THE FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 November 1928, Page 7

THE FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS

(I>y the Department of Agriculture.)

lii those times of increased production by ihe dairy cow, the dairy I armor re(|iiires to look alter his stoc' in such a manlier as to enable them to produce increased yields of milk without impairing their strength and constitution. ’! he dairy farmer must therefore supply the necessary fuel as food to enable the cow to give of her host. With high producing animals it is gradually becoming recognised that th addition of some cereals as crushed oats and bran or bran and maize meal, foods rich in carbohydrates, during the first two months of the milking period not only increases the yield, but maintains the condition of the animal, and at the same time is a payable proposition. As the season advances and grass becomes more plentiful the wisdom of using concentrates is open to question. However, with cows bred specially'for milk production as are our grade Jerseys and Holstein cattle the maximum results are obtained with the addition of a small ration as above. As the nutritive value of grass at the di lie re nt stages of its growth becomes better known so will, the dairy farmer ho in a better position to regulate In’s grazing that the best results will tic obtained from bis pastures. A few farmers have undertaken more subdivision of their grazing area with very beneficial results as regard carrying capacity. That grass of two or three weeks’ growth is a valuable food in that it approximates closely, as regards its digestibility and nutritive value, to lisnoed cake has been shown bv experiment,. As grass matures or approaches the rank stage its digestibility decreases and its proteid content is considerably reduced with the formation of lignilied or woody fibre. At the same time the yield of dry matter per acre is greater when grass is allowed to grow to the more mature stage, hut, this is more than eounterha la need by its lowered food Value. The exact period at which grass can lie eaten, with a high digestibility, and at the same time with a maximum yield of drv matter per acre, can only he determined by experiment. II advantage is then to he taken of such knowledge greater subdivision of pastures and sectional grazing are the lines to lie adopted to obtain maximum production per acre. As grass is so rich in protoin in its earlv stages the addition of a concentrate like linseed is not recommended, ft is more economical to use any o*f the cereals- mentioned above, as these are rich in carbohydrates and therefore balance tlic ration. A conceittiate 1 icli in protein like linseed could be used to better advantage towards the end oi (he summer with grass which has l>eon allowed to grow to the woody stage.

WOOL-BRANDING FLUIDS

The matter of deleterious sheep branding fluids has been under notice for some time, and the Department of Agriculture lias collected samples of all tile commercial branding fluids on the New Zealand market. These samples have been examined by the chief chemist and practical tests also carried out. In the examination of the various fluids the chief chemist was unable to find any trace of tar or of the derivatives of tar, although reports from (treat Hritain stated that tar and paint were being used. In this connection it is mentioned that both the depaitment mid wool merchants, too, have discountenanced the use ol tar and paint as a wool brand .and for some years now fhe.se materials have been out of use. .Many samples of wool alleged to have been damaged by the branding material have been forwarded to this department. and it has been found that the fluid is not so much to blame as is I lie carelessness of some of the users in not seeing to it that the directions printed on the container have been properly carried out before being used to brand the sheep, the result being that when some of the fluid is poured out from the top ol the container the mixture would show about fO pci cent oil and .‘if) per cent colouring; halfway down the container would show about AO per cent of each, but as the container was being emptied and near to the bottom the mixture would show ‘2 > to :t() per cent oil and 75 to 70 per cent colouring. Itis quite probable that at times there is less than this percentage of oil and a larger percentage o. the colouring at the bottom ol the container, and it is this which is the cause of several complaints against sheepbranding fluids. All standard brands of fluids that have so far been examined are quite reliable if properh used, but the. trouble complained of is probably due to the failure to keep the fluid properly mixed, with the result that some is applied in a thick mass. In the scouring tests in every ease the compound when not applied too hea\ il\ scoured out readily. V\ here, the fluid had hccii applied as a thick deposit, however, scouring was more difficult, but in no case was ii found impossible to remove all traces of tlu* brand altogether. Sometimes a mark will not come out with ordinary scouring, but it is found that immersion m a suitable solvent dissolves the vehicle and loosens the pigment, so that subsequent scouring becomes easy. Any sheep sold in sale yards should be branded with a recognised sheep-branding fluid, and paint of any description should not i,o allowed to be u>ed for this purpose.