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Maintaining A Full Flow Of Milk

Maintaining A Full Flow Of Milk image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
August
Year
1865
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

During the momh of July and August in our latitude, the ful! íiow of milk is frequcutly cheoked. Iii most instauces gma3 fails. Sometimes, hovvover, farmer havo kept too maiiy animáis on a given BUi'facc ; and luuny cows have 3;ept the rrass froüi groiying, and the usuul flow of milk has ditninished. Dairvmsn slide iuto this practica of overstockine their pastures at a season of the year wben grass grows freoly. A cow consumos a certaiu arnount of feed tf sustaia and to repair the wasto of her body. If she can have more thau enough for this purpose, the surplus will be coi. verted into milk. Therofore, if feéd is short, the flow of milk must inevitubly diminish. Breeding is another causo of dimiiiution in the quantity of inilk. Some cows eveu wjicn supplied with all the good grasa they will consume, will fall ofï in milk withín a few weelis iftar being got with calf; aud ihere is sometimes so inuch shrinkage 'm the amount of milk, thut a cow might be dried off in a ehort time. Auothor cframon cause of failure in the flow of milk ia, a want of an abuudant supply of pure water. These are the chief difficulties that people meet with, who koep few or maDy cows. To obvíate the difficulty of short pasturago, a farmer will find it much more proütablo to keep fewer cows and so havo more and better grass, as two cows when kopt on as much grass as they wül eat, will yield more milk than tlirce or four cowá kept on the saaie foed, for they would find barely enough to support animal life. By overstook ing a pasturo, most oí the' grass is used up to keep the animáis alive, without improving their condition, while a smaller number would thrive well, and at the game time, give a good supply of milk. Therefore, in order to obtain the greatest ainount of butter or eheese frem a pvon amount of pasture, the correct way to do it is to keep few cows and feed wol!. When grass fails, they ehould have at least one feeding daily of good hay, or green corn stalks, or a fuw q,uarts of meal or bran, made thin with water. Ifc is qnito important that the flow of milk be rnaintained ; because, if a cow bc allowed to shrink ia the quartity of milk, it is usually quite diffi cult, oven by extra feeding, to bring it up again. Sometimes it can be done without difficulty. But in most cases it is impracticable; "Wheuever it is fcnown th'at a cow ehrinks in her milk after gotting with calf, take mcans to prevent it each year ntil about tbree months after tho time of turning cows to grass. The aim should be to have sueh cows come in just in time to recover from the debilitating effect of parturition by tho time grass is largeenough for grazing. T hen her milk wili be had at a season ot' the year wlien cows are usually mostprofitable, But if they are allowed to breed early in the eeason, they aro frequently vory unroiHable cows ; and improper management rendors them stiü more so. Cows well fed and properly milked, can not bo expected to yield a largo fiupply, unlaPs thoy have an abundanco of good water several timos a dïiy. Once or twice is not sufficient. In hot woather they need it throe times daily. They relisrf a pailful of good water as we do a cooling draught from the " old oaktm bucket." And they must have it or they wil! not and can not yield an abumlant supply of milk. Large cows that have accesa to pure water, often drink from twenty to thirty gallons I dkmftg the iiot weatlier, and this ;,ssists greally in keeping up the flow of milk. Withhold a part oí it and the Hiipiy diminishes. As soon as cowshave ñiied themselves with grass they often desire to drink. They seldom tako much water iuto an empty stomaoh. Consequontly if they are requiredto drink at a pool of stauding, dirty water, porhurs dofiled by dung, they will drink no more than is absoiutely necessary to sustain life. Such water is not refreshin f to cows, or any other animáis ; and no oce need expect that mileh cows wili keep up the cruantity of milk, so long as thoy aro roquired. to use saeh an eome drink. -

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus