MILKING TROUBLE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1732, 24 April 1913, Page 10

MILKING TROUBLE.

HOLDING'- BACK TUB MILK. "A.-ieiv weeks ago," writes a FeatherUon correspondent in a letter to the Editor, "you - .published an article dealing with Wi' . which gave advico as lo how ;cows who inako a practicc of holding their •milli. could be made to give their milk down. As many ot\your iu this dislrict and elsewhere did not notice tjio uvlicle, would you kindly publish it again for their benefit, as the infornin-.tion-..is invaluable?" '

■' The .article in question was prolxibly the following:—"Cows will sometimes refuse their, t'jnillt to strangers, and a rough mrlker'will often upset a herd. Tlio remedy 'in..there cases is to get rid of the offending 'milker, for among dairy cows gentlune.-sraud kindness should always rub*. I'f a cow evinces a dislilce for one milker, oiva preference for another, it-is best to humour her, ami hand her over to ■the care of tho favoured individual entirely. , ~ "A.-;oommon remedy is (o attempt to distract the attention of the cow from her milking by providing sonic tempting food. The .question of feeding at milking time is n debatable one . . . but nothing makes cows so much at homo in the milkin;' shed ;is what the Yorkshire man calls n .'bit a' licking.' As a general nib\ the relationship between cow and -milker is good in -dairies whero feeding at milking timo is ah institution. - "In some cases with a strange cow patience wins, and if the milker slielis to his stool and keeps rubbing the udder and stroking the teats',ho will tiro out the. must wilful of cows. In other cases it seems a baiter plan to leave tho cow for a time, and return to her half an hour later. In'extreme cases it may be,found more effectivo to refrain from milkinguntil the - distension begins to cause in-i.ouvenieiice,-but there are drawbacks to this, unci earned too far there may be a. case of garget or a bad quarter. •"Putting a weight over the loins is a favourite remedy villi tome, and heavy chains and bags of sand or earth have been employed in this way. The idea, is that the weight on the loins litis an effect on tiie ability of the cow to control the voluntary muscles of the.udder, which, nmleiV normal condition-, she can, but >uch measures ale calculated lo upset n nervous cow, and can never conduce lo abig yield of milk. "Ti-'il tubes or milk syphons effectually negative I lie cow's cii'orfs at retention, but these are no more lo be recommended, unless as a List resource, than weighting I he. loius. The udder is not simply a. reservoir for storing milk which can be 'emptied by overcoming Ihe resistance of the sphincter. Meerelion on while milking is in progress, a.nd is favoured by the gentle stimulus of the calf's tongue ami palate or the hand, of the milker. ■ Moreover., this is the richest milk. Kindness, patience, and perseverance are the most rational as tliey aro the most _successful means to overcome a disposition to 'hold' the'milk. | |