992 i^EW York State Dairymen's Association 



take advantaji'e of these iiistiiiets, she must be conditioned for her 

 work owiiiii' to the fact that heavy feeding- innnediately after 

 parturition is ahnost certain to ruin the cow. 



Preparation of the cow for her work should be commenced four 

 or six weeks before she freshens. She is at that time near the end 

 of a lactation period and sliould be turned dry if this can be done 

 without injuring her udder. Some cows milk so persistently that 

 this is very difficult, but few indeed are the cases which cannot 

 be made to cease giving milk for ten days by withholding all other 

 feed except timothy hay and dry corn stalks and milking only 

 occasionally and then just enough to relieve the udder. But 

 whether the cow is dry or not, systematic feeding should begin. 

 More knowledge relative to feeding is necessary at this time than 

 any other, for there are three purposes for which feed is given : 

 First, the unborn calf is making its greatest growth and needs 

 much nourishment, which is prepared by the cow from the feed 

 she receives; second, the cow has just finished a campaign of 

 milk giving which has required a great amount of food and has 

 been a tax on her digestive apparatus which should be rested before 

 she starts another year ; third, strength and stamina must be stored 

 up in the body to be drawn upon later. 



At birth the calf is composed almost entirely of muscular and 

 bony tissue. These j^arts are built from the protein and mineral 

 matter of the food and assign a reason for feeding the cow well 

 with nitrogenous foods su'ih as oil meal, bran and clover hay. For 

 resting the digestive tract, food cooling in nature and light in 

 character is necessary. Again bran and oil meal fit well, especially 

 when supplemented with green foods, corn, silage, beet pulp or 

 roots. Fat and energy, on the other hand, are stored up by the 

 use of carbonaceous foods and those rich in fats, making corn 

 connnenchible except that it is heating in nature and should not be 

 fed heavily at any time, especially near the period of parturition 

 when at the best the cow is in a fevered condition. Xo food is 

 better for the purpose than ground oats and this should be fed 

 liberally even though it may be considered too expensive to feed 

 at other times. 



Common-sense reasoning in this matter has established a 

 balanced ration, for in fact, the terms " common-sense ration " 



