Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-06-15
How to Feed Cows.

We have read articles from reliable
authorities as to feeding concentrated
feeds to dairy cows, which for some
reason we do not understand, and come
to you for an explanation. These au'
thorities say feed to dairy COW conoen'
trated feeds according to amount of milk
that is, COW giving 40 pounds Of milk
per day certain weight OF feed; . COW
giving 80 pounds day lesser amount
and one giving so pounds larger qusu'
tity. Does this mean a, hard and fast
rule, regardless Of size, appetite, and ca
pacity of the COW to assimilate q larger
or smaller quantity?
Again, and here Is the point bewilder-
ing to me. We have, we will suppose, a
COW that gives for $50 days, 40 pounds
per day; for following 90 days. 80 pounds
per day; for next As days 20 pounds per
day, and for remaining 45 days OF year
nothing, as she has been turned dry be-
fore freshening. Now, do they mean
that this COW should be fed less concen-
trated feed, as she decreases in her milk
weld, preparatory to freshenipg, and
the last 45 days be fed no concentrated
feed, even though she should be coming
fresh in January or March?
c.. C.
There are no hard or fast rules to be
followed in feeding cattle. The man In
charge of herd, to obtain the best re-
suits, must study the demands and re-
ouirements of each cow. When the
statement is made, feed pound of grain
for each 8 or pounds OF milk produced
The amount of roughage fed shon'd
be about two-thirds of the entire ration
and the grain oue-third. -,
When cows first freshen, they should
be fed lightly and as they come to their
milk flow the grain should be gradually
increased. The increase may be Kept
up 80 long as the COW returns proht.
able flow of milk for grain consumed
and does not go beyond the danger
point in feeding, which Is 10 to Is los.
Of grain per COW per day. When the
cow has reached her maximum produc'
ton, then the grain should be reduced a
little In order to make sure that not too
much grain is being fed. 1t may De said
that cows producing more than 70 IDS.
of milk per day will not require quite as
much feed per given amount OF milk as
cows producing less, for no matter how
much milk a COW produces, the main
tenance ration must be supplied, which
is a large portion Of the entire ration fed
to the cow.
As the COW decreases in milk flow the
grain should be decreased accordingly:
When the COW is dry, If she Is in good
flesh, no grain need be given providing
she is fed good quality of roughage,
such as clover hay and corn silage, or
any legume hay for that matter. The
fact is, a COW will do pretty good work
when receiving nothing but alfalfa and
corn silage. At the Illinois Experiment.
Station COW produced over 5000 lbs.
of milk containg $50 pounds Of fat on
ration consisting Of l6 pounds of alfalfa
hay and As pounds Of corn silage daily.
During the soiling season, green crops
were fed to some extent.
There is another point that might be
While COW may respond to
an increased amount Of feed given her,
yet the price of the feed might be so
high, and the price OF milk relatively
low, that the Increased supply of milk
would not pay for the feed consumed,
In such an instance as this it would not
be wise to feed cow to produce her
maximum flow of milk, bnt rather to
feed her to produce the most profit
able flow. There is nothing like
knowing the amount of grain and
the amount of feed fed every day to de-
termine when the greatest returns or the
most profitable returns are being secur-
ed. The milk sheet will readily indi-
cate whether the COW is receiving all the
grain she should have, whether she is
properly MIXED and cared for, etc. II
it does not seem advisable to weigh the
milk each day, we would urge that 1t be
weighed at least once week, for we
feel certain that the information which
1t reveals amply pays for the time spent
in doing this work.-Hoard's Dairyman.