THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 562, 4 November 1902, Page 3

THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY

MANAGEMENT OF COWS

SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE,

(Wairarapa Times.)

The dairying industry has now mac such rapid stiiues in the Wuirarapa tin every dairy farmer should carefully stud 1 the manageuieut ot his herd. In con verm 0 non with u well-known Wairarapa settle , n representative of the Wairarapa Dali 4 Tunes gleaned a tew facts with regard t ( . tlie management ol the cow. Tlie prope management of milking cows is quite a important us proper lood. It is otten th r case that a cow wtio.se capabilities are fo (_ milking, becomes lean on the same quau , tuy of lood us would make a feeding euv fat. The cause ol this is that tiie miikirq cow is more effected by climatic changci than the cow that is being fattened for Hu muket. For suecesslully maintaining t mi,king cow m pront, considerable cart should be taken to avoid rapid changes o: temperature. The covv should also be kbpl off (Jump or clay laud. A clean, dry shod should always bo provided where the dairy cows can take shelter when they ieei uncomfortable either from ram and cold oi die heat and tiles, having a shed where the dairy stock cun take shelter, is a very important factor, and one upon which too much stress cannot be laid. Farmers, nut only in the Wairarapa, but in other parts of tiie colony are very caroless in this respect, and do not seem to think that the better a cow is treated the more profit she will return. The shed should open to a warm aspect and be well drained. II dairy farmers were to consider the question of building shelter-sheds for their duiry stock more seriously, they would soon see the bent-lit to bo derived, us would also be shown by the returns obtained from each cow. Take, for instance, a cow that is always cold ; alio is always uncumlortablu and restive. A large proportion of ttio food she eats, that should go towards milk, goes to keep up tne heat of her body instead. It can, therefore, be plainly seeu that warmth is food to a cow, and can be obtained with but littlo cost and comparatively less trouble than some other food. Cold and sudden chills cause a falling-oil in a cow’s milk early in the season, and is also a detriment to her general appearance. In proportion as the breed oi the dairy stock improves, so does tho necessity for care increase. Touching upon tho question of bringing cows into a shed for tho night, our informant said : " I beliovo in bringing in cows at night, all through tho your, Leave them out at night, and what happens. In tho first place, lying about tho paddocks, they spoil much gruss, and besides, they aro not benelitted by being in the dewy grass too early in the morning. Tho severe wintor we have had in the Wairarapa this year is a strong argument in favor of having a shed whore the dairy cows especially could take sheltor.” The most important thing in a cowshed is cleanliness ; it is of essential importance. The walls should bo free from dust and cobwebs, and the stalls and the mangers kept clean. By giving it badly-prepared, or in uncleanly mangers, much of the benefit of good feeding is lost. Evon where farmeis have sheds lor their cows, tho littering and bedding for them is oiten grossly neglected. Besides straw — not too long—chuff and sawdust also make a good bedding tor dairy stock, but straw is preferable. “We bed our prize horses down with every care, and attend to them in every particular ; then, why should we not treat a dairy cow tho same, which is, at tho present time, more of a prize than tho horso.” “ The matter oi erecting shelter-sheds for dairy stock,” concluded our informant, " is a thing I should like to seo gone in ior, in tho Wairarapa, mora than it is,”