FARMERS' COLUMN.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 167, 19 March 1915, Page 3

FARMERS' COLUMN.

TIIJB HEIFER AT CALVING TIME. This is a very Lmporrant tin.'! ! wirli the cow-keeper, therefore ■ the heifer .-jhoisld be taken core of. hi tin- llr.-t place ii is a good plan to luring her up anil tie hr-r in ihe cowshed with tit.! other cows at milking time si week <■.' ?o before she is due to calve. Th'.a will get her used to ihe tie, and she will also c-et quieter if handled gently. This may save a great deal of trouble which often occurs with wild hoi tors. . ,cxt she should be brought and fled up in the cowshed, and given a little hay :i night or so before site in due. Or, whore there are ample building's, some farmers may prefer letting her loose by her herself. This will enable the attendant to see her last thing at night. An inexperienced man may sometimes (in.-l it rather difficult to tell when she is going to calve, move so with the heifer than the cow. But if he will notice, she will look rather wild and start swishing her tail and picking up her hind legs. If she dees not show any of the above signs he should feel the udder —which in most cases will be full and hard—also what, we call the cuplings. These are two small bones, one on each side the butt of the tril If she is going to calve before morning these will'be found to have dropped a little. Should, she show any of these signs, if she hs loose she should be tied up. And the. owner, with another mm or two. may be well repaid to stay np an hour or so, not leave her, as some say. to take her chance; for the old saying. "A little help is worth a k>: of pity" is a. true one. If the owner has had no experience he should get at least one man that has. For most likely a great deal more harm than good will be done with the presence of inexperienced men. If the calf is in its right position the toes of the forelegs should be seen first, followed by the. nose. Should the heifei have any difficulty in calving.the atten dants should catch hold of the legs only and pull quietly, as the heifer heaves, not before, keeping well down towards the udder. If she is standing up, which is not very often the case. the attendants'must be very careful not to let the calf drop on the hard floor. The next thing to do is to drag the calf by the forelegs to the mother's head, and if she refuses to lick it sprinkle a pinch of salt along its back, and in nine eases out of ten she will start to lick at once. When she lias started to lick, if she appears to be quiet, she may be loosed for a few minutes. And when she has licked the calf we'll she can be tied up again, and the calf put to suck as soon as it can stand well. This is- best done by letting it suck your finger first and gradually'gctting it to the teat. After the calf has sucked a little milk the heifer can be stripped out and the calf either ; put in the calf pen or left with its | mother for a few hours. I prefer the latter if the mother is quiet. Then | comes the feding, which is very often ! neglected. This requires a little ! thought, more so in winter than sumI mer. In winter, if she has been having I roots, she should not be given any for ! at least two days after calving, and in ! place have chilled water, and from 4 to 6 lb. of bran per meal, which should be scalded and put to cool before serving. with a little hay chaff. This should be given three times per day, and what hay she will eat. Then gradually wean off on to cold water, chaff and roots, etc.. In summer she may not require more than one or two bran mashes, and the second or third day. if the weather is suitable, she can be turned out for a few hours, so that by the time she has calved a week, if it is not too cold, she may be left out at night.—H.G.B., in Farm and Home. MILK FOR POULTRY. Milk is good for all ages and all varieties of poultry. Many who use it for chickens do not seem to realise that it is equally economical for older birds, says Farm, Field, and Fireside. Skim or separated milk, that is bereft only of the butter-fat, still contains the bone-forming ingredients so useful both to the growing bird and the laying hen, and it is a fine helper for the moulting process. With the exception of young chicks, which may be given it to drink, and when water also i.s supplied, it is best for making a soft feed, though there is no objection to allowing adults to drink it so long as the drinking vessels are kept clean. What should be borne in mind is that whenever it is used as a beverage it does not take the place of water, and where access is not available to a natural supply of the latter it should always be additionally provided. Finely cracked maize soaked in milk is a great advantage over the maize alone, as the one supplies the bone, etc., forming materials which are deficient in the other.