994 !New York State Dairymen's Association 



Three days or so before the cow is to freshen, her grain ration 

 shouhl be eliminated and in its stead bran mash, composed of 

 three or four pounds of l)ran thoroughly moistened and well salted, 

 should be given at reguhir feeding hours in addition to the 

 roughage which, being of a laxative nature, may be continued. 



It is never advisable to permit a valuable cow to calve Vt^ithout 

 attendance. If she is a heavy producer under natural conditions, 

 much greater yields may be expected as a result of special fitting. 

 Furthermore, udder troubles and milk fever are more liable to 

 occur. It is quite generally conceded, however, that if feeding 

 operations are such that the cow's digestive tract is kept in a 

 loose, laxative condition and little if any milk taken from the 

 udder except by the calf for the first forty-eight hours, the danger 

 is reduced to a minimum. The thought of the careful feeder and 

 herdsman, however, is always of the welfare of his charge, so he 

 will watch her closely day and night until the danger of parturient 

 paralysis has passed, so that should the slightest symptoms occur, 

 the air treatment may be put to use and forestall sickness before 

 it has advanced far enough to be weakening in its effect. In case 

 of milk fever, all feeding must cease until the cow is again on her 

 feet and sufficiently recovered to have regained her appetite. 



It is well to leave the calf with its mother the first two or three 

 days, for it assists greatly in relieving the inflammation of the 

 udder and keeping the cow quiet. As a rule, when forty-eight 

 hours have passed, if all has gone well the calf should be taken 

 away, for the mother is ready to begin work in earnest. This 

 is in case the udder has reached normal condition. Otherwise, 

 the feeding of soft foods such as bran mashes should continue, 

 and in addition to frequent application of heat, the udder should 

 be milked out thoroughly many times day and night. This repre- 

 sents much labor, ])iit success in any business is attained only by 

 persistent, intelligent efl"ort and close attention to details, and it 

 is he wdio is most willing and industrious who succeeds and leads 

 others to wonder what secrets he practices. 



When the cow's condition warrants that she be placed on solid 

 food, haste must be made slowly for within thirty days she should 

 be on full feed and giving her daily maximum milk yield. Fur- 

 thermore, she should not be brought to full feed and milk sooner, 

 for at best she is in a weakened condition following parturition. 



