HEIFER'S WORK AS A TWO-YEAROLD.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 639, 7 June 1921, Page 10

HEIFER'S WORK AS A TWO-YEAR-OLD.

The question sometimes is asked os to how long it is necesssry to keep a heifer before it is safe to judge whether she will be a profitable animal to keep in the herd. We studied this point one time from the records of our herd which extended over twenty-live years. We found that in only one case would a serious mistake have been made if the heifer had been judged upon the basis of their first lactation period. It is a well known fact that the richness of milk is not influenced to any extent bv age.

A two-year-old heifer gives as rich milk as she does when mature On the average the milk yield of the_ two-year-old is about 70 per cent, of what it, will be at maturity. The ability of a cow to give milk is mostly a matter of what she has inherited, and it does not take long, as a rule, for her milking’ carac.teristics to show up after the first freshening. Our recommendation is to judge a two-year-old heifer on the basis of her work during the first year, unless there is some reasonable excuse for her not doing well. If she is so inferior as to have to go to the butcher, it will often pay to keep her until her second calf is dropped. Do not breed again and sell as soon as she reaches a point when milk production does not pay.—-Farm, Stock and Home.