HOUSING OF DAIRY COWS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5328, 19 September 1928, Page 3

HOUSING OF DAIRY COWS

HAURAKI PLAINS EXPERIMENT. meeting local conditions. For many ye,ar.s dairy farmers of ; 'theHauai'ki Pla'ns have been giving serious cftti lideratibn to. Mie question of providing buildings in which to house and feed their cattle when desirable. The. many wet winders tha.t have been in ( the- last decade have them that some such system of farming wc-uld have many advantage s on the peculiar country of Ha,uraki Plains, and during the past winter several farmers commenced an experimen,t by providing building,s. The drained swamp-land of HaiH’aki Plains growc abundant, feed, but the low-lying natur.e of the country causes the ground to become soddten in wet winters,, with the result that, conditions are made disagreeable for man, an,d beast. Cattle tramp in and spoil more feed' than they consume-, the ground is- Pegged so surf ate drainage is detrimentally affected for a long time,’ and Plant growth is retarded. ■ Cattle have: no dry place on which toi lie; roadways become quagmires, the carting of hay br roots becomes difficult and the udders of cows require so much - washing, that, the time taken at milking is considerably prolonged. Various means of overcoming these, difficulties have been triedl with var.y- -- ing degrees of success. Concrete roads and tracks have proved worth their big cost, and the provision o ( f permanent, hayracks convenieiii|t to a concrete road from the haystack, ci a, concrete platform on which the cows can, stand while feeding, have been justified. Paspalum grass when firmly established would overcome the difficulty, but it has been found to be hard and slow t’o get established. A lot can be done, and is being by internal drainage, and, incidentally, the best results seem to be ac-hinevv.fi-with shallow surface drains. The removal of cattle to the hill country ha s ; generally proved unsatisfactory, but, of- course, levs detrimental .than keeping them on the farm in wet. winters. ’ Tlie cost of grazing, time, and losses is considerable.. Most, of the shortcomings can be overcome by the provision of housing for dairy cows, and in the opinion of those farmers who arc going ahead with the project the cost, will not be a detrimental, factor. With a. welldesigned shed, the cost of feeding and attention is thought to be no more than the cost, of carting feed to the cattle; and there are many point® which should result in a marked! finlaai- . cial gain. , Cows can be brought into profit, much earlier than usual, with, the re- \ suit that, the high prices usually paid for winter, milk can be obtained and • calves and pigs can be finished off in L time to, catch the big prices that prevail about Christmas. Cows cant be milked for a longer period, and the regular quantities of] feed will ensure that those which do nbt get into; calf profitably be milked for a. sec'ond season. They are, handy in the event ■ of cows slipping, their calves or requiring veterinary attention. Opponents Of housing have argued that the ouantity of feed required would be- stupendous ; but, those, who have gone into the matter carefully have agreed that this aspect will not present a difficulty. Hauraki Plains land is noted! for its ability to; produce an abundance of feqd, ajild when it is considered that paddocks will not be subject, to, regular, poaching every winter, it. will be recognised that the growth for hay will be greater than f’y'c.ver. Instead of being baled and sold, '' as at present, it will provide feed)' for a greater number of cows. No difficulty is experienced in producing big crops of mangolds. Of course, it is not intended to, confine the cows indoors for Jong periods, except when the wet!l(es.s of the farm renders, this desirable. In boisterous or frosty weather they may be kept in at night, and given a feed indoors before being let. out to pasture fjojr the day. Some c ; f the sheds oii| the Hauraki Plains are intended only for pedigree cattle, but will be used for those lb* cows due to calve anti for feeding the whole herd daily when assembled for milking. The several types of. shed already erected in Hauraki Plains draw attention to the, need for careful deif initial cost and working ex--penses are to be kept down. The building recently completed at. Kopua - ; rahi for Mr. L. James seems to fulfil the necessary requirements. It is substantially built of concrete, apd corrugated iron, and provision is made for housing forty cows. They stand in two rows; with their heads to; the outer walls, and down ,the middle of the builHlng there is a roadway twelve feet, wide, along which a vehicle can be driven with mangolds or for cleaning the shed. Along the walls there are hayracks, which are filled from the loft into which they open. The hay will be baled in the paddejek and carted to the loft in; the summer. Beneath the hayracks are concrete running the full leingth of /the building. Short lengths of hay ‘ fall into this, trough and are used with roots and other foods placed therein. If necessary the trough can be filled with drinking water or for cleanisipg purposes. There is a partition between every two cows; and each cow is tethered with a short chain, which has a ring running ori an upright bar. Ample space is provided for each cow to lie down, but their hindquarters will overhang the roadside drain, so that the stalls will be lept reasonably clean. Hay pulled .' down; by the cows, provides sufficient bidding.