SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING OF STOCK DURING WINTER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 64, 3 July 1950, Page 5

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING OF STOCK DURING WINTER

Starting winter supplementary feeding of stock while pastures are still growing is urged by the Department of Agriculture, which also recommends that the quantities fed conform to the appetite of the animals.

The Department states that experience has shown that hay is best fed out in racks (preferably of the portable type) or by being spread evenly and not too thickly in swaths on the driest fields. Different paddocks should be used for feeding out each day to avoid undue poaching of the land by excessive stock concentration on one area. During the last six weeks . of pregnancy eyes should have their hay ration supplemented by “on-and-off” grazing of greenfeed, reserved pasture, or roots to avoid lambing troubles caused by a check in condition.

Turnips and swedes are important crops for supplementary feeding of sheep and cattle in the South Island, about a quarter of a million acres of them being grown each year. Feeding with roots extends over a fairly long period: It may be started in March and may extend until September, according to the weather and the district. Growing turnips- and swedes and using appropriate varieties of each make a succession of feed available from late autumn until early spring. All roots should be fed off in breaks and young stock given the first feeding of each break. It is usual to provide stock with a pasture run-off and some hay when roots are being fed.