, 1918-09-26
PROPER CARE OF
DAIRY ANIMALS
Stockmen Must Make Special e.
forts to Move Them With
a Minimum of Loss.
SR0vLD Be FED REGULARLY
Every Effort Should Be Made to Expe-
.dlte Railroad Movement Of Cows
During Their Time In Transit
Keep Comfortable.


Each fall an influx Of springer or
fresh cows enters dairying sections
that seek more mich animals. Every
effort should be exercised to expedite
the railroad movement Of the dairy
COWS during their time in transit and
to provide all possible comfort for the
animals en- route, advise the dairy ex-
perts Of the q. s. department of agri-
culture. Such care and attention will
production of the individual during
her lactation period over the flow
which generally obtains from the nv
erage COW that is carelessly "rail-
roaded."
Valuable purebred COWS should be
moved as rapidly as possible by ex-
press service or by freight under the
special system of loading described
below, from origin to destination.
Although the expense Of expressage
Is four Or five times as great as that
Of handling the animals by freight, the
,aving In animal comfort, shorter time
In transit and better conveniences for
feeding and watering the animals
make the added expenditure advis-
able. AS far as possible the animals
should be shipped one Oh two months
before they are due to freshen. as re-
peatedly fresh cows have been ruined
so far as the subsequent lactation pc
riod has been concerned as a result of
being shipped shortly after freshening
or so as to calve in transit.
Care In Shipping.
Mich cows>of grade breeding usu-
ally r shipped by freight. The
perienced stockman selects only dry
cows and far-springers for long ship
ments. Heifers which are not due to
freshen until three or four weeks
after arrival at destination make good
buys" as they are Of. size and con-
dition which permits of loading the
a to capacity. Furthermore, imma-
ture animals are less susceptible to
injury In transit and to damage as a
result of a marked change of envi-
ronment. If possible. only animals
without horns should be shipped and
in case any horned animals have to
be moved they should be tied securely
or penned apart In one end of the car
to preclude the possibility Of their in
juring other animals during the jour
ney. Similarly, where bulls are
shipped in mixed loads these sires
should be confined apart from the
other cattle. Other conditions being
equal, It is advisable to load about
fourteen mature cows in a SO or 40
foot al A practical arrangement is
to tie four cows In each end of the
a facing the end walls. and then
rough partitions can be Installed 10
that two other rows of three COWS
each face a center alleyway between
the car doors where the attendant can
stay and extra feed and water be car
ried. This arrangement Ia more COM
fortabie for the cows, as they ride and
absorb the shock and Jar better, while
1t is also simpler for the caretaker to
feed the cows and clean out the car
en- route.
Ship In Cold Weather.
As far as possible the stock should
he shipped during cold weather. adj
wise the authorities Of the q. 8. de-
partment of agriculture. as cows han
died during hot weather + liable to
shrink appreciably In milk flow during
he successive lactation period. Spe-
cial precaution must be exercised In
shipping cows during cold weather,
% avoid exposure which viii favor
the contraction Of pneumonia, usually
a fatal disease among mature cow
stun. At best it takes an animal about
a year to become thoroughly accli-
mated to a warmer or colder climate
han That 70 which 1t has been accus-