DRYING OFF THE COWS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1712, 1 April 1913, Page 8

DRYING OFF THE COWS.

suggestions' by a dairyman.

y "A l , system "by which I consider New Zealand-'dairymen are annually losing thousands of. pounds is followed in drying off their cows," says the correspondent of an excliaiige in a letter in which he urges the ttdoption of a new method. The writer tays : that-the general .method followed is to. niiss a'.t&w for two or three iinilkings, •then, four, until the worst cows are dried off, but tlie : best cows (tho, ones most wanted in any herd) have got too near calving, -and are turned out in the last fortnight when they are springing. A cow treated .iiii this way is in a fever during the irregular milking, not-knowing when .milking timo is coming. Milking a cow -after a day or two's spell induces inilain-rndfioil-'df' the udder, and consequently thick milk, until the vessel of the animal ■is: in a diseased state. A darryma'n is .often heard, to say tlat one of his best cows is not worth milking after calving, • and,.that.he could not dry her off. before it.; Almost every farmer can. show similar cases. M>7,

'Tour years ago," continues tho correspondent, "I had six cows duo to calve in 'iNovember. I commenced to dry tliem off .111 Septembeivbut could not get them dry. Wheii they calved four of them wero nse.lpss owing to tho unhealthy state of their udders/i-and'ihad to be culled out. The 'system. I havfe followed since then is that ■;wlien a cow is two months off calving I miss her one night, milk licr in the morning, and tuffl'.her out on the back of the farm, -'W i here"slio does not expect to be "milked, and she is dry in a week. A cow ;treated this way has good fresh milk to absorb into her system, and the udder is Ipft healthy for coming in next time. I treated thirty-four cows this way two sea--1 sons,ago, and found it most satisfactory. Twenty-four hours after calving their milk was perfectly free from any foreign matter, and could be sent to tho creamery two days earlier than usual. I had one ■of ■ the • best cows in the Dominion wliich : Hvag'Jgiving'iOlb. of milk per day. in Sep;tomber._ Ijnissed her one night, iniiked he'r.".fh '-tKlmdniing, when she gave a .kerosene tin full, and then she was turned •out. Upon calving she was thoroughly sound and .healthy, and her udder was in .particularly good order. When weaning 'U'.foal the usual practice is to just separate it from-tlie mare. A sow's litter is Shiit away from her without any detrimental result to the pig. A sheep is treated in tho same manner, yet the cow from which the most money is obtained is treated so'as to cause diseases of the udder. These remarks apply more particularly to deep-milking herds than to light , milkers. In this way cows are sure ,<of spell. I estimate tlie monetary _ saving by my system as fol,lo\vs:—Saving "of timo in drying off cows from 15..,t0 ,59. on .31 cows, X's 25.; saving 'effected-in milk being supplied to creamery two days earlier than usual, 31 cows, with iOOlb. milk each, at 3.0 test, at Is. per lb., .£3 25.; estimated value of cows' udders t being much healthier and .consequent' increase of milk supply at 10s. per cow, .£l7; saving on cows usually destroyed through defective drying off, two cows at ,£ls per lieod, less JES each when fat, «C2O; or a total of JM7 is. Is not -this worthy of farmers' consideration?"