COW kept. Where COWS
are kept in the stalls much of the
time, it is not unreasonable to say that
the barn should be light enough for
one to read in. Good ventilation is
essential; but it should be so arranged
that the COWS shall not be exposed to
a draught. while warmth without
ventilation is conducive to disease,
ventilation without heat is a consumer
of feed.' The range of temperature
in the barn should be kept between 40
and 60 degrees F..
1t is mistake to turn COWS which
are giving milk out in the yard in very
cold weather, under the impression
that the "open air" at such times is
good for them. If so exposed, while
the stalls are being cleaned or for
other reasons, it should be for a brief
period only When the owner, loaf.
ing around in the cold yard, feels
that it is time for him to go indoors,
it is time to put the COWS in also.
They should not remain out, shivering
around a straw stack, any more than
they should be allowed to suffocate in
dark, poorly ventilated barn. Dur
ing cool, heavy rains, at whatever sea-
son, the cows should be kept under
cover, as it requires a large amount
| of food to evaporate the water from
the animals back.
In winter, as we'll as in summer,
the COW should have good, pure water
to drink. She should not be required
to drink water that a person would
be unwilling to use for himself You
would not pour foul water into your
milk-pitcher; why do this Indirectly
when you let your COW drink it? See
that the source of supply is whole
some, and that the watering troughs
are kept clean.
A mature dairy COW uses not less
than eight gallons of water day If
it is too cold, the amount of extra feed
required to heat it within her body is
| considerable. For economy's sake,
then, as we'll as for the comfort of
the cow, when the water is too cold
say below IS degrees in winter-it
should be heated, either by steam or
by the use of a tank heater
Nowhere on the farm is cleanliness
more desirable than in the dairy barn.
Stalls and calf pens should be kept
free from filth and moisture Plenty
of bedding should be used at all times.
and the pens cleaned out frequently.
In the cutters, use common Stacked
lime, or chaff, as an absorbent.
Cows should not be kept in an ice
house, a hog pen or a dungeon. A
dark, damp and dirty place is very fa-
vorable to the growth of bacteria,