Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-05-10
DANGER FROM MoULDY sILo FEED
Dr.. Porter Lost a valuabls Cow From
Poisonous Matter

EDITOR CENSOR: There are a good
many silOs now used in our county and
most of their owners have not long
used silage as feed. | am feeding sill
age now for the 23rd consecutive years
and have lately had new and expen-
| sive experience. in using this cheap and
valuable food. My old square siiO II, by
Is feed with the corners cut off ana the
inside lathed ana plastered with Port
land cement, keeps the silage very good
this year, but the surface is too great
| for my herd of 30 cows and some 25
| head of young cattle and horse.
| feed about as Bushels of silage daily,
| and have been feeding this winter from
/ the whole suffice and with no bad re-
/ suit urtii the warm weather of the last
| three weeks. In former years | fed
! first one half Of the surface and then
the other half going down alternately
three or four feet, but the loss from
decay was considerable. All at once
two cows had diarrhoea and began to
inquire why. | suspected mouldy oats,
but my oats were put four bundles in a
shock and cured and housed without
rain; yet years ago ! had lost a cow
from eating mouldy bundle from a
stack and | stopped feeding sheaf oats.
| was feeding three rutahagas per COW
each morning after milking and sus-
pecting them as cause of trouble cut
them out, The disease lasted each cow
a day or two and then new cow would
be affected. My man was sailing each
COW tablespoonful on her silage and
feared he gave too much so | did the
sailing. You know you want salt ir
. your corn meal mush and so COW want:
; e.fF knr al ~ -, l.. -
: corn. | had been very careful to dis
card all mouldy and decayed silage from
edges of the mass next the walls We
had just about enough for bedding tn,
r bitches 10 keep cows tails dry. In tn,
4 center of the silo | found small hare
2 white masses of mouldy silage with n,
Y bad odor and usually having a section
y of an ear of corn in each focus. Thes
n were down some three inches below sur
face
A beautiful young Jersey cow refuse
70 eat, had diarrhoea which quickl
% turned to bloody flux and in two day
n she died. had never before seen an
v mouldy spots in center OF silo like these
IF begun to search for those matte
m spots of white mould and found ther
where there was the most corn, towar
the center, where the silsge was driest
Every morning had pitched off thre
or four inches of silage from the edge
m into the center and had probably nc
~ taken off as much under the pile there
Or had simply not removed enough er
% silsge daily to prevent the center fror
W moulding. That alone was the caus
of that cows death. The center of tina
silo was in good condition to be musi
room bed and there were fungi, poison
Gus mushrooms. developing there as
4, have seen them often next to the sill
d: wall. | sprinkled the silo with water
or covered up half the surface with tn
a mould silage and am feeding only frol
Of the other half. In two days | was ri
e. of all the mould and the cows wer
pushed again to their utmost capacit,
/ have got TO feed plenty of ensilae
this winter as only a dozen tons Of hs
st remain. Now that white mouldy e.
re silage in center of silo is an activ
m irritant poison. say to every user
re ensilage "be on your guard and be SUI
.. you remove enough silage daily to pr
vent the formation of this poison
leighbor tells me that some farm,