The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-08-04

strange why farmers win persist I,
caring for their dry cows In this man
ner because herein lies the secret o
The great success in economical mill
and butter fat production. and were
to give as my honest opinion the
manner in which the yield of dairy
cows In this country could be in
creased most quickly and certainly I,
would be this one method of feeding
them properly during the 30 days
which precede the freshening period
and the 30 days which follow.
Feed for a Purpose.
In his operations the feeder should
always have definite purpose In
view, and he should bear in mind that
certain feeds will accomplish certain
purposes which other feeds absolute
ly will not. After the COW has been
turned dry, the purpose of the ration
given her should be that of resting
the digestive apparatus, building up
the foetus, storing up strength and
stamina in the cows body by placing
there flesh and beef which can be
drawn upon at later date. For the
purpose Of fattening the cow there Is
nothing that Is better than corn, but
corn fed in dry and hard dry state
is more or less difficult to digest and
the result would be, instead Of rest
ing the digestive apparatus, to CON-
tinue it's work even more strenuously
than when the COW was producing
milk. For this purpose, then, there Is
nothing better than corn silage, which
supplies the same feed nutrients as
does corn itself, but in a cheaper man
ner and also supplies succulence the
same as does green grass, and thus is
effective in cooling out and resting
the digestive apparatus. Oats are
claimed, and reasonably too, believe,
to contain certain albuminoids which
other feeds do not contain that have
the power of imparting stamina to the
animal and for this reason they are
exceptionally valuable to feed at this
time. Oil meal renders the digestive
apparatus laxative and adds to the
sappy condition of the animal Bran
and hay, if it be clover or alfalfa, not
only supply bulk to the ration, but
also add the much needed protein for
the development of the foetus at this
time. With such a combination of
feeds, it is possible to place the COW
during period of 30 days in the very
best possible condition for freshening
and for starting out on her very best
work after she has freshened.
The Cow Should Be in Good condi.
ton When Fresh.
Experiments recently carried on 20
to prove that COW freshening in
high flesh will not only milk heavier,
but will also test richer, the conse.
quence of which will of course result
in great deal larger production of
milk and butter fat, and this is rea.
sOnable to believe. There is one OBJ.
lection, Of course, to having a COW
freshen in a fleshy and plethoric con-
dition, namely, that she will be more
susceptible to milk fever and this,
believe, Is the reason handed down
from generation to generation which
has instilled the feeder with the idea
that the COW should be poor at time
of freshening. There was a time
when SO per cent. Of the COWS which
contracted milk fever died. At the
present time at least SO per cent. or
80 per cent. of the COWS which are af-
ficted with milk fever recover by the
use of the air treatment, which is
simple and inexpensive and can be
applied by the feeder himself if he
has access to milk fever outfit, or
otherwise he can depend upon the
local veterinarian. At parturition time
the heavy grain ration should be taken
away from the COW and her feed
should consist of nothing more than
hay and silage, together with light
bran mash which should continue to
be given her for two or three days
following freshening. At this time
she should be given a small ration Of
solid foods and brought to full feed
much in the same manner as does the
feeder of beef cattle bring the steers
in his feed lot to full feed. It is we'll
known and admitted among breeders
that after putting large, rugged beef
cattle in the feed lot and placing them
on feed at once, sickness will result
and the steer receive a great and last
ing setback, and at the same time
realizing this. the feeder of dairy
COWS will Immediately after the COW
freshens put her on full feed quickly,
believing that in some way or other
the dairy COW is possessed of a great
er and stronger digestive apparatus
than is her rugged brother, the beef
steer, This is not only radically
wrong, but greatly unreasonable.
Heavy feeding Immediately after
freshening is, of course, necessary if
the cow has freshened in poor condi.
ton, because she has nothing out of
which to make milk except the feed
which she receives at that time and
herein lies the great advantage of
feeding her in such way that she
mas stored up in her body milk-ma-