BLOAT IN STOCK MAY BE CONTROLLED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 45, 17 May 1950, Page 5

BLOAT IN STOCK MAY BE CONTROLLED

.(By E. R. Marryatt, Fields Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Wha 1 t 'tane).

Feeding Of Good Hay Is Urged During Grass Growth

In a previous article the writer discussed the possible control of bloat by fibre feeding. Today he ccntiuues his discussion and carries on a §tep further. The proportion of fibre in succulent fodder can also be increased by reducing the succulence. This can easily be done by mowing dangerous pasturage and allowing it to wilt before the cows are turned into the field. The cows prefer th° wilted pasturage to the unwilted and will eat it first. This is quite a helpful measure to adopt in reducing bloat.

By its proper use, the grazing of the cows can be limited to the minimum area necessary at each grazing and there is not the same clanber of patchy grazing which is so dangerous for bloat. . When during periods of rapid growth a cow goes back to the same ’patch which has been grazed at a recent grazing, the herbage which she gets on the second grazing is immature “replacement” or “transference” growth which seems to be a cause of bloat. Sensible use of the electric fence overcomes this dangfer. When conditions are favourable for bloat the use of enough good silage along with the hay and rationed mature pasturage is an excellent practice conducive to high milk production and little bloat. Adequate feeding means, about 30 to 401 b of silage each day along with about half-a-hundredweight of mature green grass and free access to hay. An hour’s grazing of saved pasturage at about the Bin to Din stage of growth after each milking will give this quantity of mature green grass. The feeding of insufficient fodder of any kind will make the cows hungry and hungry cows are very likely to bloat. That is another very good reason for having good hay in a rack in the holding yard during milking time.

Making Fields Grassy While many fields are not clovery enough and for increased production should be made more cloveiy, some clovery fields would be better made more grassy. This can easily be done by the right manement. Winter spelling of a clov--ur field will make it more grassy in the following spring. Pasture saved from the autumn over the winter will not only be more grdssy but will also consist of mature herbage which will be very much safer as far as bloat is concerned. Research work by agricultural chemists at Ruakura enquiring into the nutritive value of autumn-saved pasturage agrees with the experience of many farmers on their own

farms. They all have found that this autmn growth of pastures, if left ungrazed and stored “in the sod” where it has grown until the late winter and early spring, still has a high food value for milking cows when grazed at that time and indeed, is almost as good for milkproduction as is high-quality spring growth. But spring growth is dangerousf fodder for bloat and aut-umn-saved growth is relatively safe.

Bloat & Prevention Bloat is not new to dairying. It tends to increase with the quantity and quality of the clover. But so does butfierfat production. Many dairy farmers look for an easy way of eliminating bloat. The only easy way is to give up dairy farming. The adoption of certain proven practices will, however, reduce bloat to reasonable proportions and nigh butterfat production may still be obtained. None of these practices are recommended by themselves but f all should be used together. If during dangerous periods the dairy farmer supplies the cow with sufficient fibre, and then limits her grazing on wilted pasturage or mature pasturage, and feeds adequate supplies of silage and hay, and watches his under the worst conditions, he will still be able to farm efficiently and without severe losses from bloat.

Having mown and wilted some pastures and having seen that the cows have eaten some hay the next precaution to take is to limit their grazing. During dangerous periods of rapid pasture growth in the spring and in the autumn cows •should never be turned into a field and left unwatched for more than a very short time. Ten minutes is sometimes long enough for a cow to become bloated. ,

The greatest losses occur on the farms where at least one of these precautions has been neglected. This recommended management is not easy, but it is the only way to high production and yet to avoid serious trouble from bloat.

Electric Fence

The greatest help to dairy farmers in reducing bloat as well as in increasing production and avoiding waste has been the electric fence.